Communal Grazing Lands Research Articles

Grass composition and rangeland condition of the major grazing areas in the mid Rift Valley, Ethiopia

A range inventory and condition study was conducted in three altitude zones: lowland (1500-1700m), medium altitude (1700-2000m), and highland (2000-2500m). Each altitude zone was stratified into four or five important grazing areas. One area represented lightly grazed government ranches or parks which were used as benchmarks, another area represented the seasonal grazing areas with an intermediate grazing pressure and the remaining were the heavily grazed roadsides, lakeshores and other communal grazing lands. The range condition assessment was based on the composition of the herbaceous layer, basal cover, litter cover, relative number of seedlings, age distribution of grasses, soil erosion and soil compaction. Dry matter was sampled in the mid-wet season to assess the relationship between available dry matter and range condition. A total of 36 grass species, 3 legume species, 2 sedge species, 15 other herbs and 31 species of trees were identified. The palatable Cenchrus ciliaris was dominant in the benchmarks and seasonally grazed areas of the lowland while Hyparrhenia spp. dominated in the same areas of the medium altitude. Cynodon dactylon, and the non-palatable Eleusine floccifolia and Pennisetum schimperi were dominant on heavily grazed areas of the lowland, medium altitude and highland, respectively. The total score for range condition of the benchmarks (34 out of 50 points), was significantly higher than that of the seasonally grazed areas (26), the heavily grazed communal grazing areas (19), roadsides (16) and lakeshores (17) (P<0.05). The highlands showed a higher score for benchmarks and seasonally grazed areas only. There was a significant linear relationship between available dry matter of grasses and range condition (excluding unpalatable pioneer grasses, r2 = 0.56, P<0.01). Seasonally grazed areas were identified as key sites for pasture improvement since these are privately owned and managed. Pasture improvement will reduce the grazing pressure on the heavily grazed roadsides, lakeshores and other communally grazed areas.

FACTORS AFFECTING THE PRODUCTIVITY OF COMMUNAL AND PRIVATE LIVESTOCK FARMERS IN SOUTHERN BOTSWANA: A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS OF SAMPLE SURVEY RESULTS

This article compares herd productivity, levels of investment and socio-economic characteristics of communal and private livestock farmers sampled in the southern region of Botswana during 1999/2000. The object is to determine whether land tenure and other socio-economic variables might contribute to differences in investment and herd productivity. Descriptive statistics show that levels of investment and herd productivity are higher on private farms than on open-access communal grazing. Private farmers are also better educated, more liquid, and have larger herd sizes, but do not differ from their communal counterparts in terms of age, gender, race or household size. Levels of investment in fixed improvements and operating inputs are negatively correlated with herd mortality, and positively correlated with calving and off-take rates, and with liquidity and private ownership of land. While these findings appear to support Botswana's agricultural policy of privatising some communal grazing land to individual farm households or to small, organized groups of farmers, it is clear that land tenure is not the only variable of policy interest. A more rigorous analysis of the data is required to untangle the causes of observed differences in herd productivity and investment.

SPECIAL SECTION: LAND USE OPTIONS IN DRY TROPICAL WOODLAND ECOSYSTEMS IN ZIMBABWE: Economic comparisons of livestock production in communal grazing lands in Zimbabwe

During the last decade a ‘new rangeland science’ has emerged. One of the tenets of the new science is that pastoralists should not adhere to a single conservative stocking rate, but rather adopt an opportunistic strategy, where numbers will fluctuate widely in response to good and bad seasons. It is further argued that opportunistic strategies give higher economic returns compared to strategies based on conservative stocking rates. In the current paper we compare the economics of four cattle management scenarios. The analysis is based on a simulation model of the fluctuation over time of animal numbers, outputs and prices, using data from field surveys and the literature. Our results suggest that strategies based on conservative stocking rates would have higher net present values than strategies based on opportunistic stocking rates. Previous analyses have failed to account for losses due to drought and the costs of capital tied up in livestock, and the analyses have tended to compare commercial with communal production rather than considering different kinds of small holder production methods. To receive the full benefits of destocking, however, a decision to destock has to be made at the level of the community, as the benefits of improved outputs can only be achieved if the stocking rates of the communal grazing lands are reduced. Making collective decisions about managing numbers is a process with considerable transaction costs, and thus the likelihood of new institutions emerging are lessened. It is surprising that a tight tracking scenario (where numbers of cattle are managed by purchasing and selling so as to maintain numbers in equilibrium with the available feed resources) is being recommended in the most recent literature. Our results suggest that such a system would come with considerable economic losses. The costs of a current programme to reclaim small dams illustrate the environmental costs of the opportunistic scenario. A tight tracking policy is likely to further increase environmental degradation and its associated costs. We identify several serious flaws in the papers that elevate opportunistic pastoral systems as giving higher economic returns than other systems.

Cents and Sociability: Household Income and Social Capital in Rural Tanzania

In this article we show that associational relationships and social norms of villages in rural Tanzania are both capital and social. After outlining the various concepts of social capital we tell how and why we created data on social capital using a large-scale household survey in rural Tanzania that was designed to query households about their social connections and attitudes. By using the Social Capital and Poverty Survey (SCPS) and data from a different survey, which also had information on incomes, we show that a village’s social capital has an effect on the incomes of the households in that village, an effect that is empirically large, definitely social, and plausibly causal. Finally, we use the two data sets to examine a number of proximate channels through which social capital appears to operate.

