3. Traditional ruminant production systems

This chapter reviews the traditional ruminant production systems identified in the preceding chapter. An overview of pastoral systems is followed by consideration of mixed systems in the lowlands and highlands. Each system is defined and subsequently the functions of livestock within the system, including the contribution of livestock to household income, are reviewed. Descriptions of herd and/or flock sizes, composition and age structures are also given.

Pastoral and agropastoral systems

Pastoral systems are associated with zones that are too dry for cropping to provide a basis for subsistence and are defined as land-based systems occurring in areas with an LGP of less than 180 days, where the grazing of ruminants is the predominant form of land use. Based on the degree of economic dependency on livestock, a pastoral production system has been defined as one in which 50 percent or more of household gross revenue (the total value of marketed production plus the estimated value of subsistence production) comes from livestock or livestock-related activities, or where more than 20 percent of household food energy is directly derived from livestock or livestock-related activities (Wilson, 1986a; Swift, 1984). Pastoral systems are mainly found in the arid and semi-arid zones (with rainfall less than 600 mm per annum) of West and East Africa and to a lesser extent in southern Africa. Pastoral systems are not prevalent in the humid zone, and only seasonally in the subhumid zone (McIntire et al., 1992). For a detailed review of the distribution of pastoral systems, see Jahnke (1982).

The overriding factor in pastoral systems is the mean rainfall and its reliability and distribution. Three types of pastoral system can be identified. In the rainfall range of less than 400 mm per year:

• nomadic pastoralism, which is a pure pastoral system, characterized by little or no agriculture and by high mobility of people and animals in search of grazing and water;

• transhumant pastoralism, which is based on more or less regular seasonal migrations from a permanent homestead.

Swift (1984) provides an example of pure pastoralism in the arid zone of central Niger, which is characterized by almost exclusive reliance on animals and animal-related activities for household revenue. There is no cultivation by, or on behalf of, households and there is little use of crop residues by animals. The basic production units are independent nuclear families or groups joined together in camps, whose composition varies seasonally and whose members cooperate to varying degrees in economic activities. Pure pastoral economies are much involved in exchange because they produce no food grains and so must barter milk or animals to cover their cereal requirements. The animals are grazed on communal pastures using family or hired labour.

In areas with annual rainfall between 400 and 600 mm:

• agropastoralism, in which livestock production is associated with dryland or rainfed cropping and animals range over short distances (Jahnke, 1982).

This system is characterized by a high degree of reliance on pastoral activities for household revenue, but rainfed cultivation by, or on behalf of, the household also contributes an important share (up to 50 percent) (Swift, 1984). Agropastoralism includes village-based herders, who make a substantial commitment to farming, although this remains subsidiary to pastoralism for the purposes of household income. It also includes pastoral households with too few animals to live exclusively from pastoralism, and pastoralists who live in villages and farm regularly on a small scale, but specialize in herding; this latter group often exchanges pastoral products (animals, milk, manure, traction and transport) with farmers in the same or neighbouring villages. The commonest species kept in agropastoral systems are cattle, but sheep and goats are also found.

Function of livestock and contribution to pastoral household income

According to Schwartz and Schwartz (1985), the main functions of livestock production in pastoral households are to provide subsistence products (milk, blood and meat), to meet social obligations (bride price, stock alliances and stock patronages) and to insure against disaster (drought, epidemics, raids). The subsistence function of livestock is the principal characteristic of these systems. Livestock products contribute to subsistence in two ways: directly, via milk and meat for home consumption; and indirectly, via sales to generate cash or exchanges for cereals and other crops. Table 8 presents a review of published studies on the contribution of livestock to household income in the pastoral and agropastoral systems of sub-Saharan Africa.

In the studies reviewed, the contribution of livestock to household income in pastoral systems ranged from 49.1 to 100 percent across sub-Saharan Africa. Of the income from livestock, cattle contribute 70 to 90 percent (Table 8). The contribution of crop production to household income in pastoral systems is practically zero, while other sources of income (mainly remittances, off-farm work, etc.) contribute between 0 and 43 percent.

Milk is reported to contribute up to 80 percent of the diet in the rainy season among the pastoralists of northern Kenya (Schwartz and Schwartz, 1985). Other outputs, such as skins and hides, are also of economic importance in pastoral systems. Goats and sheep are valued as a source of meat, as well as a resource that can be sold for cash. The main input function of livestock is reproduction, since herd growth is achieved through own herd offspring (Abdullahi, 1990; Sieff, 1999).

