Alcock, Rauri

Bayer, Wolfgang

Letty, Brigid

English

University of Kentucky

University of Kentucky UKnowledge International Grassland Congress Proceedings 21st International Grassland Congress / 8th International Rangeland Congress Nguni--A New Old Cattle Breed for Rangelands in Communal Areas of South Africa Wolfgang Bayer ETC EcoCulture, The Netherlands Brigid Letty Institute of Natural Resources, South Africa Rauri Alcock Mdukatshani Rural Development Project, South Africa Follow this and additional works at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc  Part of the Plant Sciences Commons, and the Soil Science Commons This document is available at https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/21/9-1/17 The 21st International Grassland Congress / 8th International Rangeland Congress took place in Hohhot, China from June 29 through July 5, 2008. Proceedings edited by Organizing Committee of 2008 IGC/IRC Conference Published by Guangdong People's Publishing House This Event is brought to you for free and open access by the Plant and Soil Sciences at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in International Grassland Congress Proceedings by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact UKnowledge@lsv.uky.edu. 　 Multifunctional Grasslands in a Changing World 　 Volume Ⅱ 　 瞯 ]33　 瞯Grasslands/Rangelands Production Systems——— Livestock Production SystemsNguni — a new old cattle breed for rangelands in communal areas of South AfricaWol f gang Bayer 1 ,B rigid Letty 2 and Rauri A lcock 31 ETC EcoCulture ,Netherlands ( wb ＿ bayer＠ web .de ) ;2 Institute o f Natural Resources ,Pietermaritzburg South A f rica ;3 Mdukatshani Rural Development Pro ject ,South A f ricaKey words : adaptation ,communal rangelands ,indigenous cattle ,South AfricaAnimals on extensive rangelands need to be well adapted to the environment .This includes resistance against prevalent diseases ,and the ability to cope with low‐quality forage ,with heat or cold , and/ or drought or water shortage , depending on theenvironment .Nguni cattle are such animals ,adapted to the savannah environment of southern Africa .They are thought tooriginate from cattle domesticated in northeast Africa and evolved in South Africa in precolonial times as small ,early‐maturing ,disease‐resistant ,docile and multipurpose cattle that can cope with low‐quality forage (Bester et al . ,２００３ ) .They attained a highcultural importance ,particularly among the Zulu people ( Poland et al . ,２００３ ) .Colonial farmers and scientists rejected them astoo variable in colour and shape and regarded them as �poor beasts" .During the period of apartheid ,agricultural servicesactively discredited indigenous livestock breeds ,to the extent that livestock inspectors were instructed to castrate local �shrubbulls" .Fortunately ,this was not widely implemented ( Scholtz ２００６ ) .Slow ly ,communal farmers were convinced that goodanimal husbandry means keeping large‐framed , so‐called commercial livestock , regular dipping for tick control andsupplementary feed .In １９５０s ,some scientists who became interested in the Nguni as hardy ,low‐input animals acquired someNguni cattle and kept them without tick control and supplements .Later ,commercial farmers formed a Nguni breed society .TheNguni are now the sixth most important beef breed of South Africa ( Scholtz ,２００６ ) .Studies suggest that ,in the case of Ngunicattle ,the costs of tick control are considerably higher than are benefits ( Bester et al . ,２００３ ) . A book on indigenousclassification of the Nguni ( Poland et al . ,２００３) became a bestseller .During a study in ２００３ , cattle‐keepers in communal areas of KwaZulu‐Natal ( KZN ) Province claimed ignorance of theadvantages of Nguni cattle ( Bayer et al . ,２００３) .They regarded Nguni as something for white farmers ,although a large numberof Nguni cattle of varying purity are kept in communal areas ( Bester et al . ,２００３ ) .However ,discussions of the merits of thebreed created interest among the KZN farmers .As a first step ,farmers�visits were organised to stud farms and researchstations that keep Nguni cattle .Some farmers then wanted to start introducing Nguni into their herds .Because of widespreadcattle thef t ,they argued that using a community bull would be difficult .Therefore ,as a first step ,artificial insemination wastried ,combined with hormone treatment of selected cows to synchronize their cycles .This scheme proved to be a completefailure ,as the cows did not conceive .Farmers argued for a second attempt to introduce more Nguni genes into their herds .Thistime ,a young bull from one of the research stations and a modified concept of community bull‐keeping was used that allowsseveral households to make use of the bull .The bull was kept in the cattle kraal at the homestead of one of the farmersparticipating in the scheme ,together with heifers or cows of other participating farmers .During daytime ,the bull and associatedcows were managed as a separate herd ,and not allowed to mix with other cattle grazing in the area .The only argument againstthe bull was that it was dehorned ,which put it at a disadvantage with local horned bulls and oxen .In early ２００６ ,the first calveswere born and farmers are now eager to see how the calves will turn out as grown animals .The Department of Agriculturesubsequently donated a second bull to the project ( this time ,one with horns) .Farmers started to observe differences betweenNguni and their other calves with respect to tick load ,but have not yet reduced treatment against ticks ,as they still fear to risklosing their calves from tick‐borne diseases .It is hoped that ,in the long run ,communal farmers will realise the potential ofreducing acaracide costs and supplementary feeding when keeping herds that have a larger percentage of Nguni genes .ReferencesBayer ,W . ,Alcock ,R . ,Dladla ,F . ,Gilles ,P . ,Masonod ,M . ,Mkhize ,P . ,M tshali ,E . ,Ntombela ,L .２００３ .Cattle ,goats ,chickensand more : a study of indigenous livestock management in rural KwaZulu‐Natal ,South Africa .Aachen : Misereor .Bester ,J . ,Matjuda ,I .E . ,Rust ,J .M . ,Fourie ,H .J .２００３ .The Nguni : a case study .In : FAO .Community‐based management ofanimal genetic resources : p roceedings o f the workshop held in Mbabane ,Swaz iland ,７‐１１ May ２００１ .Rome : UNDP ,GTZ ,CTA ,FAO ,４５‐６８ .Poland ,M . ,Hammond‐Tooke ,D . ,Voigt ,L .２００３ .The abundant herds : a celebration of the Nguni cattle of the Zulu people .Vlaeberg :Fernwood Press .Scholtz ,M .M .２００６ .The role of research and a seed stock industry in the in situ conservation of livestock genetic resources .In :Rege ,J .E .O . ,Nyamu ,A .M . ,Sendalo ,D .( eds ) .The role o f biotechnology in animal agriculture to address poverty inA f rica : op portunities and challenges . Dar es Salaam : TSAP ( Tanzania Society for Animal Production ) / Nairobi :International Livestock Research Institute .

Nguni--A New Old Cattle Breed for Rangelands in Communal Areas of South Africa

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Nguni--A New Old Cattle Breed for Rangelands in Communal Areas of South Africa

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