A field survey was undertaken in which interviews were conducted with 12 farmers in the private access commercial and 80 farmers in the communal access subsistence grazing using face-to-face interviews in the Barka and Arado cattle farming communities in four of the six regions in Eritrea. Compared to the Arado cattle ranch, the Barka cattle ranch had relatively better access to grazing fodder.
Estimated regression coefficients for the regression on Milk yield using data for a sample of 12 comme rcial farmers and 80 subsistence farmers 100
Estimated regression coefficients for the regression on Calving rate (PC3) using
Mean annual rainfall for the four regions included in the study for the period
INTRODUCTION
Grazing resources and livestock farming in Eritrea
- Agro-ecological zones in Eritrea
- Characteristics of grazing land
- Livestock migration practices of Eritrean pastoralists
- Promoting grazing forage using flood water
- Breeds of cattle farmed in Eritrea
The most important grazing zones in Eritrea are found in the Central Highlands, the Western and Southwestern Lowlands and the eastern coastal plains of the country (Kayouli et al. These cattle are mainly found in the regions of Central Highlands (Debub and Maekel), Anseba and Northern Red Sea (Semmienawi Keih Bahri) regions.
Cattle farming systems in Eritrea
- Smallholder livestock farming systems
- Commercial cattle farming systems
According to FAO (1994), two types of livestock production systems are used by smallholder farmers in Eritrea: (a) cereal and livestock production system in the highlands (40% of cattle) and (b) pastoral and agro-pastoral livestock production systems in the lowlands (60% of cattle). In the pastoral and agro-pastoral production systems, cattle are kept primarily as a source of milk and meat.
Problem statement
Objectives of the study
Outline of this dissertation
LITERATURE REVIEW
Rangeland management in Eritrea
- Species composition of the natural pastures of rangeland in Eritrea
- Livestock capacities of rangelands in Eritrea
- Rangeland management practices in Eritrea
- Improved grazing systems
- Controlled stocking rates
- Continuous and rotational grazing systems
- Introducing forage grasses and legumes to Eritrean rangelands
- Forage quality
- Fencing
In all regions of the study areas, the problem of significant deforestation without replacement planting is common (Kayouli et al. 2005). The grass species composition of the natural grasslands of pastures in Eritrea also varies by region.
Contribution of crop residues as winter grazing forage
- Type and quantity of crop residues
- Quality of crop residues
Of the small grains, barley, tef, millet, wheat and hanfet account for 26 percent of all crop residues in the country. Most of these crop residues were produced in the highlands, mainly in the Debub region, where 34 percent of all crop residues were produced. The Semmienawi Keih Bahri region produced five percent crop residues mainly from sorghum and maize crops (Table 2.3b).
The quality of crop residues can be influenced by the management (the intensity of added inputs such as manure, fertilizer, crop rotation practices, fallow duration, timely weeding, etc.) of the croplands and the process of their collection and conservation.
Supplementary feeds as a dry season feeding strategy
- Sources of supplementary feeds in Eritrea
- Agricultural and industrial by-products as supplementary feeds
- Urea treatments in Eritrea Central Highlands
The application of manure was one of the means to promote soil fertility of croplands in the country. However, due to the lack of fuel in rural areas, most animal manure is used as domestic fuel. In the highland regions, small grains such as barley, teff, wheat and finger millet are the main sources of crop residues for the winter dry season in the Debub and Maekel regions.
There is only one primary source of agro-industrial by-product used as supplementary feed in the country, Asmara, which is distributed to all regions.
Herd breed, size and composition
Therefore, one of the practical actions that Halhale Research Station has established is the urea-treated straw and the production and use of fodder blocks in the highlands. However, at high production levels, backcrosses show a decrease in average milk yield of 100 kg, demonstrating the success of the first crossed generation (F1) and decline in the next generation (F2), and hybrid vigor (heterosis) in production supports. crossbreeds, such as zebus and European-type cattle due to the large genetic distance between the two types (Cunningham and Syrstad 1987). To overcome such limitations, farmers near the urban areas use artificial insemination, while farmers in the rural areas use crossbreeding.