Table 8. Contribution of livestock to household income in pastoral/agropastoral systems in sub-Saharan Africa

¹ Livestock income distributed as 33.3 percent from cattle, 14.6 percent from small ruminants, and 1.2 percent from poultry, pigs and donkeys. Other sources of income consisted of off-farm work and remittances from relatives. Although not included, income from crops and other activities related to agriculture, e.g. sales of processed or gathered food, account for 8 percent of total household income

² Percentage of household monthly net cash income from livestock

³ Livestock income distributed as 71 percent from cattle, 20 percent from camels, 8 percent from small ruminants and 1 percent from other sources

⁴ Total annual income from livestock; 90.9 percent from cattle, 5.3 percent from other livestock products (milk, butter, hides, etc), 1.2 percent from small ruminants, and 0.9 percent from camels and camel products

⁵ Mean annual cash income mainly from sale of livestock and livestock products; other sources include wages, money transactions, brewing beer, etc.

Herd sizes, composition and age structure

Livestock management in pastoral systems is characterized by three principles (Jahnke, 1982):

• adaptation to the environment in the attempt to ensure subsistence (for example, migration periods are of varying lengths at different times of the year and may be with the whole herd or parts of the herd; large herds and a mix of species are kept, so as to make better use of the total vegetation resource and of the comparative advantages of each species);

• risk averting strategies (for example, herd size is maximized, the limiting factor being labour for herding; different species, with differing levels of hardiness, are kept; and the herd is split into different management units); and

• adaptation to the institutional environment (characterized by communal grazing systems).

Examples of mean herd sizes and species composition of pastoral/agropastoral herds reported in sub-Saharan Africa are presented in Table 9. As can be observed, regional differences exist both in herd sizes and in the relative importance of different species. For pastoral systems in sub-Saharan Africa as a whole, mean herd sizes range from 14.6 to 157.3 head for cattle, from 1.3 to 128.1 head for goats and from 3.5 to 44 head for sheep. In East African pastoral systems, cattle have the highest economic and social value (Sperling and Galaty, 1990; Sieff, 1999).^[2] However, in central Somalia, small ruminants are more important than cattle (Abdullahi, 1990). Table 10 presents examples of cattle herd structures in pastoral systems, while Table 11 presents examples of flock structures for pastoral sheep and goats. Although different age classes have been used to report herd structures, the proportion of female animals in pastoral cattle herds and small ruminant flocks is usually between 51 and 63 percent and between 67 and 75 percent respectively.

Mixed systems in the semi-arid, subhumid and humid zones

Mixed systems are found in the semi-arid, subhumid, humid and highland zones of sub-Saharan Africa. However, as mentioned in Chapter 2, those prevailing in the highlands are significantly different and hence are discussed separately. According to Jahnke (1982), the term mixed systems has a dual meaning:

• the farming system is based on livestock but practised in proximity to, or perhaps in functional association with, other farming systems based on cropping (for example, pastoral systems in arable areas); and

• livestock subsystems of integrated crop-livestock farming.

Table 9. Mean herd sizes and species composition in pastoral/agropastoral systems in sub-Saharan Africa

¹ n.r. = no reference

² Range: 0-201 cattle, 0-112 goats and 0-94 sheep

³ Range: 6-70 cattle, 6-32 goats and 2-23 sheep

⁴ Range: 47-74 cattle, 33-42 goats and 36-53 sheep

⁵ Range: 5-492

Table 10. Examples of cattle herd structures in pastoral systems of sub-Saharan Africa

¹ Classification: calves < 1 year, males 1-4 years and males > 4 years; females simply classified as calves, heifers and cows

² a, b and c are the Fulani (transhumant, milk and transport), Fulani (transhumant and milk) and Tuareg (nomadic, milk and transport) ethnic groups respectively. Oxen include mature bulls; calves are < 1 year, young males are 1-3 years, heifers are 1-3 years, oxen and cows are > 3 years

³ a, b and c are three locations in the Ngorongoro area; calves are < 1 year, other ages are not specified; males simply classified as steers

⁴ Calves are < 2 years, young males are 2-3 years, heifers are 2-3 years, oxen are > 2.5 years, bulls and cows are > 3 years

⁵ Calves are < 1 year, steers are grouped as young (1-2 years) and immature (2-4 years), oxen, bulls and cows are > 4 years

⁶ Ages for each class are not specified; males simply classified as weaned males

Table 11. Pastoral sheep and goat flock structures in two areas of central Somalia, 1986-87

Source: Abdullahi (1990)

The first type is most common in West Africa and is characterized by a long tradition of seasonal penetration into the more humid areas, with southward movements during the dry season and northward movements during the rainy season (ILCA, 1979). However, most of the livestock in the semi-arid, subhumid and humid zones are kept in the second type of system, integrated crop-livestock farming. Jahnke (1982) suggests four criteria for characterizing these systems:

• agroclimatic conditions, in particular rainfall and cropping pattern,

• pressure of human population, as expressed by the cultivation intensity,

• tsetse challenge, and

• overall importance of livestock, as expressed by livestock densities and species.