Changes in woody community structure and composition under constrasting landuse systems in a semi‐arid savanna, South Africa

SummaryWe aimed to explore the farm scale effects of three landuse types, communal grazing, wildlife management and commercial cattle farming, on the woody vegetation of a semiarid savanna. Location The study farms were located within a single bioclimatic zone in semiarid savanna, South Africa. Methods The species composition and structure of woody vegetation on three farms of each of three landuse types were sampled. Results We found that communal grazing land sites were classified outside the topland‐bottomland vegetation dichotomy characteristic of this region. Comparisons of size class distributions showed the communal grazing lands had fewer small and large individuals; suggesting both lower levels of regeneration and regenerative capacity in the communal grazing lands. The species richness and biomass of woody plants was lower on communal grazing lands than on private game reserves and commercial cattle farms. The longevity of tree species explains the observed lag between changes in abundance and species loss; we consequently predict that there will be future losses of species in the communal grazing lands. By classifying species into a range of use‐categories we showed that utilization and species loss was not limited to certain plant use categories. Higher levels of wood harvesting measured in the communal grazing lands are likely to be responsible for the observed differences. Main conclusions It is concluded that communal grazing management at this study site has substantially changed the composition and structure of woody plant communities, and that these changes have reduced the current availability of natural resources and will reduce resource production in the future.

Resilience of South African communal grazing lands after the removal of high grazing pressure

A paired site study was conducted of communally grazed eutrophic and dystrophic grasslands and adjacent ungrazed areas of varying periods of exclusion from communal grazing. This allowed determination of the rate and extent of change of a number of vegetation and soil variables following the removal of high and continuous grazing pressure characteristic of communal lands. Similarity indices for grass species composition between the grazed and adjacent ungrazed areas showed a significant exponential decrease with increasing time since protection from continuous grazing. Most change in grass species composition occurred within four to nine years of protection from communal grazing in eutrophic grasslands, and in six to nine years in dystrophic grasslands. In both grassland types palatability increased with time since protection. In eutrophic sites the abundance of perennials showed a significant increase with time since protection, while the abundance of annuals showed a concomitant decrease. This relationship was not evident in dystrophic grasslands. Grass species diversity, basal cover and density showed no relationship with time since protection in the eutrophic sites, but a general increase with time since protection was found in dystrophic sites. Soil bulk density, field capacity, pH and soil nutrients showed no evidence of a relationship with time since protection for either grassland type, while soil porosity increased significantly with time since protection at eutrophic sites, but not dystrophic sites. These relatively rapid changes following the removal of the high grazing pressure indicate that these systems are characterized by relatively high resilience. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Resilience of South African communal grazing lands after the removal of high grazing pressure

A paired site study was conducted of communally grazed eutrophic and dystrophic grasslands and adjacent ungrazed areas of varying periods of exclusion from communal grazing. This allowed determination of the rate and extent of change of a number of vegetation and soil variables following the removal of high and continuous grazing pressure characteristic of communal lands. Similarity indices for grass species composition between the grazed and adjacent ungrazed areas showed a significant exponential decrease with increasing time since protection from continuous grazing. Most change in grass species composition occurred within four to nine years of protection from communal grazing in eutrophic grasslands, and in six to nine years in dystrophic grasslands. In both grassland types palatability increased with time since protection. In eutrophic sites the abundance of perennials showed a significant increase with time since protection, while the abundance of annuals showed a concomitant decrease. This relationship was not evident in dystrophic grasslands. Grass species diversity, basal cover and density showed no relationship with time since protection in the eutrophic sites, but a general increase with time since protection was found in dystrophic sites. Soil bulk density, field capacity, pH and soil nutrients showed no evidence of a relationship with time since protection for either grassland type, while soil porosity increased significantly with time since protection at eutrophic sites, but not dystrophic sites. These relatively rapid changes following the removal of the high grazing pressure indicate that these systems are characterized by relatively high resilience. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Livestock Species Composition and Herd Size in Relation to Household Farm Resources in Mixed Farming Systems in the Ethiopian Highlands

This paper summarizes the relationships between farming family size, food crop production, land and livestock holding of smallholder farmers in mixed farming systems in the Ethiopian highlands. The findings show farming family size, among all the factors studied, to be the single most important factor affecting herd size. Area cultivated and quantity of grain produced were limited only by landholding size. As farm sizes were small, owning animals for traction did not make a difference in the area cultivated and quantity of grain produced. As livestock production in the study area predominantly depends on communal grazing lands, livestock holdings were not influenced by individual landholding or grazing land size. Thus, land size can be a deceptive criterion for identifying small-scale farmers for livestock-related studies and projects, especially where farmers employ extensive methods of livestock production.

Encroaching woody plant species and boreholes: is cattle density the main driving factor in the Olifants Drift communal grazing lands, south-eastern Botswana?