However, Syrstad (1996) stated that genetic improvement alone may not lead to a dramatic increase in milk production in the tropics, but is a prerequisite for such an increase.
Institutional arrangements governing the use of grazing resources in Eritrea In chapter one an argument was presented that despite the existence of well defined
- Open-access versus communal access
- Education
- Household income
- Household structure
However, if the grazing area is under open grazing, the land will be stored such that the value of the average product (VAP) is equal to the cost of keeping an additional cow (Px). This equilibrium arises because, under conditions of open access, shareholders only consider their own private costs and returns when deciding whether or not to use the commons. It is clear that the tragedy of the commons can be averted if the group of shareholders chooses to cooperate and agree to stockpile the land at a level that is within the carrying capacity of the land, and preferably at the level where VMP = Px.
High costs of collective action can limit the ability of a group of farmers to work together effectively, causing land farmed communally by a well-defined group of farmers to suffer from the tragedy of the commons (World Resources 2005).
Access to input and product markets
- Location
- Access to credit
The western and northwestern lowlands of Eritrea are forced to have a regional market economy with adjacent neighboring countries due to the very long distance and lack of infrastructure to the country's marketing centers. However, the newly constructed infrastructure linking the Gash-Barka and Debub regions will help pastoralists, especially those in the Upper Gash and Shambuko from the southwestern lowlands, to have better access to the central part of the country, such as Asmara and other areas. cities (FAO/IFD 1999). However, the individual programs of the credit organizations are supported; their capital potential may not be compatible to meet the credit needs of smallholder farmers.
Eritrea is one of the less developed countries that require improved access to credit and other inputs to remove or reduce upstream constraints (lack of credit supply) and require market access to remove or reduce downstream constraints (lack of market access).
Discussion: Causes of overgrazing and degradation of Eritrean rangelands Overgrazing and degradation of rangelands are potential causes of low cattle productivity
Another possible root cause of overgrazing and pasture degradation is the use of supplementary feed by Eritrean livestock farmers to support herds during dry periods. The consequence of this is that when the use of supplementary feed ceases (or when the livestock returns to pastures in the immediate vicinity of the farmers' villages) at the beginning of the next rainy season, the stock level will be higher than that which is possible without the use of supplementary feed (herd migration). The main objective of this chapter is to outline the statistical techniques used to analyze the characteristics of commercial and small-scale cattle farming systems in the Arado and Barka cattle regions of Eritrea.
The specification of this section of the analysis and an explanation of the statistical techniques used for the analysis are presented in section 3.4.
Data collection
- Random sampling and stratified random sampling techniques
- The survey interview technique
- Collection of secondary information from farmers’ associations
- The survey of commercial cattle farmers
- The survey of subsistence cattle farmers
- Group discussions
The availability of field areas and the fodder potential of the sampled villages were also observed. Out of the 32 commercial milk producers, 12 farmers were selected using a simple sampling method (Table 3.2). Accordingly, the characteristics of the target population were measured using stratified and simple random sampling techniques (Table 3.1).
In addition, t-test analysis was also applied to determine the significant differences between the small community farmers of Arado and Barka cattle and the commercial livestock farmers (Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) 1990).
The statistical methodology used to analyse cattle productivity
- Methods of principal components analysis (PCA)
- Cattle farming variables and equations
- Factor scores
- Regression analysis
Among the factors used to measure the productivity of cattle breeding are withdrawal rates (OT), calving rates (CR) and mortality rates (MR), MY = milk yield. In this representation, each variable Q taken from a sample (ie, study) is described by a linear combination of orthogonal components (uncorrelated factors). By calculating the factor scores for the other factors (components) in the same way, it is possible to obtain the factor factor coefficients for the sample data.