In the semi-arid zone, sorghum and millet are the lead crops, while maize is the optimum crop in the transitional zone between the semi-arid and subhumid zones. Maize is also grown in the subumid zone and extends into the humid zone, where its yields start to decline. Root crops, such as cassava, have a comparative advantage in the humid zone. All these crops may be grown in mixed stands and in more than one zone, but where they are the lead crop they can be used to typify mixed systems in sub-Saharan Africa.

All subregions exhibit a decline in the cattle density from the semi-arid to the humid zone (Table 5). This generally coincides with a rise in human population pressure, which tends to reduce farm size to the point at which only few cattle can be kept per household. Furthermore, trypanosomiasis acts as an increasing constraint to cattle rearing as one moves from the semi-arid to the humid zone.

Thus, in both West and Central Africa, in the humid zone trypano-tolerant breeds of cattle, sheep and goats replace the trypanosensitive breeds found in the semi-arid zone, while in East and southern Africa, the distribution of livestock is more or less inversely related to the distribution of tsetse, the vector of the disease.

Function of livestock and contribution to household income

A major characteristic of mixed farming systems is the varying degree of interaction between crops and livestock. Closely related to this are the input and output functions of livestock. Based on the output functions of livestock and on the degree of economic dependence on them, mixed systems have also been defined as those which derive between 10 and 50 percent of gross revenue from livestock, or in other words 50 percent or more from cropping (Wilson, 1986a). The basic principle of these systems is that rainfed agriculture is the main source of income, although livestock provide an important additional source. This is indicated in Table 12, which presents studies on the contribution of livestock to household income in the lowland mixed systems of sub-Saharan Africa. Although different methods have been used to assess this contribution, it is evident that significant differences exist between semi-arid and subhumid mixed systems.^[3] In the systems of the semi-arid zone, the contribution of live-stock to household income ranges from 4 to 70 percent, with the majority of figures in the range of 5 to 20 percent. The high contribution of non-farm activities to household income (usually above 40 percent) is notable. The studies, however, relate only to Burkina Faso, Mali and Zimbabwe and thus may not be representative of the semi-arid zone as a whole. In the subhumid zone, the contribution of crop production to household income is generally higher than that of livestock, ranging from 44 to 91 percent.

The functions of cattle in the mixed farming systems of semi-arid Zimbabwe are presented in the box on p.25. In mixed farming systems, cattle are usually more important for draught power (see also Table 19) than they are for sale, security and asset storing, and individual animals are mainly sold only to meet specific cash requirements. Cattle provide not only draught power (Table 13) but also manure and transport to crop production, while they also consume crop residues. The principal output functions of livestock (subsistence, income and nutrition) are much reduced compared with pastoral systems, but the asset and security functions and the cultural and social roles continue to be important. As in pastoral systems, herd growth through reproduction is an important input function. In contrast, sheep and goats, on account of their individual low value compared with cattle, are an important source of income and are easily sold to meet recurrent cash needs (Chilonda, 1996).

Table 12. Contribution of livestock to household income in mixed systems by agro-ecological zone in sub-Saharan Africa

¹ Numbers in brackets refer to percentages of income from farm activities only

² Income is the imputed net value of crop production, plus livestock sales and home consumption, plus transfers and net cash receipts from non-farm sectors

³ Refers to cash income only. However, based on the value of farm production, crops contributed 59 percent and livestock contributed 41 percent

⁴ Percentage responses to questions on the importance of different sources of income, without calculating gross income per farm household

⁵ Percentage of total household cash income. Livestock income only from meat and milk sales, other income from remittances and off-farm activities

⁶ Income in both cash and kind. Other sources include income from woodland and urban sources

⁷ Sources of income limited to income from crops and livestock. Percentage distribution of livestock income: 2.4 percent from cattle, 0.7 percent from sheep, 4.6 percent from goats, 37.8 percent from pigs and 10.8 percent from poultry

