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

example, milk production fromindigeacus cattle
was reported to range from 150 to 25 kg a year
in Kenya (MLD, 1986; MLD, 1990), to average
200 kg a year in Tanzania (Ministry of
Agriculture, 1972) and to average 300 kg a
lactation in Ethiopia (Grybeels and And-irson,
1983). Research has also 2hown that ex'.ic
breeds respond better to impiovements i.i the
environmentthandindigenoujcattle(Trailand
Gregory, 1981).
These resu'ts thus indicate that it is possible
for exotic dairy cattle to achieve their potential
for milk production given aii upgraded
environment in the threo production sectors.
Beef cattle
There seems to be no reported work relating to
on-farm evaluation of beef breeds in the region.
What information has been collated is on the
performances of a given breed across production
systems. Table 6 gives a summary comparing the
performance of cattle between the traditional
sector and the ranch network in Botswana. It is
clear from the estimates Fiven in Table 6 that
productivity is very low in the traditional cector
because of low calving percentage and low
weaning weight.
Data from Malawi indicate that, in the
Malawi Zebu, there is not much difference in age
at first calving between animals in the
traditional sector (3.3 years; de Koning, 1977)
and those on research stations (3.2 years;
Kasowanjete, 1977). The calving percentage also
did not vary much between production systems
(63.6 and 66.7%, respectively) (Koning, 1977;
Department of Agriculture, 1972). However,
there was a notable difference in the calving
interval between animals in the traditional
sector and those on the rcsearch station (2.4 and
1.2 years, respectivly).
In Tanzania age at first calving was estimated
at four years, calving interval at 1.5 years and
calf mortality at 27% in indigenous cattle (Mpiri,
1990). Similarly, in Ethiopia cows did not calve
until approximately four years of age (Gryseels
and Anderson, 1983). Although there are
variations between countries, in general the
productivity of indigenous cattle in the
traditional sector is lower than that ofexotic beef
cattle and their crosses in the commerc:al sector.
Impact of exotic cattle
Based on results from research stations, and a
few from farms, exotic cattle can perform better
than indigenous cattle given ar improved
environment. Policy makers and livestock
administrateor have been aware of these
advantges for a very long time. However, the
question to be asked is what impact have exotic
cattle made since their introduction by colonial
farmers and by livestock policy makers?
Beef cattle
Since the introduction ofexotic beef cattle in the
region they have in practical terms not spread
from the large-scale commercial sector to other
sectors in most countries, except in Botswana. In
Botswana farmers in both the commercial and
the traditional sector are implementing the
recommendation to croesbred Tswana cws to
Brahman blls for use under general conditions
and to Simmental bulls (a dual-purpose breed)
for use under conditions of improved management
(as defined b I some degree of fencing
for control of breeding herds, attention to disease
and mineral supplements and adequate water
supply at a reasonable distance). The wide
spread use ofexotic breeds in Botswa-a has been
made possible by the use ofa bull subsidy scheme
and, most importantly, by the operation of an
artificial insemination scheme for beef in the
traditional sector.
In terms of contribution to meat production,
it seems that, in general, exotic beef cattle and
their crosses have riot contributed much more
than the indigenous cattle. For example, Zambia
has 2.2 million head of cattle in traditional
sector, almost all ofwiich are indigenous breeds,
and 0.48 million heau ofcattle are in commercial
sector, out of which 0.06 million head are dairy
animals. The off-take rates are estimated at 6
and 15% for traditional and commercial sector,
respectively (Kaluba, 1992). Thus, although the
off-take rate is very low in indigenous cattle, they
Table 6. Performance of beef cattle under traditional and ranch netwoikmanagementsystems in
Botswana.
Trait
Type of management
Traditional Ranch network
Calving (%) 40.0 71.0
Pro-weaning mortality (%) 6.0 9.0
Weaning weight (kg) 129.0 172.0
Weight of weaner/cow per year (kg) 48.0 112.0
Source: APRU (1973).
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