Implications of Land Use Land Cover Change and Climate Variability on Future Prospects of Beef Cattle Production in the Lake Victoria Basin

Abstract

This paper presents the lessons learnt from a research project titled "Improving Beef Cattle Productivity for Enhanced Food Security and Efficient Utilization of Natural Resources in the Lake Victoria Basin" which includes Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda. The key focus is on the implications of land use land cover change and climate variability on the future prospects of beef cattle production in this region. The study utilizes information and data from natural resources and climate components to deduce the impact of land use and land cover changes on climate variability. Additional analysis is conducted to summarize the land use and land cover data to carry out analysis on climate data using the Mann-Kendal test, linear regression and moving averages to reveal patterns of change and trends in annual and seasonal rainfall and temperature. The findings reveal that the study areas of Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania in the Lake Victoria Basin (LVB) have changed over time following land cover manipulations and land use change, coupled with climate variability. The grazing land has been converted to agriculture and settlements, thereby reducing cattle grazing land which is the cheapest and major feed source for ruminant livestock production. Although * Corresponding author. J. J. Kashaigili et al. 462the cattle population has been on the increase in the same period, it has been largely attributed to the fact that the carrying capacity of available grazing areas had not been attained. The current stocking rates in the LVB reveal that the rangelands are greatly overstocked and overgrazed with land degradation already evidenced in some areas. Climate variability coupled with a decrease in grazing resources is driving unprecedented forage scarcity which is now a major limiting factor to cattle production. Crop cultivation and settlement expansion are major land use types overtaking grazing lands; therefore the incorporation of crop residues into ruminant feeding systems could be a feasible way to curtail rangeland degradation and increase beef cattle production.

Implications of Land Use and Climate Change on Water Balance Components in the Sigi Catchment, Tanzania

“…Tanzania, as in many developing countries, is significantly affected by land use and climate change (Kashaigili et al, 2015;Norbert and Jeremiah, 2012). Land use/ cover and climate change have deteriorated hydrologic systems thereby causing unpredictable change in stream flow.…”

Evaluation of Productivity of Chloris Gayana Under Soils of Varying Composition in South Western Uganda

“…Uganda, Ethiopia, Sudan, Kenya and Tanzania etc) is one of the C4 forage perennial grasses which is used as pasture and hay crop (Osman et al 2014).By growing Rhodes grass farmers can produce more feed for their livestock since it has better productivity and nutritive value compared to natural pasture such as Cymbopogan spp., Themedra triandra, Brachiaria spp., Panicum Maximum, and Hyperrrhenia spp etc (Duke 1978;Abebe et al 2015;Meat Master Plan 1998). However, most rangelands are degraded by over stocking and over grazing leading to land degradation (Kashaigili et al 2015) hence low soil fertility for growth of Rhodes grass. One of the ways of boosting pasture (Rhodes grass) productivity is to routinely examine the elements in soils to determine nutrient levels for better yields as Rhodes grass is productive in moderate to high fertile soils (Horneck et al 2011;Abebe et al 2015).…”