Cattle as Live Stock: A Concept for Understanding and Valuing the Asset Function of LiveStock

Siegmund‐Schultze, Marianna; Rischkowsky, Barbara; King, J. M.

doi:10.5367/oa.2011.0065

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…The finding that most households in this study raised cattle to derive household-oriented benefits such as draft power, insurance, saving and financing, rather than commercial benefits is in agreement with the literature on traditional/cultural norms of agro-pastoral communities in semiarid areas of SSA, where the main purpose of raising cattle is for households-oriented benefitshence the term 'live-stock' (Shackleton et al 2001;Moll 2005;Siegmund-Schultze et al 2011).…”

Section: Importance Of Policymakers' Understanding Of Cattle-keepers'supporting

confidence: 89%

Household-oriented benefits largely outweigh commercial benefits derived from cattle in Mabalane District, Mozambique

et al. 2018

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In Sub-Saharan Africa, research aimed at improving household livelihoods through cattle often targets commercial benefits while neglecting household-oriented benefits. The latter are rarely articulated, and their comprehensive role in livelihoods is little understood by policymakers. The main aim of this study was to assess household-oriented benefits of cattle as a basis for formulating appropriate policies. Data were collected from 192 households selected through multistage random sampling in Mabalane District of Mozambique in 2009. The main objectives of cattle raising were identified and ranked in order of importance by using the analytical hierarchy procedure. The vast majority (98%) of households kept cattle primarily to derive various types of household-oriented benefits such as draft power, financing, insurance, saving, social status and bridewealth. Only 2% of households kept cattle mainly for commercial benefits. The households secured financing, insurance and saving primarily by capital accumulation through herd expansion, for example after a good crop harvest, using the profit to purchase a young calf, an ox or a heifer. Households reporting social prestige as an important objective for raising cattle were mainly those already with high social status. In Mabalane District, a large herd of cattle is considered evidence of one’s ability to manage communally owned resources. This suggests that the functions of draft power, financing, insurance and saving play important roles in the livelihoods of most of agro-pastoral households in Mozambique—arguably more important than meat and milk. The reliance on financing, insurance and saving benefits of cattle, as well as the low level of milk and meat marketing, could be explained by the low level of development within the district, exacerbated by the civil war that ended in the 1990s.

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Section: Importance Of Policymakers' Understanding Of Cattle-keepers'supporting

confidence: 89%

Household-oriented benefits largely outweigh commercial benefits derived from cattle in Mabalane District, Mozambique

et al. 2018

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“…If a biomass-based allocation of environmental footprints between beef and milk were applied, it would reduce the reported milk footprint by about a quarter. Additionally, as people in the more marginal lands have often limited access to banks and other financial services, their animals are used to store and manage wealth and offer an important buffer in times of crisis (Siegmund-Schultze et al 2011).…”

Section: Big Differences Exist Across Dairy Enterprisesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards environmentally sound intensification pathways for dairy development in the Tanga region of Tanzania

et al. 2020

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The gap between milk demand and domestic supply in Tanzania is large and projected to widen. Meeting such demand through local production of affordable milk presents an opportunity to improve the welfare of producers and market agents through the income and employment generated along the value chain (VC). Efforts to maximize milk yields, production and profitability need to be balanced with long-term sustainability. We combined environmental and economic ex-ante impact assessments of four intervention scenarios for two production systems in the Tanzanian dairy VC using the CLEANED model and an economic feasibility analysis. Intervention scenarios propose increases in milk production through (i) animal genetic improvement, (ii) improved feed, (iii) improved animal health and (iv) a package combining all interventions. Results show that economically feasible farm-level productivity increases of up to 140% go hand-in-hand with increased resource-use efficiency and up to 50% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emission intensities. Absolute increases in water, land and nitrogen requirements in mixed crop-livestock systems call for careful management of stocks and quality of these resources. An overall rise in GHG emissions is expected, with a maximum of 53% increase associated with an 89% increase in milk supply at VC level. The CLEANED tool proved effective to evaluate livestock interventions that improve incomes and food security with minimal environmental footprint. Here, our simulations suggest that due to current low productivity, the greatest efficiency gains in combination with relatively low increases in total GHG emissions can be made in the extensive agro-pastoral dairy systems, which represent the majority of herds.

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“…Disposing animals which are no longer productive ties well with the livelihood objectives of most smallholder livestock farmers in communal areas where productive cattle provide offspring, milk, draft power, a form of insurance and a live bank among other benefits (Siegmund-schultze and King, 2011). This suggests that either the rationale for these types of feeding centres needs to be rethought or, if the focus on the original objectives is retained, then the user group needs to be more strictly controlled to focus on those who can actually supply animals that meet the programme’s specifications.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The delays in feed supply as well as in payment of workers at the feeding centres may be due to bureaucratic processes that are consistent with government services and were previously criticized by Siegmund-schultze and King (2011) for stalling designed programs. Failure to change the bureaucratic processes is viewed as one of the leading limitations of participatory methodologies (Mubita et al, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Envisioning more effective delivery of custom feeding programs using participatory approaches: Lessons from Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

et al. 2019

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In South Africa, livelihoods of smallholder cattle farmers are constrained by a lack of appropriate production knowledge, climate change, inadequate support services, societal inequity, irrelevant pro-poor policies and inappropriate delivery of improved livestock technologies. A transdisciplinary team of local and international researchers conducted a workshop to explore opportunities and constraints to the delivery of a beef cattle custom feeding programme in Eastern Cape Province using participatory approaches, including visioning exercises. The main challenges to the cattle custom feeding programme reported by producers included lack of cattle production skills, lack of technical knowledge on feed production, limited funding and inconsistent cattle feed delivery. Participants envisioned a portfolio of locally based solutions that included prioritization of local feed production, identification of sustainable support networks, establishment of a communal herd to cover feeding centre’s overhead costs and creation of a knowledge exchange platform for farmers. In addition, participants attempted to strengthen knowledge transfer among stakeholders through the development of an online site for knowledge exchange. Overall, the participatory approaches adopted empowered participants to freely express their opinions and openly share knowledge and experiences regarding common challenges and opportunities associated with delivery of a beef cattle custom feeding programme.

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Cattle as Live Stock: A Concept for Understanding and Valuing the Asset Function of LiveStock

Cited by 10 publications

References 14 publications

Household-oriented benefits largely outweigh commercial benefits derived from cattle in Mabalane District, Mozambique

Household-oriented benefits largely outweigh commercial benefits derived from cattle in Mabalane District, Mozambique

Towards environmentally sound intensification pathways for dairy development in the Tanga region of Tanzania

Envisioning more effective delivery of custom feeding programs using participatory approaches: Lessons from Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

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