Namibia country report

The 9 goat owners had herd sizes of 2 to 68 goats. Table 16 suggests that 6 goat owners hadsustainable herds, if small ones, of 20 to 68 goats. Only 2 beneficiaries kept sheep, and bothherds were small. Sheep were not considered to be suitable for Omaheke.Table 16 also throws some light on the composition of livestock herds, which in turn givessome indication of future production potential, and also suggests what happened to theoffspring of the previous year. Cows are the nucleus of any livestock production system.At least one bull is required for every 40 cows. Without any bull, the production potentialis seriously limited. The number of calves reflects the herd productivity in the previousseason. If the number of calves is under 60% of the number of cows, it can be assumed thatthere were problems with fertility or husbandry practices, or otherwise stock was lost orcalves were sold once they were weaned. Not all female calves should be sold; some shouldbe kept for future breeding. Heifers are female calves which should start producing calves oftheir own within the next breeding season. For goats and sheep, only the totals are providedin Table 16, and these clearly show the huge variance in small-stock numbers.All cattle owners had some cows for breeding. Four owners had herds of 30 cows and more,while 3 owners had fewer than 8 cows. The 7 cow owners jointly owned 171 cows and 63calves, indicating a calving rate of 37% to 50%. Ideally, 171 cows should have produced 103or more calves per year according to the national calving rate of 60%. Assuming that halfof the 63 calves were female, it would have been possible to introduce 32 heifers into theproductive herds each year. In addition to the natural increase in productive capacity, 4cattle owners brought 20 young heifers into their productive herds to expand production.Two owners purchased 12 new heifers from outside. It was common that young heifers weresold at weaning age to generate income, and this dramatically reduced the prospects ofnatural heifer production. The three smallest herds had no positive prospects for increasedproductivity in the near future, and the female herd was not growing.One farmer had 12 oxen which he was preparing for slaughter at an abattoir.Seven of the 9 goat owners in Omaheke had 12 to 68 goats, and the other 2 owners had 2 and4 goats respectively. The total herd number was increased with the purchase of 2 goats andthe birth of 12 lambs. This slight increase was offset as 16 lambs, 1 ram and 2 wethers eitherdied or were stolen. Only 2 goats were slaughtered for the 9 owners’ own consumption, butthis might be an underestimation. Of the total goat population of 248, only 2 had been soldby one owner during the past year. This suggests that goats are not produced primarily forcommercial purposes, but rather are kept for own consumption and occasional sale.Most beneficiaries were aware of the advantages of bringing in new breeding stock (i.e.rams and bulls) in order to increase production and raise overall fertility. However, dueto financial constraints this was a rare practice on the farms sampled in both regions.A good ram could cost up to half of the value of the increase in lamb production in thenext lambing season, and it had to be paid immediately. In at least one case in Omaheke,three beneficiaries farming on adjacent units managed their cows and calves together. Theyplaced all their cows together in the biggest camp and the calves in a smaller camp. The96 ● Livelihoods after land reform: Namibia country report (2010)