Smallholder Cattle Research Articles

Determinants of smallholder cattle farmers’ access to high-value cattle markets in the Ngaka Modiri Molema District, South Africa

The objective of this study was to determine factors affecting smallholder cattle farmers’ participation in high-value cattle markets in the Ngaka Modiri Molema District, South Africa. A total of 109 smallholder cattle farmers were randomly selected and interviewed by using structured questionnaire. Descriptive and probit regression analysis were performed using the Statistical Package for Social Science. The results revealed that the majority of the farmers: were males, married, not formally educated, had less than 10years of cattle farming experience, did not participate in the most rewarding channels, used informal markets, received higher prices from the cattle markets nearer and regularly used. The statistically significant variables found to influence the cattle farmers’ participation in the high value formal markets from the probit regression analyses were number of heifers (Z=2.742: Sig. 0.006), keep farm-records (Z=2.611: Sig. 0.009), years in cattle farming (Z=-2.451: Sig. 0.014), and slaughtering cattle and selling as carcass (Z=-1.899: Sig. 0.054)

Indicator-based sustainability assessment of the smallholder beef cattle production system in South Africa

ABSTRACTNinety-five farmers were involved in deriving a set of social, environmental, and economic sustainability indicators, which were used to assess sustainability of the smallholder cattle production system in Ncorha and Gxwalibomvu communities in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The derived indicators were scored on a 5-point Likert-type scale and aggregated to provide a net sustainability score. Net sustainability scores were grouped into three categories; non-sustainable (<33%), partially sustainable (33–65%), and sustainable (>65%). Aggregate sustainability scores showed that the smallholder cattle production system in Ncorha and Gxwalibomvu, respectively, was socially (48.2% and 56.6%) and environmentally (54.2% and 57%) partially sustainable, but economically (15.7% and 10.8%) non-sustainable. Aggregate scores of the two communities (Ncorha, 37% and Gxwalibomvu, 41.0%) indicated that they were both partially sustainable. Holistic agroecological interventions and institutional support have the potential to improve the economic dimension of sustainability while simultaneously maintaining or improving the social and environmental dimensions. Adoption of agroecological interventions can be facilitated through farmer field schools.

Short communication: Genomic selection in a crossbred cattle population using data from the Dairy Genetics East Africa Project

Due to the absence of accurate pedigree information, it has not been possible to implement genetic evaluations for crossbred cattle in African small-holder systems. Genomic selection techniques that do not rely on pedigree information could, therefore, be a useful alternative. The objective of this study was to examine the feasibility of using genomic selection techniques in a crossbred cattle population using data from Kenya provided by the Dairy Genetics East Africa Project. Genomic estimated breeding values for milk yield were estimated using 2 prediction methods, GBLUP and BayesC, and accuracies were calculated as the correlation between yield deviations and genomic breeding values included in the estimation process, mimicking the situation for young bulls. The accuracy of evaluation ranged from 0.28 to 0.41, depending on the validation population and prediction method used. No significant differences were found in accuracy between the 2 prediction methods. The results suggest that there is potential for implementing genomic selection for young bulls in crossbred small-holder cattle populations, and targeted genotyping and phenotyping should be pursued to facilitate this.

English

This study was done to determine the influence of herd mortality on off-take rates through face to face interviews of 308 smallholder cattle producers from Dr RSM District Municipality, North West. Most deaths were caused by diseases (50%) and drought (34%). Producer&rsquo;s gender had no influence on herd performance and off-take even though extension ward with higher proportion of women had higher mortality and lower off-take rates. The sale of steers decreased significantly (P&lt;0.05) as the death of adult animals as well as that of the overall herd increased. Herd off-take also declined as mortality of suckling calves as well as that for overall herd, increased. Herd mortality logically reduces stock and therefore suppresses sales. It is recommended that herd mortality should be monitored through animal recording to improve the competitiveness of small-holder production systems. &nbsp; Key words: Adult mortality rates, causes of death, cattle producers.

Absolute Quantification of the Host-To-Parasite DNA Ratio in Theileria parva-Infected Lymphocyte Cell Lines.

