G.G.M. Phiri1, K. Killorn2 and G.H. van Rootselaar1
1Department of Agriculture, P.O. Box 50291, Lusaka, Zambia
2Mwasa CDA, P.O. Box 16, Lundazi, Zambia
The Zambian Cattle Development Area (CDA) Programme was conceived to promote smallholder cattle production on a regional basis within Zambia. In future, major emphasis will be placed on integrating cattle and crop production and on adaptive research. A serious constraint on the development of smallholder cattle production is the fact that traditional land tenure systems in Zambia do not allocate land for grazing.
Experiments with forage legumes on the Mwase CDA have clearly indicated the potential of growing maize in a live mulch of forage legumes. However, further testing is needed in order to establish whether such a system can be recommended to farmers on the basis of advantages to crop production alone, since, under the current system of communal grazing, individual farmers will not benefit from producing more or better forage.
