Grasslands of the World.pdf - Disasters and Conflicts - UNEP

Grasslands of South Africa 87
was only in 1820 that settlers of British origin arrived and settled on the eastern
seaboard. They developed mixed -farming operations in the Eastern Cape and
Kwa-Zulu Natal, including cattle and wool-sheep enterprises.
LIVESTOCK
South Africa ’s national commercial cattle herd is estimated to number 13.8
million, including not only various international dairy and beef-cattle breeds,
but also indigenous breeds such as the Afrikaner (or Afrikander). Locally
developed breeds include the Drakensberger and Bonsmara . These breeds
are systematically and scientifically improved through breeding programmes,
performance testing and the evaluation of functional efficiency. Almost
590 000 t of beef was produced in 2000. Owing to relatively low carrying
capacity on the natural pastures, extensive cattle ranching is practised in the
lower rainfall regions.
In addition to the cattle , in 1999 there were about 25.8 million sheep
and 6.3 million goats in the country, in addition to smaller numbers of pigs,
poultry and farmed ostriches. The numbers of cattle and small stock fluctuate
in response to high and low rainfall years. The 1999 census data shows
the distribution between the freehold and communal sectors (Table 3.2). Beef
production is the most important livestock-related activity, followed by smallstock
(sheep and goat ) production. The combined livestock sector contributes
75 percent of total agricultural output (National Department of Agriculture ,
1999). Livestock numbers and production for the period 1995–2003 are shown
in Table 3.3).
TABLE 3.2
National livestock census 1999.
Tenure Cattle Sheep Goats
Freehold 6 275 000 19 300 000 2 070 000
Communal 6 825 000 9 300 000 4 230 000
TOTAL 13 100 000 28 600 000 6 300 000
SOURCE: National Department of Agriculture , 1999.
TABLE 3.3
Production (×1000 t) in the period 1995–2003 of beef and veal; chicken; mutton and lamb; goat ;
game ; wool; and milk .
Commodity 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
Beef and Veal 508 508 503 496 513 622 532 576 590
Chicken meat 600 649 692 665 706 817 813 820 820
Mutton and lamb 110 98 91 91 112 118 104 100 104
Goat meat 36 37 37 37 36 36 36 36 36
Game meat 10 11 13 14 15 16 16 17 17
Total meat 1 397 1 437 1 467 1 428 1 511 1 719 1 618 1 667 1 686
Wool (greasy) 67 62 57 53 56 53 57 57 57
Milk (total) 2 794 2 638 2 851 2 968 2 667 2 540 2 700 2 750 2 750
SOURCE: FAO database 2004.