Theileria parva is a tick-transmitted intracellular apicomplexan pathogen of cattle in sub-Saharan Africa that causes East Coast fever (ECF). ECF is an acute fatal disease that kills over one million cattle annually, imposing a tremendous burden on African small-holder cattle farmers. The pathology and level of T. parva infections in its wildlife host, African buffalo (Syncerus caffer), and in cattle are distinct. We have developed an absolute quantification method based on quantitative PCR (qPCR) in which recombinant plasmids containing single copy genes specific to the parasite (apical membrane antigen 1 gene, ama1) or the host (hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase 1, hprt1) are used as the quantification reference standards. Our study shows that T. parva and bovine cells are present in similar numbers in T. parva-infected lymphocyte cell lines and that consequently, due to its much smaller genome size, T. parva DNA comprises between 0.9% and 3% of the total DNA samples extracted from these lines. This absolute quantification assay of parasite and host genome copy number in a sample provides a simple and reliable method of assessing T. parva load in infected bovine lymphocytes, and is accurate over a wide range of host-to-parasite DNA ratios. Knowledge of the proportion of target DNA in a sample, as enabled by this method, is essential for efficient high-throughput genome sequencing applications for a variety of intracellular pathogens. This assay will also be very useful in future studies of interactions of distinct host-T. parva stocks and to fully characterize the dynamics of ECF infection in the field.

Is cross-breeding of cattle beneficial for the environment? The case of mixed farming systems in Central Java, Indonesia

SummaryCross-breeding with European beef breeds has become a standard approach for the intensification of smallholder cattle production in Indonesia. This study assessed the environmental impact of cross-breeding, in terms of Global Warming Potential (GWP) and land use. We sampled 90 local Ongole and 162 cross-bred (Simmental × Ongole) cattle farms in four study areas. Expressed per kilogram of live weight of young stock produced, GWP (26.9 kg CO2–equivalents) and land use (34.2 m2) of farms with Ongole breeding stock were not significantly different from the GWP (28.9 kg CO2–equivalents) and land use (37.4 m2) of cross-bred farms. Cross-bred young stock grew faster, but in general cross-bred cattle required more feed. In the current smallholder production system, the dominant cross-breeding practice of using Simmental semen on Ongole andF1cross-bred cows does not result in lower greenhouse gas emissions or land use per kilogram of live weight produced compared with farms with Ongole cows. The advantage from the faster growth of cross-breds is counteracted by the higher emissions from feed production for cross-breds.

Characterization of Smallholder Cattle Milk Production System in Aleta Chukko District, Southern Ethiopia

The study was conducted at Aleta Chukko district, Southern Ethiopia with the objective of characterizing smallholder cattle milk production system. A single-visit multiple-subject formal survey was used to collect data on milk production system from a total of 100 households. For this purpose, six kebeles were selected using purposive sampling method, while households from each kebele were selected randomly. Local indigenous zebu cattle breed dominated cattle population in the study area (95.6%). The major purposes of cattle rearing in the district was for milk production (72%), income generation (17%), fertilizer, social value and saving purposes (11%). Milking, milk processing, barn cleaning and sale of dairy products were mainly performed by women while live animal marketing and stall feeding were performed by a husband. Majority of households kept their animals in the same house in the family house (89%). Communal grazing and stall feeding were feeding systems practiced in the study area. River water, well water and tape water were used as a source of water for the cattle. About 91% of farmers used only natural mating system with a bull available in the area. Average lactation length of local and crossbred cows was 9.93 ± 0.2 and 10.61 ± 0.4 months with mean calving interval of 19.93 ± 0.2 and 21.7 ± 0.3 respectively. The overall mean daily milk yield of local and crossbred cows was 1.45 and 4.69 liters, respectively. Shortage of grazing land, diseases and parasites, inadequate veterinary services and low milk production potential of indigenous cattle were major constraints of cattle production in the district. Put together, milk production in Aleta Chukko district is subsistence type despite of its great role in consumption and income generation.

Determinants of herd size among small-scale cattle farmers: the case of selected villages at the Mhinga Traditional Authority in Limpopo, South Africa

ABSTRACTThis study employed a negative binomial model to analyse determinants of herd size among smallholder cattle farmers in the villages of the Mhinga Traditional Authority (TA) in Limpopo province. Contrary to the popular belief that rural households in developing countries generally own large herds of livestock for social reasons, communal livestock farmers in the study area who kept livestock for social reasons were found to own smaller herd sizes of cattle. This particular finding indicates that economic reasons for livestock ownership are more important than social reasons among smallholder livestock farmers in this study area. Access to markets and the ability to sell cattle were found to be the strongest influencing factors compared to socio-economic attributes such as marital status, social grants and off-farm employment. Losses due to theft and death were associated significantly with herd size. Recommended policy interventions aimed at increasing the herd size and income of smallholder livestock farmers include government introducing appropriate livestock subsidy programmes that could potentially assist farmers in expanding their herds, investments in efficient protection against wildlife intrusion from game parks, the establishment of well-functioning markets, improved access to roads and market information, and investments in farmers’ education to create awareness of new innovations and practices in breeding and veterinary services.