⁸ Total receipts, income in cash and kind. Cash receipts were 37 percent, 22 percent and 41 percent from livestock, crops and other sources respectively

⁹ Gross revenue from crops and livestock

Table 13. Use of draught power in the lowland mixed systems of sub-Saharan Africa

Herd sizes, composition and age structure

Table 14 presents studies of herd sizes and species composition in lowland mixed farming systems. Compared with those prevailing in the pastoral systems, the reported mean herd sizes of both cattle and small ruminants are considerably smaller. Tables 15 and 16 present examples of cattle herd structures in mixed systems in the semi-arid and subhumid zones. The proportion of oxen rises to 22.4 percent and 18.6 percent respectively, compared with 7.7 percent in pastoral systems. Furthermore, there seems to be a higher proportion of male animals in semi-arid mixed systems compared with subhumid mixed systems, mainly because the latter have a lower proportion of steers. Table 17 presents an example of flock structure for small ruminants in the humid zone of north-west Cameroon. The proportion of female animals (84 percent) is about five times higher than that of male animals (16 percent).

Table 14. Mean herd sizes and species composition in lowland mixed systems in sub-Saharan Africa

¹ Range: 7-120

² n.r. = not reported

Table 15. Cattle herd structures in semi-arid mixed systems of sub-Saharan Africa

¹ Classification: calves = < 1 year, young males = 1-3 years, heifers = 1-3 years, oxen = > 2 years, bulls and cows = > 3 years

² a, b and c refer to three different study sites; oxen include mature bulls; age classification as in note 1

³ a and b are different study locations. Calves = < 1 year, young males = 1-4 years, heifers = 1-4 years, oxen = > 4 years, bulls and cows => 4 years

⁴ Ages for each class are not specified

⁵ a and b are different study locations. Classification as in note 1; no separate class for bulls and oxen

Table 16. Cattle herd structures in subhumid mixed systems of sub-Saharan Africa

¹ Calves = < 1 year, young males and heifers = 1-3 years, males = > 3 years (not specified whether bulls or oxen), cows = > 3 years

² a, b and c refer to three different study sites; calves = <1.5 years, steers and heifers = 1.5-3 years, oxen, bulls and cows = >3 years

³ Ages for each class are not specified

⁴ Ages for each class are not specified

⁵ Calves = <1 year, males and females simply classified as 1-3 years and > 3 years respectively

⁶ Calves = <1 year, males and females simply classified as 1-3 years and > 3 years respectively

⁷ Calves = <1 year, young bulls and heifers = 1-3 years and adult males and females = > 3 years

Table 17. Sheep and goat flock structures in two areas of the humid zone in North West Province of Cameroon

Source: Ndamukong et al. (1989)

Management of livestock in mixed systems

Livestock are usually sedentary or, if movement is part of the management system, it is generally restricted to short distances. Cattle are normally grazed on communal pastures, herded by family or hired labour and kraaled at night in order to prevent theft or crop losses. Manure is often collected and calves are separated from their dams to make milking possible. In some areas, cattle are left free to wander during the dry season after the crops have been harvested.

According to Ndamukong (1989), in the humid zone of Cameroon some 21 percent of farmers keep sheep and 92 percent keep goats, with 84 percent of all small ruminants being kept by farmers. In semi-arid Zimbabwe and Swaziland, goats are kept in mixed farming systems by 70 percent of farmers (Ogwang et al., 1995; Gauthier et al., 1995). The management of small ruminants is usually subordinate to the labour and energy needed for crop production. Management systems for small ruminants in the humid zone of Cameroon depend on factors such as the time of year (cropping versus non-cropping season), the availability of labour, the contribution of small ruminants to household income, and so on. According to Ndamukong et al. (1989), management systems can be classified as:

• tethering - housing is provided during the night, but adult animals are tied to a tree or peg by the owner’s home or along the roadside by day;

• semi-intensive - the animals are kept in a shed at night, but during the day they are left in fenced enclosures;

• semi-extensive - the animals are kept in a shed over night but roam freely during the day; and

• extensive - the animals roam freely both day and night.

Highland mixed systems

The mixed systems of the highlands have special features that justify their separate consideration:

• good soils and suitable climatic conditions, allowing higher crop productivity and consequently higher population densities;

• high cropping intensities and more or less permanent cropping patterns as a result of generally high population pressure;

• crops are grown that are unsuitable for the lowlands, such as wheat, barley, teff (Ethiopia), coffee and tea;

• crops and livestock are normally produced within the same management unit, hence approaching the concept of mixed farming;

• absence of trypanosomiasis; and

• ecological conditions suitable for the intensification of both crop and livestock production through the introduction of varieties and breeds from temperate zones.

