Sustainable smallholder livestock systems: A case study of Limpopo Province, South Africa

Stroebel, Aldo; Swanepoel, F. J. C.; Pell, Alice N.

doi:10.1016/j.livsci.2011.03.004

Cited by 26 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…We were however unable to quantify embryonic loss, abortion or stillbirths; neither could we directly estimate the role of disease, if any, in reproduction. Studies in the vicinity of our central and northern sites have reported 20-23% calves in the population with lower proportions observed in drier years (Swanepoel et al, 2000;Mahabile et al, 2005, Stroebel et al, 2011, which is similar to our findings in the central site.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…Off-take rates recorded during our study are slightly elevated when compared with other studies (Mukhebi et al, 1991;Rocha et al, 1991;Scoones, 1992b;Swanepoel et al, 2000;Shackleton et al, 2005;Mahabile et al, 2005;Stroebel et al, 2011). In the South, where there is high local demand, slaughter rates were correspondingly high; however, the off-take often surpassed what natural production could replace, hence the net import of animals to IPs observed there.…”

Section: Articlecontrasting

confidence: 61%

“…This comes at a potential cost, since highly fertile cows that do conceive during these difficult years often succumb due to the nutritional strain demanded by pregnancy or lactation, a situation that effectively selects against higher fertility (Moyo, 1996;Swanepoel et al, 2000;Desta and Coppock, 2002;Stroebel, 2004;Stroebel et al, 2008). Since our calving rates are based on the entire herd, not just the cows, it is difficult to compare our results directly to comparable figures published, although studies in areas similar to our study sites suggest that the cow proportion of herds is approximately 50% (Swanepoel et al, 2000;Shackleton et al, 2005;Stroebel et al, 2011). If so, our calving rates are very similar to what others have reported in communal herds (Behnke Jr., 1985;Rocha et al, 1991;Nthakheni, 2006;Angassa and Oba, 2007;Ba et al, 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

“…Livestock have the further advantage over crops that they can be utilised at any time during the year (Vandamme et al, 2010). Although a number of studies have been conducted within the communal livestock farming area along the western boundary of the KNP (Swanepoel et al, 2000;Dovie et al, 2003Dovie et al, , 2006Shackleton et al, 2005;Nthakheni, 2006;Stroebel et al, 2008Stroebel et al, , 2011, none of these considered the heterogeneity within the larger area explicitly, since they mainly focused on individual communities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Heterogeneity in a communal cattle-farming system in a zone endemic for foot and mouth disease in South Africa

Schalkwyk¹,

Clercq²,

Pus³

et al. 2016

Geospat Health

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In South Africa, communal livestock farming is predominant in the foot and mouth disease control zone adjacent to the Greater Kruger National Park (KNP), where infected African buffaloes are common.During routine veterinary inspections of cattle in this area, a large amount of production and demographic parameters were being recorded. These data were collated for a five-year period (2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007) in three study sites to better understand the temporal dynamics and spatial heterogeneity in this system. A decreasing gradient from South to North with respect to both human and cattle population densities was observed. Rainfall and human population density alone could explain 71% of the variation in cattle density. Northern and central sites showed an overall decrease in total cattle numbers (15.1 and 2.9%, respectively), whereas a 28.6% increase was recorded in the South. The number of cattle owners in relation to cattle numbers remained stable during the study period. Only 4.0% of households in the South own cattle, compared to 13.7 and 12.7% in the North and Centre. The overall annual calving rate was 23.8%. Annual mortality rates ranged from 2.4 to 3.2%. Low calf mortality (2.1%) was recorded in the North compared to the South (11.6%). Annual off-take in the form of slaughter averaged 0.2, 11.7, and 11.0% in the North, Central and South sites, respectively. These figures provide valuable baseline data and demonstrate considerable spatial heterogeneity in cattle demography and production at this wildlife-livestock interface, which should be taken into consideration when performing disease risk assessments or designing disease control systems. IntroductionA large area next to the Kruger National Park (KNP) and its adjoining private and provincial nature reserves (APNR) in South Africa, is used for communal farming of both livestock and crops. Although the World Animal Health Organisation (OIE) considers South Africa to be free from the foot and mouth disease (FMD) in areas where vaccination is practised, the KNP and APNR are endemic for FMD (Brückner et al., 2002;Vosloo et al., 2002;Scoones et al., 2010), and this is due to the presence of the reservoir host of the disease, the African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) (Vosloo et al., 2006). To this end, a fence was erected around the KNP in the 1960s (Joubert, 2007;Scoones et al., 2010), and compulsory, weekly cattle inspections and bi-to tri-annual vaccination against FMD takes place at government livestock inspection points (IPs) within the area directly adjacent to the infected zone (the so-called protection zone with vaccination). Livestock in the remainder of the protection zone (protection zone without vaccinaCorrespondence: Ockert Louis van Schalkwyk, Office of the State