Using a similar calculation for the remaining factors or components, the factor scores for the sampled areas can be calculated.
Introduction
Grazing systems and forage production in the Eritrean livestock farming systems
A relatively large proportion of subsistence farmers (65%) compared to commercial farmers rely on moving cattle during the dry season. High loading is a serious limitation for forage production in livestock systems characterized by shared available pasture. The practice of moving cattle during dry periods is a limitation to the adoption of controlled stocking rates by subsistence farming communities in Eritrea.
Another obstacle to the adoption of controlled stocking rates is the system of communal grazing used by local communities of subsistence farmers in Eritrea.
Forage Requirements
- Grazing resources available in the Barka and Arado cattle study regions Grazing is a primary source of forage for cattle in Eritrea. The Barka and Arado cattle
- Croplands forage
- Type and quantity of crop residues
- Crop rotation and fallow
- Discussion
- Supplementary feeds
- Crop farm by -products
- Agro-industry by-products
- Discussion
Crops produced in the study areas were found to vary from the Barka cattle region to the Arado cattle region in type and quantity. Sorghum and pearl millet were mainly produced in the Western Lowlands of the Barka cattle range in the Gash-Barka region. Maize was almost equally produced (10% and 12%) in the Barka and Arado cattle areas respectively.
Farmers in the Barka cattle area produced pearl millet and those from the Arado cattle area produced maize from the cultivated lands.
An analysis of the productivity of Arado and Barka cattle in Eritrea
- Measurements of livestock productivity used in the analysis
- Ordination diagram analysis for commercial and subsistence farmers
- Results of principal component analysis (PCA1) of indication of herd size and composition in commercial and subsistence cattle production systems
- Factors affecting cattle pro ductivity of commercial and subsistence cattle farmers in Eritrea
- Specification of the regression models
- Results of the regression analysis on milk yield productivity
- Results of the regression analysis on calving rate productivity
- Ordination diagram analysis of Barka and Arado subsistence cattle farming The ordination diagram analysis in Figure 4.2 presents the distributions of 80 households’
- An analysis of the productivity of Arado and Barka cattle in smallholder production systems in Eritrea
- A regression analysis of factors affecting cattle productivity of smallholder farmers in the Arado and Barka regions of Eritrea
- Definition of the explanatory variables presented in Table 4.14
- Factors affecting off-take productivity (PC2.1)
- Factors affecting milk productivity (PC2.2)
In the ordination diagram, grazing costs (graz_cos), withdrawal rates (ot_avg), income from cattle sales (isa (avg) and mortality rates (Mortality)) are presented in the Arado cattle area. Milk yield, liveweight, weight at birth (wtbirth), calving (cr), feed costs (feed_c) and milk income (im_lc) are shown in the sample area of Barka cattle. Milk yield, live weight, weight at birth (wtbirth), calving (cr), feed cost (feed_c) and milk income (im_lc) are shown in the sample area of Barka cattle.
The cattle productivity of a sample of 80 subsistence farmers in the cattle breeding area of Arado and Barka was examined using a set of measurements of different dimensions of cattle productivity.
- Factors affecting calving rate productivity (PC2.3)
It is not clear whether this is due to investments in grazing, investments in herd quality or to reduced stocking rates.
- Results of group discussions with farmers
- General discussion
This analysis records current rangeland practices and levels of land and livestock productivity in Eritrea for commercial farming and subsistence farming in the Barka and Arado regions. The second, third and fourth stages of the analysis (i.e. rank diagrams, principal component analyzes of cattle productivity and regression analyses) aimed to statistically analyze the factors influencing livestock productivity in commercial and livestock systems. livestock farms in Eritrea. Farming styles in the dairy sub-sector in Eritrea: Case study of farming practices, strategies and networks.
Socio-economic transitions influence vegetation change in the common rangeland of the South African Lowveld.
