Performance, management and objectives of cattle farming on communal ranges in Namibia

Siegmund‐Schultze, Marianna; Lange, Frédéric; Schneiderat, Ute; Steinbach, Jörg

doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2011.11.033

Cited by 10 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…These factors above could lead to low calving percentage and high mortality in calves due to poor nutritional status of veld in winter season in the country. (Siegmund-Schultze et al, 2012) observed similar results where 60% calving rate was recorded in Okamboro in Namibia. (Sibanda, 2014) reported 56% calving percentage as compared to national average of 46% calving rate in communal sectors in four district of Zimbabwe.…”

Section: Determinants/drivers Of Weaning Percentage Among Cattle Farmsupporting

confidence: 81%

Improved Cattle Production Parameter Drivers Among Farmers in Mpumalanga Province of South Africa

Okoro

Molefi

Mbajiorgu

et al. 2020

AJDFR

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This study was conducted to identify weaning percentage drivers among cattle farmers in Mpumalanga province of South Africa. Two hundred (200) household cattle farmers were randomly selected from four major rural farming communities of Mpumalanga province of South Africa and questionnaires administered on management and production of cattle. Data generated was analyzed descriptively before ordered logit regression analysis model was used to identify determinants of weaning percentage among cattle farmers. Results indicate that majority of farmers mated their heifers at young age (below 2yrs) while medium calving percentage was maintained by majority of respondents. Among the production parameters influencing weaning percentage among cattle farmers in the Province, only calving percentage and weaning age significantly (P less than 0.05) determined the weaning percentage based on ordered logit analysis. Hence calving percentage and weaning age are very critical factors for productivity and profitability of cattle farming enterprise in Mpumalanga Province of South Africa.

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Section: Determinants/drivers Of Weaning Percentage Among Cattle Farmsupporting

confidence: 81%

Improved Cattle Production Parameter Drivers Among Farmers in Mpumalanga Province of South Africa

Okoro

Molefi

Mbajiorgu

et al. 2020

AJDFR

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“…Due to the uncontrolled mating prevalent in the study area, the majority of the farmers reported a calving percentage between 50% and 70%, which is unexpectedly high in light of the low bull:cow ratio and poor feeding before the breeding season due to overgrazing and overstocking in the grazing areas. Siegmund-Schultze et al (2012) also found a 60% calving rate in Okamboro in Namibia, while Sibanda (2014) reported a 56% calving percentage in four communal districts in Zimbabwe as compared to the national average of 46%. Early weaning was the most common practice reported by the majority of farmers in the present study, with most making use of weaning rings to prevent ongoing suckling.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Munyai (2012) also found that farmers in Mudulini village in Limpopo did not buy their own breeding bulls and depended on the bulls of neighbours for breeding. However, Siegmund-Schultze et al (2012) reported that some farmers in Okamboro in Namibia owned breeding bulls and replaced them when they were old to prevent mating with their own daughters. Mating age appears to be the most critical factor affecting beef cattle production in the communal areas in Chief Albert Luthuli Municipality.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Management practices and constraints of beef cattle production in communal areas of Mpumalanga Province, South Africa

Molefi

Mbajiorgu

Antwi

2016

IJAR

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A survey study was conducted to determine the management practices and constraints faced by beef cattle producers in 200 households in communal areas of Chief Albert Luthuli Municipality in Mpumalanga province. In this context, the results indicated that while 91.5% of farmers practiced continuous breeding in heifers at younger than two years of age, a higher number approximately 68.5% of farmers relied upon neighbours for breeding bulls. Also, calving percentage was between 50% and 70% as reported by 43.5% of farmers whereas 54.5% of farmers reported 50% to 60% weaning percentage. However, 77.5% of the farmers weaned their calves at five to seven months. 100% of farmers freely grazed their beef cattle on the mountainside and over 93.5% of farmers used veld as a source of feed with 82% of farmers supplementing their beef cattle depending on the season. Overall, the main constraints reported by the respondents were disease (26%) and malnutrition (18%) during dry season. In conclusion, the study finds that regular and proper medication in addition to supplementing feeds can assist by reducing mortality rates and enhancing productivity.

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“…In this zone there are two types of farms; privately-owned commercial farms [2] and communally owned village farms with customary tenure. The latter "semi-commercial" village farms are set-up in the same way as communal village farms north of the VCF but have access to high-value commercial and overseas markets [6,7]. The line of these two systems is also blurred by the resettlement freehold farms where the Namibian government buys farms from commercial farmers and resettle people mostly from communal areas.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing Extensive Semi-Arid Rangeland Beef Cow-Calf Welfare in Namibia: Part 1: Comparison between farm production system’s effect on the welfare of beef cows

Kaurivi¹,

Laven²,

Parkinson³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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A proposed animal welfare assessment protocol for semi-arid rangeland-based cow-calf systems in Namibia combined 40 measures from a protocol developed for beef cattle in New Zealand with additional Namibia-specific measures. Preliminary validation of the protocol had been undertaken with five herds in one semi-commercial village. The aim of the current study was to apply this protocol and compare animal welfare across three cow-calf production systems in Namibia. A total of 2529 beef cows were evaluated during pregnancy testing in the yards of 17 commercial, 20 semi-commercial and 18 communal (total: 55) herds followed by an assessment of farm resources and a questionnaire-guided interview. Non-parametric tests were used to evaluate the difference in the welfare scores between the production systems. The results indicated a discrepancy of animal welfare between the three farm types, with a marked separation of commercial farms from semi-commercial, and communal village farms in the least. The differences in these production systems was mainly driven by economic gains through access to better beef export market for commercial farms and semi-commercial villages, as well as by the differences in the available grazing land, facility designs/quality and traditional customs in the village systems. The results indicate an advantage of commercialisation over communalisation.

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Performance, management and objectives of cattle farming on communal ranges in Namibia

Cited by 10 publications

References 26 publications

Improved Cattle Production Parameter Drivers Among Farmers in Mpumalanga Province of South Africa

Improved Cattle Production Parameter Drivers Among Farmers in Mpumalanga Province of South Africa

Management practices and constraints of beef cattle production in communal areas of Mpumalanga Province, South Africa

Assessing Extensive Semi-Arid Rangeland Beef Cow-Calf Welfare in Namibia: Part 1: Comparison between farm production system’s effect on the welfare of beef cows

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