Characterisation of small scale cattle farming in two districts of the Free State Province of South Africa

L. E. Moorosi., L.M. J. Schwalbach. and J.P. C. Greyling
Department of Animal Science, University of the Orange Free State, P.O. Box 339, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa

Abstract

Introduction

Materials and methods

Results and discussion

Conclusion

References

Abstract

This study was conducted in two districts in the southern part of the Free State. A total of 510 small scale cattle farmers from Thaba Nchu (255 farmers) and Botshabelo (265 farmers) were individually interviewed and responded to a questionnaire designed to assess the farming characteristics and management practices in both areas. The most important farming characteristics and management practices as well as the productivity and the sustainability of these farming systems were evaluated and the most important production constraints were identified.

Results showed that most farmers in both areas own less than 10 head of cattle (65.8% in Thaba Nchu and 86.5.4% in Botshabelo). The total cattle herd structure in both areas reflected major imbalances, with breeding females making up the largest proportion of the total herd accounting for 60.4% and 67.1% of the total herds in Thaba Nchu and Botshabelo, respectively. The proportion of heifers and calves in both areas were very low, 10.4% and 7.7% for heifers and 26.9% and 24.2% for calves in Thaba Nchu and Botshabelo, respectively.

The proportion of bulls and oxen in the total number of animals kept in both areas showed major differences in the two areas. Thaba Nchu and Botshabelo were farmed with 2% and 8.1% bulls and 10.7% and 0.6% oxen, respectively. The bull to cow ratio was found to be extremely low in Thaba Nchu (1.46%). In contrast, Botshabelo had far more bulls than needed. However very few farmers own mature bulls (9.6% for both areas) and the use of communal bulls is a very common practice.

Most farmers keep dual-purpose (meat and milk) crossbred cattle. Brown Swiss type animals are the preferred cattle breeds in these areas, where almost all farmers milk some of their cows (94.5% and 96.6% in Thaba Nchu and Botshabelo, respectively) exclusively for home consumption.

Cattle management practices in these two areas are considered very unproductive, with low support services available for farmers. The nutritional management is characterised by communal grazing, overstocking, and degradation of the natural resource base — the veld. Estimated calving rates are low (54% and 41% for Thaba Nchu and Botshabelo respectively), and are much lower than perceived by the respondent farmers. The estimated intercalving periods are extremely long (676 and 890 days for Thaba Nchu and Botshabelo respectively). The mean total milk production per farmer per day was recorded as 4.15 litres and 3.46 litres in Thaba Nchu and Botshabelo, respectively.

The adoption of basic disease control measures such as vaccination and dipping against external parasites by small-scale cattle farmers differed considerably between the two areas studied, the differences being due to the availability and accessibility to extension services and veterinary products. In Thaba Nchu 95.3% and 96.5% of the cattle farmers vaccinate and dip their animals, respectively, in contrast with only 5.4% and 4.2% in Botshabelo. The major production constraints identified were poor management practices and inefficient farming support services. The sustainability of these small-scale productive systems for the long term is not guaranteed under the present farming conditions.

Introduction

Small scale cattle production is extremely important for the economy of developing countries in general, and to Southern African countries in particular. Cattle farming is an important part of the African culture and a means of capital investment or wealth accumulation (Kalunda 1996). Besides its direct benefits, cattle can sustain the household by providing meat and milk. The value of cattle in providing rural transportation, draft power for cultivation, and manure for crop and fuel production are functions not to be underestimated (FAO 1997). Although small-scale cattle production (mainly for subsistence purposes) is practised in most Sub-Saharan regions, its productivity is considered to be very low and in most cases insufficient to ensure food security and adequate financial returns.

Traditional small-scale cattle production systems in South Africa have not received adequate attention regarding land rights, extension support services, access to credit and market opportunities. These constraints have however been recognised by the National Department of Agriculture (1998), that has reported poverty in the rural areas of South Africa to be associated with poor agricultural policies.

Very little is known regarding the characteristics of these small-scale farming systems. Therefore, to facilitate the policy makers to introduce appropriate policies and support services to assist these farmers and to fulfil the present government objectives, characterisation of small-scale farming systems in South Africa should be prioritised in the agricultural research programmes.

The objective of this paper was thus to characterise small scale cattle farming systems in the Thaba Nchu and Botshabelo areas, to evaluate their sustainability, and to identify some constraints limiting their productivity. This can be useful for policy makers and extension services to improve the productivity and sustainability of these farming systems.

