Ranchers or pastoralists? Farm size, specialisation and production strategy amongst cattle farmers in south-eastern Kazakhstan

Sarah Robinson,Nozilakhon Mukhamedova,Zhanyl Bozayeva,Nodir Djanibekov,Martin Petrick

doi:10.1186/s13570-021-00217-1

Abstract

Against the global trend towards sedentary, specialised and feed-intensive cattle farming, we explore current patterns of production in Kazakhstan’s traditionally nomadic livestock sector. Experts see considerable potential for output expansion, and the government hopes to promote the sector as an alternative to revenues from hydrocarbons. Which production systems emerge will determine the use of the country’s vast pastoral resources, patterns of economic contribution from livestock and future greenhouse gas emissions. We focus on the beef sector, using original survey data and interviews from south-eastern Kazakhstan to compare rural households and farms by production strategy, generated using cluster analysis from data on livestock holdings, fodder provision and grazing. We examine in particular the relationships between farm size and the characteristics identified. We find that, rather than being specialised and intensive, larger farms tend to be highly diversified in terms of stock species, are more mobile and provide fewer supplements per head than smaller farms. Winter pastures appear to be a key resource associated with larger operations. Many large farms provide fodder mainly as low-quality roughage, although a subset with better access to cropland provide higher quality rations and fatten cattle before sale. Medium-sized farms lack either winter pasture bases or cropland for growing supplements, but proximity to markets enables some to compensate through fodder purchases. Inability to access government support, available only to large farms, hampers their expansion. Farmers’ professional background, distance from markets and environmental conditions are all associated with the production systems observed. In terms of policy, high transaction costs associated with leaseholds and lack of transferability between farmers impede access to land. Current pasture access mechanisms and institutions almost entirely exclude small farms and households. Changes in these systems, combined with infrastructure development, may bring economic, social and environmental benefits for the livestock sector and rural communities.

Highlights

The global intensification of livestock production systems has been associated with significant gains in productivity and efficiency over the past 50 years (Davis et al 2015, Herrero et al 2015)
This paper looks at the relative extents to which intensive, sedentary and specialised farming or mobile extensive production systems characterise beef production in south-eastern Kazakhstan, focusing in particular on relationships between farm size and the different feeding and husbandry strategies identified
principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis Five components with an eigenvalue above one were obtained, explaining more than 85% of the total variance in input variables (Supplementary materials 2, Table A2.1, A2.2). These components could be identified as axes broadly representing (i) scale, (ii) purchase of concentrate, (iii) self-production of roughage, (iv) use of remote pasture and (v) access to cropland and self-production of concentrate

Summary

Introduction

The global intensification of livestock production systems has been associated with significant gains in productivity and efficiency over the past 50 years (Davis et al 2015, Herrero et al 2015). Many arid regions of the developing world are characterised by mobile grazing systems, exploiting seasonal and spatial differences in vegetation to maximise nutrition from natural pastures over the year and minimising the purchase of expensive inputs Many of these are sedentarising and intensifying through replacement of seasonal pastures with cut fodder or feed and introduction of a fattening phase before slaughter. Drivers of such changes include new property rights systems, fragmentation of grazing systems due to land use change, and increasing market orientation (Behnke 2008, Dong et al 2011, Reid et al 2014). Livestock owners in arid and risky environments are finding ways to maintain mobile forms of livestock production for these reasons (Behnke 2021, Huntsinger et al 2010, McAllister et al 2006)

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