aistand south~ern afrkca - (PDF, 101 mb) - USAID

The impact of the introduction of exotic cattle in East
and southern Africa
Summary
W.N.M. Mwenya
Department of Animal Science,
University of Zambia, Box 32379, Lusaka, Zambia.
In
Mo
the
of
traditional
the cattle in East and southern
sector, In which indigenous
Afrsic are
breeds and types predominate. Exotic c
found mostly on commercial farms. Comparative
studies show that while exotic becf breeds
grow fast and attain lhrge body weights at
maturity, annual cow productivity i lower in
exotic cattle due to high calf mortality rates.
than
Indigenous
exotic dairy
cattle
cattle
produce
and
much
their
less
crosses
milk
Purebred and crossbred dairy cattle have spread
from the large-scale commercial sector to the
small-scale sector. Most of the milk marketed
through fonr,al markets is from exotic dairycattle
and their crosses. It Is suggested that In future
more efforts should be directed to the
development of smallholder dairying.
Introduction
Cattle in East and southern African countries
play many roles; they contribute to subsistence,
nutrition, income generation, assets, security,
social and cultural functions (Jahnke, 1982).
However, their main products remain meat,
milk, hides, manure and traction power. Every
government in this regior would like to see
production of the&3 commodities increased,
However, increases in productivity depend on
effective policies in animal health, nutrition,
breeding, management and marketing.
Breed policy plays an essential role in cattle
production as it defines the type of cattle to be
kept and, hence, sets the required levels of
animal health, nutrition and management. Most
countries in the region have a breeding policy of
one kind or another. These vary in their details
but tend to centre on the use ofindigenous breeds
for beef production and use of the crossbreds
between indigenous breeds and exotic dairy
breeds for milk production (Mwenya, 1990).
Exotic cattle were first introduced into this
region by colonial farmers. Thus, the origin of
exotic cattle is generally traced back to Europe.
The most common exotic dairy breeds in the
region are Friesian, Holstein, Ayrshirr, Jersey,
Guernsey and Sahiwal. However, the Friesian
breed predominates. The common exotic beef
3
breeds are Hereford, Brahman, Sussex,
Charolais, South Devon, Africander and
Simmental (dual purpose).
cattle
The
by
justification
coloilfreswsfrtadfrms
for the introduction of exotic
lonial farmers was firt and foremost
to supply beef and milk products to Europeans
working in urban areas. Therefore these animals
were placed on farms closest to urban areas for
ease of access to the markets. It was not until in
the 1960s, after independence, that indigenous
Africans
that
began to
policy
have eccess
makers
to exotic cattle and
and livestock administrators
gradually realised the advantage of using these
animals to increase meat and milk production.
The objective of this paper is to assess from a
livestock breeders vantage the impact of the
introduction ofexotic cattle in East and southern
Africa. This will be analysed by examining their
production performance relative to indigenous
cattle and their rate of spread in various farming
sectors.
Cattle production sectors
In general, cattle production in this region can
be divided into three sectors: the large-scale
commercial sector, in which cattle are kept
purely to generate income; the small-scale
commercial sector, in which income and
nutrition are the main reasons for keeping cattle;
and the traditional sector, in which income is
very much secondary to meeting nutritional
needs, storing of wealth, providing security and
social and cultural functions. Most cattle are in
the traditional sector and are indigenous types.
There are fewer exotic cattle and crosses
between indigenous and exotic cattle, and most
of these are found in the small-scale and largescale
commercial sectors.
There are five agro-ecological zones in the
region: arid, semi-arid, subhumid, humid and
highland. Indigenous cattle are generally
concentrated in the arid and semi-arid zones.
Most exotic cattle are located in semi-arid and
highland zones, the areas which were first
selected by colonial farmers because of their
favourable climate.
Comparative production
performance of exotic cattle
The most reliable documented work on the
productivity ofexotic cattle in the region is from