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Articlecontrasting

confidence: 61%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Heterogeneity in a communal cattle-farming system in a zone endemic for foot and mouth disease in South Africa

Schalkwyk¹,

Clercq²,

Pus³

et al. 2016

Geospat Health

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“…Livestock and crop farming are the major forms of agriculture in the province of Limpopo in South Africa, with communal cattle farming enterprises comprising approximately 50% of farming in remote areas of Vhembe district. Production, however, is primarily for subsistence purposes with little marketable surplus (Stroebel et al, 2011;Mafukata, 2014;2015). Furthermore, the livestock animals (cattle, goats and sheep) in the Vhembe district still show clear signs of past inbreeding, which results in low production.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Viability of bull semen extended with commercial semen extender and two culture media stored at 24 °C

Raseona¹,

Ajao²,

Nethengwe³

et al. 2017

SA J. An. Sci.

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The aim of this study was to evaluate the viability of bull spermatozoa diluted with commercial semen extender and two culture media stored at controlled room temperature (24 °C) for 72 hours. Two Nguni bulls were used for semen collection with the aid of an electro-ejaculator. After macroscopic evaluation, semen was pooled and aliquoted randomly into Triladyl, modified Ham's F10, and TCM-199 culture media, and then stored at 24 °C. Sperm motility parameters, morphology, and viability were analysed with computer aided sperm analysis (CASA) after 0, 24, 48 and 72 hours. The study was replicated four times, and data were analysed using analysis of variance (ANOVA). Triladyl had significantly higher sperm viability rate (41.3%) and total motility rate (96.3%) for 72 hours than modified Ham's F10 (86.8%; 26.5%) and TCM-199 (76.7%; 25.0%) culture media. Ham's F10 had higher progressive motility rate (37.8%) than the other extenders TCM-199 (31.7%) and Triladyl (23.4%). There was no significant difference in viability rate between Ham's F10 (26.5%) and TCM-199 (25.0 %) after 72 hours' storage at 24 °C. Furthermore, no significant difference was observed in total sperm abnormalities, except for reacted acrosomes and absent tails, between the two Nguni bulls. Nguni semen can be preserved in Triladyl or modified Ham's F10 and TCM-199 culture media, stored at 24 °C, and stay viable for 72 hours.

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Feed Gaps Among Cattle Keepers in Semiarid and Arid Southern African Regions: A Case Study in the Limpopo Province, South Africa

Lamega,

Klinck,

Komainda

et al. 2024

Ecological Studies

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Rural livestock farmers in the semiarid and arid areas of Southern Africa face large uncertainties due to a high intraseasonal and year-to-year variability in rainfall patterns which affect forage resources. Creating resilient communal livestock farming systems will require the understanding of feed gaps as perceived by livestock farmers as well as an assessment of available feed resources. In this chapter, we estimated the annual feed balance (i.e., forage supply minus forage demand) based on statistical data and described the perception of feed gaps across 122 livestock farmers in Limpopo province, South Africa. In addition, we analyzed available feed and soil resources during the dry season across land use types. We found a negative feed balance, an indication of feed gaps for livestock farms, mainly during the winter and spring seasons. Farmers perceived a combination of factors such as drought, infrastructure, capital, and access to land as the major causes of feed gaps. Furthermore, our analyses of feed and soil resources point to low crude protein (e.g., ~5% in rangeland biomass) and poor soil nutrient contents (e.g., %N < 0.1). To support rural policies and improve the performance of communal livestock systems, there is a need to combine the most appropriate site-specific options in optimizing the feed supply.

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Sustainable smallholder livestock systems: A case study of Limpopo Province, South Africa

Cited by 26 publications

References 10 publications

Heterogeneity in a communal cattle-farming system in a zone endemic for foot and mouth disease in South Africa

Heterogeneity in a communal cattle-farming system in a zone endemic for foot and mouth disease in South Africa

Viability of bull semen extended with commercial semen extender and two culture media stored at 24 °C

Feed Gaps Among Cattle Keepers in Semiarid and Arid Southern African Regions: A Case Study in the Limpopo Province, South Africa

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