Cattle Commercialization in Rural South Africa: Livelihood Drivers and Implications for Livestock Marketing Extension

Commercialization of livestock farming systems remains a challenge in rural South Africa. Recent empirical evidence places agricultural extension at the forefront of policy strategy to address this challenge. This study applies the sustainable livelihood framework (SLF) to qua ntitatively analyze the factors confou nding participation in cattle markets for the purpose of informing agriculture extension programming. Based on a dataset compiled from a household survey of 230 randomly selected smallholder cattle farmers in Okhahlamba L ocal Municipality (OLM), a Double-Hurdle econometric estimation technique is used to determine factors within the SLF influencing market participation and supply volumes decisions. The results reveal that the low rate of market participation could be explained by the broader aspects of livelihoods of smallholder cattle farmers, including limited access to financial, social and natural capital, as well as the difference in livelihood strategies and motivations. Based on these findings, the study draws the implications for the design of livestock extension programs in OLM, and South Africa in general.

Impacts on Rural Livelihoods in Cambodia Following Adoption of Best Practice Health and Husbandry Interventions by Smallholder Cattle Farmers

To better understand how smallholder farmers whom own the majority of Cambodian cattle can contribute to efforts to address food security needs in the Mekong region, a five-year research project investigating methods to improve cattle health and husbandry practices was conducted. Cattle production in Cambodia is constrained by transboundary animal diseases (TADs) including foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and haemorrhagic septicaemia (HS) plus poor nutrition, reproduction and marketing knowledge. The project worked in six villages in Kandal, Takeo and Kampong Cham province during 2007-12. Farmers from three 'high intervention' (HI) villages incrementally received a participatory extension programme that included FMD and HS vaccination, forage development and husbandry training. Evaluation of project impacts on livelihoods was facilitated by comparison with three 'low intervention' (LI) villages where farmers received vaccinations only. Results of knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) and socio-economic surveys conducted in 2012 of 120 participating farmers identified that farmer knowledge in the HI project sites exceeded LI sites on the topics of biosecurity, internal parasites, nutrition and reproduction. HI farmers adopted biosecurity practices including a willingness to vaccinate for FMD and HS at their own cost, separate sick from healthy cattle, grow and feed forages and displayed awareness of the benefits of building fattening pens. HI farmers that grew forages observed time savings exceeding two hours per day each for men, women and children, enabling expansion of farm enterprises, secondary employment and children's schooling. Logistic regression analysis revealed that farmers in the HI group significantly increased annual household income (P < 0.001), with 53% reporting an increase of 100% or more. We conclude that improving smallholder KAP of cattle health and production can lead to improved livelihoods. This strategy should be of interest to policymakers, donors, researchers and extension workers interested in addressing TAD control, food insecurity and rural poverty in Southeast Asia.

Barriers to and opportunities for the use of forage tree legumes in smallholder cattle fattening systems in Eastern Indonesia

Forage tree legumes (FTL) have existed in the Eastern Indonesian landscape since colonial traders introduced several species in the late 1800s. A specific effort was made to establish leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala) and sesbania (Sesbania grandiflora) for use as forage for cattle fattening at Amarasi in East Nusa Tenggara Province and Central Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara, in the 1970s (Yuksel et al. 1999; Dahlanuddin and Shelton 2005). Their spread within these provinces as potential forage to intensi-fy cattle fattening systems, however, has been slow, if not stagnant. In preparation for intensified efforts to encourage farmers in East and West Nusa Tenggara to grow and use FTLs for cattle fattening, we asked the question why suc-cessful FTL feeding practices by some communities had not spread widely to adjacent areas within the provinces. A situation analysis study was conducted in 2011/12 in East and West Nusa Tenggara Provinces; it aimed at identifying the barriers to and opportunities for FTL use in smallholder cattle fattening systems. This paper describes the method-ology of this study, its main findings and the implications for follow-up expansion of FTL innovations.