Materials and methods

This study was conducted over a period of 20 months in two districts of Bloemfontein, namely Thaba Nchu and Botshabelo. Twenty-one of the 40 agricultural villages known as 'trusts' in Thaba Nchu were randomly selected. Botshabelo, situated 10 km from Thaba Nchu, is divided into 17 general blocks or sections of which ten were selected at random. A questionnaire with 28 questions was designed to characterise the farming systems used in these areas. During the survey 255 and 265 cattle owners were individually interviewed in Thaba Nchu and Botshabelo, respectively. This brings the total number of cattle owned by the farmers interviewed to 2694 and 1907 in Thaba Nchu and Botshabelo, respectively.

Results and discussion

According to the results obtained during the survey, the majority of the farmers in both areas own less than 10 head of cattle, with the higher frequency distribution of 5 –10 head of cattle per farmer. Similar results were reported by Dreyer et al. (1999) in the same districts of the Free State Province. The mean herd size in Thaba Nchu was 10.8 cattle, which is significantly higher (p<0.01) than the mean herd size in Botshabelo (7.2 animals per cattle farmer). The significant difference in mean herd size between the districts of Thaba Nchu and Botshabelo, and the fact that in general, the cattle herds in Thaba Nchu were larger than those in Botshabelo, may be explained by the historical and socio-economic differences experienced in the two areas. Thaba Nchu was established as an agricultural area for small-scale black farmers for a much longer period of time. Farmers in this area also have a longer tradition of cattle farming, a relatively larger grazing area, and better support services. On the other hand, Botshabelo was more recently established and developed from an illegal squatter camp for unemployed people who owned farms in areas designated for white people and others that were evicted from white farms.

The herd structure and the percentage of farmers farming with different cattle classes (Tables 1 and 2) clearly show that breeding females make up the largest group of the total herd in both areas (accounting for 60.4% and 67.1% of the total herds in Thaba Nchu and Botshabelo, respectively).

Table 1. Distribution of herd size per cattle farmer.

a, b - Rows with different superscripts differ significantly (p<0.01).

Table 2. Cattle herd structures in the Thaba Nchu and Botshabelo areas.

These herd sizes and structures are in agreement with those reported by most authors investigating similar small-scale farming systems in Southern Africa. Swanepoel and De Lange (1993) and Muchena et al. (1997), found herd size to be a critical factor determining herd production efficiency. Nthakheni (1993), postulated that the smaller the herd, the less the chances were of making a living out of livestock farming. Sieff (1999) reported breeding females compose 70% of the cattle herds in Tanzania, while in the Southern part of Mozambique, this group represented 54% of the total herd size (Rocha et al. 1991). In this study an extremely high percentage of farmers (99%) keep old cows (>10 years).

This clearly reflects the objectives of keeping cattle for milk production and reproduction. The same tendency was reported by Rocha et al. (1991) and Nthakheni (1993). These old cows, although less productive, still produce milk and calves, which the farmers prefer from the production system. On the other hand, productivity is not the main issue for these farmers, as cattle numbers and not necessarily the quality or productivity of the animals reflects the wealth of the traditional small-scale African farmer (Magadlela and Kadzere 1996). The proportion of young cows and heifers from the total cattle herds and the percentage of farmers with young cows and heifers in their herds in both areas studied are very low. This can limit both productive (milk and weaner calves) and reproduction (calving percentage) rates in these herds. The low percentage of calves maintained in these herds (26.9% and 24.2% in Thaba Nchu and Botshabelo, respectively), confirm the low reproductive rates of these herds. Furthermore the herd structures, particularly regarding the female breeding classes, put at risk the long-term sustainability of these cattle farming systems.

The shortage of mature bulls is clearly demonstrated by the low percentages of these animals in the Thaba Nchu (0.4%) and Botshabelo (6.6%) herds with only 2.4% and 7.2% of the farmers having mature bulls in their herds, respectively. These tendencies are also reported in Mozambique by Rocha et al. (1991) and in Tanzania by Sieff (1999), who have reported 6.1% and 3.5% bulls in the cattle herds, respectively. The fact that fewer farmers own bulls in this survey could be attributed to the communal grazing practice which allows bulls of some farmers to run together with the cows of the whole village. These bulls are usually referred to as 'communal bulls' and many farmers do not see the need of owning their own bulls, especially if the neighbours own a bull. This practice, although economically justifiable, puts an extra load on the bulls. In many cases the bull to cow ratio is not considered. This problem is aggravated by the fact that most of these communal bulls are usually not tested for fertility and venereal diseases or vaccinated against common diseases. The low number of bulls and eventual fertility problems may affect the whole herd without being detected, limiting total herd productivity.