Highland mixed systems are particularly important in East Africa, which has 70 percent of sub-Saharan Africa’s highland area. The highlands of this subregion have an average human population density of 98.6 people/km² and an average cattle population density of 49.8 head/km² - the highest levels in all sub-Saharan Africa (Table 5).

In the highlands, two broad environments with corresponding farming systems have been distinguished (Gryseels, 1988):

• The equatorial highlands, which are characterized by hoe cultivation and the production of roots and tubers, as well as cash crops, such as coffee and tea. This pattern of land use is widespread in the central highlands of Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, southern Ethiopia and the northern part of the United Republic of Tanzania.

• The subtropical highlands, dominated by cereal/ox agriculture. These are found largely in central and northern Ethiopia, where draught power plays a critical part in the traditional mixed farming system.

In the hoe cultivation/perennial farming system, animal traction is largely absent because the holdings are small, the topography uneven and inter-cropping is practised. A special feature of the Kenyan highlands is the high concentration of smallholder dairying in mixed crop-livestock systems. More than 90 percent of specialist dairy enterprises are found in the highlands (Thorpe et al., 1992). This smallholder system is considered separately, under non-traditional systems in Chapter 4. In contrast, in Ethiopia dairy development has had a limited impact on traditional livestock management (Kumsa, 1992), with the result that the mixed system has remained largely traditional.^[4]

Function of livestock and contribution to household income

The functions of livestock in the Ethiopian highlands have been summarized by Rodriguez and Anderson (1988), who worked in the Debre Berhan area. They found important links between livestock and crops, as follows:

• livestock and livestock products account for some 80 percent of mean farm cash income (including the value of subsistence consumption);

• livestock provide draught power for cultivation, threshing and transport (900 hours of oxen time per farm per year);

• since the rural capital market is limited, livestock are farmers’ largest capital asset;

• some manure is used as fertilizer;

• about 2 000 kg (dry weight) of cattle manure are burned by a typical household as domestic fuel each year; and

• livestock products are an integral part of the diet of farm households: about 5 percent of the food energy intake and 14 percent of the protein intake are obtained from milk, mutton or beef, chicken meat and egg consumption.

Table 18 presents the contribution of livestock to household income in the Ethiopian highlands. It is estimated that livestock contribute between 80 and 96 percent of income from farm sources only, and that even when off-farm income is included, this figure remains at between 61 and 70 percent.

Table 18. Contribution of livestock to household income in Ethiopian highland mixed systems

¹ Total cash income from crop and livestock production

² Cash income from farm sources only

³ Income from crops and crop by-products, livestock production and off-farm income (off-farm work, gifts, other)

Table 19 presents the use of draught power in the Ethiopian highlands. According to Goe (1987), oxen are used for ploughing and threshing for approximately 60 days in a year. When on-farm and off-farm transport is included, the figure rises to 180 days per year, the highest for all zones (Table 13). Cattle are also the most important species in this zone in terms of their monetary value and their overall contribution to agricultural production. Their primary role is to supply draught power for crop production but they also supply manure, which is for the most part dried and used as household fuel.

Table 19. Use of draught power in Ethiopian highland mixed systems

¹ Only ploughing and threshing

² Ploughing, seeding, applying fertilizer, harvesting, transport and threshing. Herd structure: 20% oxen, 10% bulls, 24% cows, 28% immature and 18% calves

³ Ploughing, transport, planting and weeding

Herd sizes, composition and age structure

The importance of draught power in the Ethiopian highlands is also illustrated by the species composition, as presented in Table 20. On average a household owns about two working oxen, and these constitute about 30 percent of the cattle herd. Of the small ruminants, sheep tend to predominate.

The animals are herded and grazed during most of the day. An analysis of grazing records by Gryseels (1988) indicated no significant differences between the grazing time of different species, except for oxen. After the crop harvest, cattle are needed for threshing and grazing time for oxen reduces accordingly. Labour inputs to livestock production consist of efforts related to milking, barn clearing, manure collection, feeding, sheep shearing, butchering, herding and watering, the dominant input being for herding. Gryseels (1988) estimated that on average animals are grazed 49 percent of the time on private grazing land, 49 percent on communal grazing land and 2 percent on the stubble of crops grown on family farmland.

Table 20. Livestock numbers per household in the Ethiopian highlands

¹ Intact males, heifers and calves