Chronicle Editor
Farming Issues with, Mhlupheki Dube
THIS week we continue to look at the effectiveness of extension messaging or lack thereof in transforming the production methods of a livestock farmer.
One of the issues that extension has struggled with and scored very minimal success is transforming livestock farmers from subsistence production practices to commercially focused farming approaches.
As it is many districts are recording huge numbers of poverty deaths and these are not only from struggling farmers with a few animals but even from some with large herds.
We have discussed before on this platform that commercial production is not only a function of size holding but also management approaches.
It is very possible to have a livestock farmer with a herd of cattle above 50 but who is still a subsistence farmer because of the way he is producing his animals.
These are the majority of smallholder communal livestock farmers we have, and they contribute about 90 percent to the national herd.
If as a nation we wish to progress regarding livestock production, we need to be deliberate in targeting and mentoring a majority of these livestock farmers who are wrongfully in the subsistence farming bracket when they can easily be under the commercial umbrella.
Our extension messaging needs to be able to help these farmers see the need to do the following as a way of transforming them from subsistence means of production, fodder production, breed improvement, good animal husbandry practices, and livestock market intelligence.
Fodder production is becoming an integral part of livestock production due to several factors which include climate change effects and the decrease in grazing land sizes as human population increases.
A serious farmer now has to produce fodder for his animals so that one can be able to maintain his or her animals in a fair body condition during the lean season and ensure that they go into production and no year is lost to an empty cow.
Livestock farmers cannot do without fodder production, even dryland silage production is now an option that livestock farmers need to consider seriously.
This is the commercial way of production, where a farmer strives to control the production variables to optimize output as opposed to waiting to react to situations that come.
We have discussed the importance of breed improvement before here, hence I will not belabour the point but indicate that some of these nondescript Indigenous breeds we keep, help us breed poverty to ourselves.
The animal does not only have a tiny frame but has a severely depressed growth rate, taking forever to attain weight which an improved breed will easily surpass in eight months of age. A three-year-old steer will be smaller in weight than a one-year weaner of an improved breed.
You therefore spend a lot of time raising an animal to sell as if you are raising a human being who only attains maturity after 20 years of existence!
Livestock farmers should produce animals, not keep animals. Then there is the standard good animal husbandry practices that every farmer should adopt as a best practice if one is to produce animals commercially.
The dosing, dipping and all other general management approaches need to be followed to the latter.
A commercially oriented farmer will not wait for Government-provided acaricide but ensure that he provides for his animals.
The beef production calendar should be adhered to by such farmers. In short, this livestock farmer needs to be deliberate and invest both time and resources in his management as opposed to zero-cost raising of animals.
Another important aspect that needs to be instilled in these livestock farmers we need to transform from subsistence to commercial production is the marketing side of things.
Livestock marketing is a very integral component of production. As a farmer, you need to understand what you are selling, where you are selling, when you are selling, why you are selling and how you are selling.
This is called market intelligence. Livestock marketing should not be an accident event but a well-planned and prepared event so that you can address the above-asked questions as this will guide your production approach.
You are producing animals for the market hence you need to understand the market so that you make it work for you because if you work against the market, you will be a frustrated producer!
Now, this is all that we need to do to transform our livestock farmers from subsistence to commercially oriented production.
The million-dollar question remains, how do we execute our extension messaging in such a manner that our farmer adopts what we are teaching and begins to enjoy the sweat of his production?
Uyabonga umntakaMaKhumalo.
Mhlupheki Dube is a livestock specialist and farmer. He writes in his own capacity. Cell 0772851275.
Bongani Ndlovu