Target feeding for improved smallholder beef production in the Mekong region: lessons from Cambodia and Lao PDR

Increased demand for red meat throughout the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) presents smallholder cattle and buffalo farmers with an opportunity to supply better quality animals to expanding regional markets. Cattle were target-fed in Cambodia with introduced forages to achieve gains of 0.19 kg/day over a 104-day period and this practice was compared with traditional cut-and-carry feeding practices where animals lost on average 0.04 kg/day. Target-fed animals were predicted to gain, on average, 25.9 kg more weight than animals fed in a traditional manner (P = 0.057), and to improve their estimated value by more than US$60. These outcomes were similar to outcomes in Lao PDR, where cattle and buffalo in fattening stalls gained 0.32 and 0.22 kg/day, respectively, over a 4-month period, and 0.04 and 0.09 kg/day when free-grazing. Greater weight gains are possible if farmers feed forages at the recommended 15% of bodyweight on a fresh-weight basis per day. Lack of knowledge of animal weights by farmers and traders was addressed by the creation of an accurate weight tape to provide a cheap and easy tool to monitor animal production and health, and to assist in negotiating a fair sale value. However, increased knowledge of appropriate forage plot size and feeding requirements of animals to be target-fed is required for farmers to change from being livestock keepers to livestock producers. To increase supply for the growing demand for red meat, an ongoing, multi-disciplinary extension program should be a priority for livestock improvement programs in the GMS.

Migration, remittances and smallholder decision-making: Implications for land use and livelihood change in Central America

We model Central American migrant-sending household agricultural practices given labor losses and the concomitant infusion of remittances. Under the new economics of labor migration (NELM) framework, it is hypothesized that smallholder farm households invest remittance income in their land either to increase crop production or to transition to cattle ranching. We test this hypothesis by developing a combination of multivariate logistic, Poisson and beta regression techniques using Latin American Migration Project data to determine how agricultural land use change compared among migrant and non-migrant households in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. Results indicate that a rise in months spent abroad and remittances returned do not translate into a higher percentage of farm sales, intensification or transition to cattle ranching – counter to NELM. However, farmers are investing remittances to increase row crop and pasture land holdings. These findings suggest remittance investments in quantitative increase rather than qualitative change in land use practices. Given the expansive land demands supporting low intensity smallholder agriculture and cattle, and the land degradation cattle precipitate particularly, the trend does not augur well for the sustainability of rural landscapes increasingly transformed by international remittances. Appropriate policies to champion coupled human-land system sustainability in Central America might usefully consider viable land use alternatives to remittance investments dedicated to crop and pasture expansion.

The impact of best practice health and husbandry interventions on smallholder cattle productivity in southern Cambodia

Future food security has become a major global concern and is particularly important in the Greater Mekong Subregion where several countries have seen rapid urban economic development and increasing demand for red meat. In Cambodia, the majority of livestock producers are subsistence or semi-subsistence rural smallholder farmers using cattle as a source of protein, fertiliser, draught power, and asset storage. Potential income from smallholder cattle is limited by a range of factors that compromise productivity, including endemic diseases, poor nutrition, and lack of knowledge of husbandry techniques and marketing practices. To address the developing opportunities to improve rural incomes from cattle production in Cambodia, a 4-year longitudinal study was conducted to examine ‘best practice’ interventions that could improve productivity and profitability of cattle within smallholder farming systems. The study involved six villages from three provinces, with two villages in each of the provinces of Takeo, Kandal and Kampong Cham paired and designated as either high intervention (HI) or low intervention (LI). A best practice intervention program was introduced to the HI villages to develop the husbandry skills of farmers, including implementation of forage technology, disease prevention through vaccination for foot-and-mouth disease and haemorrhagic septicaemia, deworming, and education in nutrition, biosecurity, disease control, and marketing. Between April 2008 and February 2012, eight repeat-measures capturing data on animal health and production, including cattle weights used to evaluate the impact of interventions on average daily gains, were completed. Cattle in HI villages had significantly (P &lt; 0.01) higher mean liveweight during the last three sampling periods, and average daily gains were 2.4 times higher than in cattle of the LI villages. This study provides evidence that best practice interventions resulted in improved cattle productivity, farmer knowledge and positive impacts on household income over time, offering a pathway that can address food security concerns and more rapidly alleviate rural poverty in the GMS.