Fifteen environmental variables, among them cattle density (hereafter ‘pressure index’), were measured along grazing gradients of eight boreholes at Olifants Drift in south-eastern Botswana. The aim was to investigate whether cattle density, among other variables, had any direct relationship with the occurrence of bush-encroaching woody plant species. This is important because high cattle densities in the communal rangelands of Botswana have been held responsible for the increasing dominance of woody encroachers. On the basis of thet-values and the variance inflation factors (VIF) obtained from CANOCO (canonical community ordination) programme, four environmental variables were retained as significantly influencing woody plant species composition along the grazing gradients: cattle density, soil nitrogen, distance from borehole and tree cover. The retained variables were forward-selected in a regression and cattle density explained most (33%) of the variance out of the total 60% explained by the four variables. Woody plant species associated with high cattle density were also found on high nitrogen sites, and these were thorny plant species that have been previously classified as encroachers. Therefore, high cattle density around boreholes is associated with bush-encroaching woody plant species. High cattle density is also likely to be found around natural water points (pans and wells), rivers and kraals, hence encroaching woody plant species are likely to dominate in such places. Shifting of the high cattle density foci (boreholes, wells, kraals, etc.) is likely to result in most of the grazing pasture being composed of the encroaching woody plant species at the expense of the non-encroaching woody plant species.

Soil erosion and indigenous land management: some socio-economic considerations

The problem of soil erosion in Swaziland is reviewed in the context of land management of communal grazing lands. Aspects of farm operations, cropping patterns and range management are considered in a typical Swazi traditional land management scenario. The location of farm plots, existing land tenure arrangements, farmers' awareness of the erosion problem and available expert advice on land management are analysed in the context of results of a questionnaire survey. It is concluded that land tenure conditions constrain land management, while the social stigma on livestock ownership and limited advice on soil conservation constrain positive measures toward erosion control. Most constraints are beyond the control of individual land users.

Econometric analysis of private access to communal grazing lands in South Africa: A case study of Ciskei

Private access to communal grazing land promotes economic efficiency in the utilization of grazing resources. At the same time the social costs are low. In this study probit analysis is used to identify personal attributed distinguishing stockowners with private access to grazing land from those operating under conditions of communal grazing. The study shows that the probability of gaining private access to grazing land is skewed in favour of stockholders who exercise more influence with tribal authorities responsible for allocating land, an indication that customary allocation of land rights is perhaps less equitable than a market allocation. Policy recommendations include privatization of grazing land with an efficient rental market likely to solve the problem of overstocking, low investment and also efficient and equitable distribution of land.

Are the communal grazing lands in need of saving?

The condition, productivity and profitability of the communal grasslands in the southern African ‘homelands’ are assessed by review of the published data. There is very little empirical data from the communal grasslands themselves. These data, supported by other circumstantial evidence, do not support the often‐held notion that the communal grasslands are severely degraded and beyond recovery. This is especially so for the moist and mesic areas of southern Africa. Results from the arid areas are variable.

Fuelwood harvesting and sustainable utilisation in a communal grazing land and protected area of the eastern transvaal lowveld

The species composition and woody standing crop was determined for two adjacent sites of contrasting management history in the eastern Transvaal Lowveld—a communal land that has been subject to wood harvesting for several decades and an adjacent unharvested site. Results indicated a significant loss of species richness in the harvested site. Total woody standing crop was little altered despite the long history of harvesting pressure. However, the amount of dead wood was significantly reduced in the harvested site. No adverse effects of such biomass removal were detected. Harvesters actively selected or avoided particular species and size classes.

Use of crop residues and agro-industrial by-products in ruminant production systems in developing countries

AbstractRuminant production systems in developing countries could be classified into three categories: the extensive systems, systems incorporating arable cropping and systems integrated with tree cropping. Systems have evolved in response to the agro-ecological environment, the availability and type of land, nature of cropping patterns, frequency and intensity of cropping, area of uncultivated land and animal species and animal numbers.Smallholder livestock farmers in most developing countries appear to have adopted a mixed system that incorporates the traditional extensive system and the system that combines arable cropping with livestock. Both in Africa and in Asia, livestock production is an important component of traditional agriculture, complementing arable cropping. Livestock utilize existing food resources such as communal grazing lands which are marginal for arable cropping, crop residues and agro-industrial by-products. Besides supplying meat and milk, organic manure and draft power, livestock are an investment and an insurance against crop failure.Crop residues and agro-industrial by-products are a major source of nutrients for ruminant livestock in developing countries, especially during periods of fodder shortage. Despite the large research effort on upgrading crop residues in recent years, there has been little improvement in the utilization of crop residues in developing countries. Reasons for this are many but include, the absence of detailed production patterns of crop residues within countries, including when and where they are produced, the difficulties of transporting and storing crop residues, inappropriate technology and the near absence of extension services.Both in the African and Asian continents, smallholder farmers who rear livestock for supplementary income are rather reluctant to change their traditional practices, when new technologies call for extra labour, time and capital, since the methods may be too demanding in relation to the benefit produced. The more likely application of any new technology will be with larger-scale operations where benefits are clearer and sufficiently large to warrant the extra efforts.