Abstract
The objective of this study was to examine the characteristics of small-scale livestock production systems in some communal areas of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. The parameters surveyed include sex, age, educational and marital status of the farmers, types of livestock raised and production system practiced. The study revealed that mixed crop-livestock production systems were dominant in the study area. Majority of the respondents (72.4%) were male and approximately 59% of the older male farmers were more than 70 years old with the highest mean flock size of 86. A total of 62% of these farmers had basic education and a mean family size of 5.9±3.0. Most of the sheep farmers (70.9%) bought their foundation stock, but 6.5% of them obtained theirs through bride price (lobola). Generally, livestock species owned by the respondents were sheep (71.8%), poultry (12.9%), cattle (7.7%), goats (4.4%), dogs (1.3%), pigs (0.6%) and others (1.3%). Family labour is mostly used for animal management and herding, being done by men (65%) and boys (30%), respectively. The natural veld provides highest feed resource base for the animals and almost all the respondents provide night shelter for their sheep, in the kraal that is adjacent to the main family house. The prevalence of gall sickness was ranked the highest (22.1%) among the diseases and parasites affecting sheep. While 80% of the respondents treated their animals with stock remedies, a very low proportion of them (3.4%) adopts an integrated approach of using commercial drugs and local herbs or call animal health technicians to treat sick animals. Key words: Gall-sickness, herd size, characteristics, sheep farming.
Highlights
Livestock farming is one of the most viable agricultural activities in South Africa where approximately 69% of the agricultural land are being used for extensive grazing on natural veld (Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) (2012), Fayemi and Muchenje, 2014)
The Eastern Cape Province (ECP) consists of rural areas with more than 80% of its population involved in livestock integrated production systems
It was observed that the majority (72.4%) of sheep farming households were headed by married persons
Summary
Livestock farming is one of the most viable agricultural activities in South Africa where approximately 69% of the agricultural land are being used for extensive grazing on natural veld (Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) (2012), Fayemi and Muchenje, 2014). The Eastern Cape Province (ECP) consists of rural areas with more than 80% of its population involved in livestock integrated production systems Livestock farming in communal grazing areas of the ECP of South Africa is mostly subsistence in nature and characterised by low inputs. In the communal areas of the ECP, it is fully integrated mixed units consisting of cattle, sheep and goats. Crop-livestock integration is a means of risk avoidance during crop failure and cultural functions during festivals (Kosgey et al, 2008)
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