Assessment of Financial Impact of Foot and Mouth Disease on Smallholder Cattle Farmers in Southern Cambodia

The financial impact of an outbreak of FMD in 2010 on 62 smallholder cattle farmers in four villages in southern Cambodia was investigated by a financial impact survey questionnaire. Financial losses associated with FMD infection were severe with variation depending on whether the animal survived or died or was used for draft. The average post-FMD loss varied from USD 216.32, a 54% reduction from the pre-FMD value because of weight loss and treatment costs, to USD 370.54, a 92% reduction from pre-FMD values if the animal was treated, died and a rental draft replacement was required. Partial budget analysis identified a strongly positive incentive for cattle to be vaccinated biannually for FMD, providing USD 31.48 per animal for each animal owned. However low vaccination rates suggest that farmers are mostly unaware of the need or averse to the practice of vaccinating their cattle for FMD. This may be due to poor understanding of preventative disease strategies such as vaccination, unavailable disposable income for purchase of vaccines, and failure to recognize the full costs that are incurred when the disease occurs. Enhancing smallholder cattle productivity through the introduction of forage growing systems has been suggested as a pathway for alleviating rural poverty in the Mekong region. As our financial analysis identified a net benefit of vaccination for smallholder farmer enterprises in an endemic FMD area in Cambodia, it is considered important that farmer education strategies aimed at improving cattle productivity, also include both access to vaccine and training in preventative disease risk management and biosecurity practices in Cambodia.

The level of tree legumes required to meet the maintenance energy requirements of Ongole (Bos indicus) cows fed rice straw in Indonesia

Improving the productivity and profitability of smallholder cattle enterprises in Indonesia requires greater and more efficient utilisation of underutilised feed resources such as rice straw. The experiment tested the hypothesis that an Ongole cow with low energy requirements can maintain weight (W) on a rice straw-based diet with the addition of a small amount of tree legumes. Thirty-two Ongole cross (Bos indicus) cows were allocated to one of four treatments in a randomised block design with eight cows per treatment. Cows were offered untreated rice straw ad libitum with four levels of tree legumes (0, 11, 21, and 42 g DM/kg W0.75.day) for 20 weeks. Feed intake was determined daily and liveweight was measured every second week. There was no difference in total feed intake between the treatment groups (P &gt; 0.05). Intake of tree legumes was higher when more was offered (P &lt; 0.05), but cows did not consume all of the legumes offered to them. The inclusion of tree legumes in the diet had no effect on organic matter digestibility, ME content of the diet, liveweight gain or estimated energy balance of the cows (P &gt; 0.05). Rice straw alone contained insufficient ME and rumen-degradable N to meet the maintenance requirements of the cows. From the regression relating liveweight change and ME intake for all cows across all diets, the inclusion of tree legumes in the diet at ~12 g DM/kg W0.75.day or 2.8 g DM/kg W.day was enough to meet the energy requirements for maintenance of Ongole cows fed rice straw ad libitum.

Brucellosis among smallholder cattle farmers in Zambia

A cross-sectional study was performed in Southern and Lusaka provinces of Zambia between March and September 2008 to estimate Brucella seroprevalence in cattle kept by smallholder dairy farmers (n = 185). Rose Bengal test (RBT) was used as a screening test followed by confirmation with competitive ELISA (c-ELISA). We investigated 1,323 cattle, of which 383 had a history of receiving vaccination against brucellosis and 36 had a history of abortion. Overall seroprevalence was 6.0% with areas where vaccination was practiced having low seroprevalence. Age was associated with Brucella seropositivity (P = 0.03) unlike cattle breed (P = 0.21) and sex (P = 0.32). At area level, there was a negative correlation (Corr. coeff = -0.74) between percentage of animals with brucellosis vaccination history (vaccination coverage) and level of brucellosis; percentage of animals with history of abortion (Corr. coeff. = -0.82) and brucellosis vaccination coverage. However, a positive correlation existed between brucellosis infection levels with percentage of animals having a history of abortion (Corr. coeff. = 0.72). History of vaccination against brucellosis was positively associated with a positive Brucella result on RBT (P = 0.004) whereby animals with history of vaccination against brucellosis were more likely to give a positive RBT test results (OR = 1.52). However, the results of c-ELISA were independent of history of Brucella vaccination (P = 0.149) but was positively associated with history of abortion (OR = 4.12). Our results indicate a relatively low Brucella seroprevalence in cattle from smallholder dairy farmers and that vaccination was effective in reducing cases of Brucella infections and Brucella-related abortions. Human exposure to Brucella through milk from smallholder farmers could result through milk traded on the informal market since that milk is not processed and there no quality and safety controls.

