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

Technologies introduced in the
farming system
In addressing the constraints, a number of
technologies were designed for on-farm research
and development. Many of these technologies
had been developed on-station and were ready
for on- ferm testing and validation,
However, due to resource limitation (funds,
facilities and manpower) the research team
screened them and came up with a short lis. of
components to be introduced on-farm:
" introduction ofthe Mpwapwa breed cattle
" introduction of improved pasture species
" establishment of Intensive Feed Gardens
(IFGs)
" utilisation of cereal stovers and other crop
residues
" introduction of dual-purpose legumes
" increased use of water melons (Citrullus
vulgaris)as a substitute for water.
For the purpose of the workshop only a
detailed discussion on the introducton of the
Mpwapwa breed cattle and its performance
under farmers' management will be made.
Hand milking the cows was normally done
twice daily: in the morning between 0700 and
0800 hours and in the afternoon between 1600
and 1700 hours. Partial milking was practised in
the area and normally the milk let-down was
stimulated by the presence of the calf. Milk
recording was done by the farmers themselves,
Atrainedm ' recorderresidentintheviliage
visited the farmors on a regular basis, with the
aim of cross-checking the recording operations.
Secondly, the recorder discussed various aspects
of the general management of the cattle with the
farmers. Besides this, one member of the
research team visited the farmers to check milk
records once fortnightly.
Other records kept by the farmers included
dam and sire identity, calving date, calf identity,
birth weight and liveweight once every three
months and the date of the erd of lactation,
The routine disease control measures
undertaken by the farmers included spraying
the animals with acaricides once weekly, to
reduce the incidence of ticks and tick-borne
diseases especially East Coast fever (ECF) and
anaplasmosis which are endemic in the area.
Wholesale drenching of the animals wai
normally done twice during the wet season.
Introduction of dual-purpose Mpwapwa
breed cattle
In 1987/88 the Livestock Production Researc
Institute (LPRI), Mpwapwa, sold a total of 2C
in-calf Mpwapwa breed heifers and six breedinq
bulls to 17 selected rarrers at Berege village,
The price paid per animal was TSh 10,000,
equivalent to US$ 60 (at the time).
Before the sale of the cattle each of the
cooperating farmers was required to construct a
simple cow shed, a crush and a feed storage
structure. Concurrently, the project assisted the
farmers in the establishment of at leE t 0.5 ha ol
improved pasture species, either a pure stand ol
buffel grass (Cenchrusciliaris)or a miz.d stand
of buffel grass and siratro (Macroptijium
atropurpukeum),referred to as an "inter eniefeed
garden" (IFG).
The feeding system adopted since the
acquisition of the Mpwapwa cattle is to herd the
animals during the day (from 0800 to 1200 hours
and from 1400 to 1600 hours) within a radius of
50 m from the kraal. At mid-day and at night the
cattle were brought back to the kraal. A number
of farmers provided cereal bran and common salt
to the most vulnerable classes of stock, namely
sick animals, pregnant and lactating cows. Some
farmers depending on availability, provided
water melons, ground water-melon seeds and/or
Acacia tortilispods to boost the protein content
of the diets.
During the wet season, the cattle were
watered at least once a day, whereas, during the
dry season the animals were watered every other
day. In some cases, depending on the severity of
the dry season the cattle are supplied with water
once every three days. T n most cases, when the
frequency of watering was reduced the animals
were given an average of two to three water
melon fruits. The fresh weight of water melon
fruit ranged between 1 and 27 kg (Kusekwa et
al, 1990). The chemical composition of water
melon samples collected from Berege village is
shown inTable3.
Achievements
The iilk production and reproductive performance
of the Mpwapwa cattle at Ber"ge
village are shown in Table 4.
Table3. Chemical composition of water melon (Citnjllus vulgais) from Bermg villae.
Feed component
Whole sample
Flesh pail
Seeds
Sow= KuWedw at -d(9).
DM(%) CP(%) Aah(%) NDF(%) IVDMp(%)
6 16.5 10.5 40.9 72.5
5 8.9 13.0 41.5 75.7
- 16.9 3.0 58.1 35.6
85