In Thaba Nchu oxen constitute 10.7% of the cattle herd, which is much higher than the 0.6% for the herds in Botshabelo. These differences are also seen as the percentage of farmers with oxen in their herds, (42.3% in Thaba Nchu and 4.2% in Botshabelo). A high percentage of oxen in the herd structure is indicative of the use of animal traction practices such as ploughing and transportation of water and agricultural produce (Blench 1987). A possible reason for low number of oxen in the herd structure of Botshabelo may be the fact that there is very little arable land available.

The estimated conception rate (CR) and inter-calving period (ICP), based on the herd structure, number of potential breeding females and the number of calves, are set out in Table 3. According to calving rate and ICP estimations, the calving rate of 54% for Thaba Nchu and 41% for Botshabelo is much lower than that perceived by the local cattle farmers. The intercalving periods of 676 and 890 days for Thaba Nchu and Botshabelo respectively, is much longer than perceived by the farmers. These estimations do not take into consideration the mortality rates, as no records are available. However, even if these records were available, it is unlikely that the mortality rates could account for such a high difference in the perceived and estimated ICPs and CRs. The calving rates estimated in this study are in agreement with the results of Dreyer et al. (1999), who have estimated a calving rate of 45.5% for Thaba Nchu and Botshabelo combined. The low reproductive rates in Thaba Nchu and Botshabelo can be explained by a combination of management-related factors such as poor nutrition and unbalanced herd structures.

Table 3. Estimated calving rates and intercalving period for small-scale farmer in Thaba Nchu and Botshabelo.

Milk production is one of the main reasons why small-scale farmers in the Thaba Nchu and Botshabelo districts keep cattle. The high percentage of mature cows, as well as the high percentage of dual-purpose and crossbred predominantly containing dairy genes, are strong indications that as in most of the Southern African regions, milk production is a major reason for cattle farming (Dugmore et al. 1996). Milk production is exclusively for home consumption. The total daily milk production per farmer in the areas surveyed was generally low (Table 4). Farmers were unable to relate to the individual daily milk production of their animals, as no records and measurements are taken regarding milk production.

Table 4. Mean milk production (± SD) for small-scale cattle farmers in Thaba Nchu and Botshabelo.

ab columns with different superscripts differ significantly (p<0.01).

Application of disease control measures by cattle farmers in the Thaba Nchu and Botshabelo areas as shown in Table 5, differ considerably. The poor adoption of basic disease control measures such as vaccination against diseases and dipping against external parasites in Botshabelo can be explained by lack of basic farming infrastructures such as crush pens and dipping tanks in this area. Although extension services still operate from Thaba Nchu, farmers and extension staff are most of the time faced with transport problems.

Table 5. Average application of health control measures in both cattle herds.

Farmers in Thaba Nchu have enjoyed free extension programmes offered over many years by AGRICOR. Most of these farmers have realised the advantages of disease control measures and are still implementing programmes even after the government stopped these free services. These farmers now buy their own vaccine and dipping remedies. The main reasons for low implementation levels of disease control measures are general lack of funds by most governments, and the inability to support and maintain an efficient operational extension service (Bembridge 1984; Nthakheni 1993; Tambi et al. 1999).

Farmers reported that cattle are sold whenever cash is needed. This usually happens around January every year, when school fees for their children are needed. The price is usually determined by the condition of the animal, although due to lack of a marketing infrastructure such as transport, farmers feel that they are forced to submit to prices offered by the buyer. The proportion of farmers buying cattle is very low. Only 5.9% in Thaba Nchu and 2.6% in Botshabelo were reported as buying cattle. The reason is due to lack of access to credit to buy more animals. Farmers usually depend on their existing animals to reproduce and increase their herd size.

Conclusion

The general management and farming practices adopted by small-scale cattle farmers in Thaba Nchu and Botshabelo are still done in a traditional and unproductive manner. The general farming characteristics and management practices of small-scale cattle farming activities in Thaba Nchu and Botshabelo districts of the Free State Province are characterised by communal grazing, overstocking of the veld, small and unbalanced herds, uncontrolled breeding and crossbreeding, poor reproductive performance, natural weaning, low milk production, and lack of basic disease control practices. In general, these characteristics are no different from those seen in other regions of Southern Africa. There are however some particularities in Thaba Nchu and Botshabelo, which are determined by the farming conditions and the historical background of these two farming areas. Farmers from Thaba Nchu are in general more experienced, have a better farming infrastructure, and have more access to farming support services.

The main reasons for cattle farming are milk production for home consumption and it is a means of capital savings. The low productivity and the progressive degradation of the basic resource—the veld— seriously put at risk the long-term sustainability of these farming systems.

 Key words: Small Scale Cattle Farmers, Farming Characteristics, Management Practices, Sustainability

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