A Retrospective study of Brucellosis Seroprevalence in Commercial and Smallholder Cattle Farms of Zimbabwe.

A retrospective study covering 10 years (1995 – 2004) was conducted to investigate brucellosis seroprevalence and patterns in commercial and smallholder mixed dairy-beef cattle in Zimbabwe using surveillance data from the Central Veterinary Laboratory at Harare. Positive cases were analysed according to farming sector, administrative province, monthly andannual trends. The overall individual and herd- level brucellosis seroprevalence were estimated at 2.9% (2417/183990) and 17.8% (505/2833) respectively. Brucellosis seroprevalence varied significantly among the eight provinces of the country (p

The Use of Rose Bengal Plate Test to Asses Cattle Exposure to Brucella Infection in Traditional and Smallholder Dairy Production Systems of Tanga Region of Tanzania

A cross-sectional epidemiological study was conducted to determine the seroprevalence and to identify risk factors for bovine brucellosis seropositivity in traditional and smallholder dairy cattle production systems in the Tanga region of North-eastern Tanzania. The study populations comprised 246 indigenous and 409 crossbred cattle, randomly selected from 105 smallholder dairy and 25 traditional managed herds, respectively. Individual animal and herd-level data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Serum samples were screened for Brucella antibodies using the Rose Bengal Plate Test The overall seroprevalence of Brucella antibodies in the smallholder dairy and traditional managed cattle was 4.1% and 7.3% respectively. The corresponding overall herd prevalence was 10.5% and 20% respectively. Using multivariate logistic regression analysis, closeness to stock route, access to surface drinking water and location were identified as the major risk factors for individual herd seroprevalence. Older animals (≥6 years) were associated with increased risk of sero-positivity compared to animals of age category of ≤6 years. The results showed that brucellosis is prevalent and widely distributed locally, underscoring the need for further studies including surveillance and institution of preventive and control measures particularly among female young-stock and the general public who are at high risk of contracting brucellosis.

Degraded pasture distribution and woody enrichment strategies for pasture fertility preservation in the Bragantina region, north-eastern Amazon

In the densely settled Bragantina region, northern Brazil, smallholder cattle pastures start into compulsory degradation processes indicated, among other factors by the woody encroachment of the resprouting secondary vegetation, nationally called capoeira. By means of Landsat and QuickBird satellite imagery techniques different stages of treedominated pastures were identified and the distribution of degraded pastures quantified. This was tested in a supervised Landsat classification from 2006 and 2007, taking QuickBird imageries from 2004 and 2005 as additional ground checks. We found that 42% of the rural Bragantinian landscape has already converted into pastures, 28% in advanced stages of above ground pasture degradation. Our reclassification means that the region is still confronted with a serious ecological pasture problem and that conventional land use classifications, climatological models and carbon calculations, based on Landsat imageries only, underestimate pasture distribution and thus lead to inaccurate extrapolations. As the resprouting shrubs of the capoeira are a permanent problem on tropical lowland pastures but, on the other hand, are also the ecological basis of the sustainable slash-and-burn systems of smallholders, we tested some innovative strategies to tolerate various useful woody components of the capoeira on pastures to stabilise them ecologically: first, a buffet trial shows that the ten tested capoeira and some other common domesticated tree species obtain a comparable palatability as well-known woody forage legumes. Thus, Cecropia palmata and Tithonia diversifolia, among others, were as palatable for cattle as the well-known multi-purpose legume Cratylia argentea. As a consequence, these freely accessible tree species should not be slashed but fostered on pastures, like supplementary forage plants. Secondly, it is demonstrated that the multi-purpose forage legumes C. argentea and Flemingia macrophylla perform better under smallholder management than under large scaled farming or even intense management due to the associated prolonged restoration times. In sum, we could demonstrate that woody components (capoeira and/ or woody legumes) are more appropriate for the humid tropics than pure grass-monocultures. Based on these experiences, we modified the model of a grass-capoeira-legume pasture, incorporating pastures just as an interim stage of the slash-andburn system. Forage production could be enhanced in that system by selective slashing of the capoeira (palatable species are tolerated) and by incorporating woody forage legumes. As this biome is known to restore its ecosystem fertility rather in its above-ground biomass than in its poor soils, woody components on pastures are recommended for ecologically sustainable production systems. Furthermore, they might be requisite to mitigate the proclaimed climatic change in the Amazon.