Contracts in cattle production in Ghana : their nature, and effects on input use and technical efficiency

Abstract

CHAPTER General introduction 1.1 BackgroundRising incomes and urbanization in developing countries are increasing the demand for food especially meat and milk (Delgado, 1999). It poses the need to increase the output of animal products. Productivity levels in existing livestock production systems are typically low in developing countries, thus attempts to increase meat and milk production require steps to improve farm efficiency and productivity. In Ghana, cattle contributes the largest portion (at least a half) of the total economic value of livestock raised by households (GSS, 2008, GSS, 2014. Therefore, improvements in cattle production can contribute significantly to satisfying the growing demand for animal products.Cattle production in Ghana is based predominantly on extensive systems which depends on minimal housing and grazing on natural pasture (Oppong-Anane, 2006). Often, cattle in a kraal are owned by multiple owners. According to Oddoye (2001), in some parts of the Accra Plains one person owned all cattle in less than a third of all kraals, two to five people owned cattle in at least half of the kraals, and more than five people owned cattle in the rest of the kraals. Cattle productivity under this production system is linked to factors like the natural environment, including rainfall patterns and cattle breeds, how production is organised, production practices, and motives for keeping cattle. A description of these features of the production system is provided in the next paragraphs.Generally, indigenous breeds of cattle are kept. These breeds include the West African Short Horn (WASH) and a cross between the WASH and zebu breeds, which is known as Sanga (Otchere and Okantah, 2001). The Sanga has become an established breed in its own right. Attempts by the state to introduce exotic breeds such as the Friesian and Jersey have not been successful due to their ill-adaptation to the tropical climatic conditions. Local breed improvement, using semen from exotic breeds, has also been tried.However, this has not been successful. The resulting cross-breeds have to be under intensive production systems, but most farmers are unable to deal with this.Herd sizes are generally small and range between 10 to 50 head in northern Ghana and 50 to 200 head in southern Ghana (Otchere and Okantah, 2001). The herd owner, who may be the household head if the cattle belongs to a family, usually constructs a kraal, an enclosure in which cattle are kept, or acquires appropriate space for the cattle to pass the night. Often, the kraal is close to the herd owner or kraal owner's compound. During the day, the cattle are herded to the rangeland or natural pastures to graze. In Ghana, the extensive system is largely sedentary and agro-pastoral with limited transhumance (Otchere and Okantah, 2001). The kraal owner uses either family labour or hired labour to herd the cattle in the rangeland; he himself prefers to work on his crop farm, especially during the farming season. In return for providing herding services, the herdsman rece...