Six livestock owners, who are commonly used as demonstrators, participated in the study of which three were from communal areas and three from freehold farms in the Ganyesa area. The livestock production potential in communal areas was compared with that of freehold farms. Information on livestock production, veld condition, Dry matter, crude protein- content of natural grasses and extension services were determined and evaluated for each study area. The result of this study revealed that because of variation in climate, Ganyesa is classified as semi- arid and is mainly suitable for livestock production. The result further revealed that there were major constraints in livestock production in the study area and these were related to land tenure system and poor livestock production. In both communal areas and freehold farms, farmers were unable to invest in infrastructural development and this immensely affected production, and led to over-grazing. The performance of the herds (calving %) in communal areas was low (54%) as compared to that on the freehold farms (6 %). However, the results revealed that more calves that were born lived up to weaning (85% in communal areas, 90 % on freehold farms) and this compared favourably with results from other areas. Herd mortality rates for both communal (2%) and freehold farms (2%) were reported to be low. The performance of smallstock was somehow lower than expected for both communal and freehold farms. The lambing kidding percentage was low (62% and 69%, respectively) and mortality rates were somewhat high (to % and 23% respectively). This means that many lambs/kids died due to diseases and malnutrition and thus did not reach a weaning age. Forage DM production was reported to be higher on freehold farms than in communal areas, and this supported the argument that the latter areas are over-stocked. The CP¬content of forage was high for freehold farms during December - January and low during July - August. The CP -values of forage for freehold farms were higher than those for communal areas with the highest figures recorded during January. The veld condition score was reasonable on freehold farms with a high percentage of desirable grass species (28 % ) and low in communal areas (22 %) with high percentage of undesirable grass species (52 %) recorded by the latter. The results of this study revealed that all samples recorded high strontium (Sr) values, indicating likely contamination of the borehole sites. The high levels of titanium (Ti) and barium (Ba) on freehold farms may indicate a possibility of industrial pollution of boreholes. Most of the water sources sampled may also be utilised by humans for drinking, food preparation and drinking purposes with detrimental effects. In view of these constraints, some recommendations were made. / Dissertation (M Inst Agrar (Animal Production))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Animal and Wildlife Sciences / unrestricted

This thesis concerns the identification of quantitative trait loci (QTL) for important traits in cattle line crosses. One of these traits is birth weight of calves, which affects both animal production and welfare through correlated effects on parturition and subsequent growth. Birth weight was one of the traits measured in the Davies' Gene Mapping Project. These data form the motivation for the methods presented in this thesis. Multiple QTL models have been previously proposed and are likely to be superior to single QTL models. The multiple QTL models can be loosely divided into two categories : 1 ) model building methods that aim to generate good models that contain only a subset of all the potential QTL ; and 2 ) methods that consider all the observed marker explanatory variables. The first set of methods can be misleading if an incorrect model is chosen. The second set of methods does not have this limitation. However, a full fixed effect analysis is generally not possible as the number of marker explanatory variables is typically large with respect to the number of observations. This can be overcome by using constrained estimation methods or by making the marker effects random. One method of constrained estimation is the least absolute selection and shrinkage operator (LASSO). This method has the appealing ability to produce predictions of effects that are identically zero. The LASSO can also be specified as a random model where the effects follow a double exponential distribution. In this thesis, the LASSO is investigated from a random effects model perspective. Two methods to approximate the marginal likelihood are presented. The first uses the standard form for the double exponential distribution and requires adjustment of the score equations for unbiased estimation. The second is based on an alternative probability model for the double exponential distribution. It was developed late in the candidature and gives similar dispersion parameter estimates to the first approximation, but does so in a more direct manner. The alternative LASSO model suggests some novel types of predictors. Methods for a number of different types of predictors are specified and are compared for statistical efficiency. Initially, inference for the LASSO effects is performed using simulation. Essentially, this treats the random effects as fixed effects and tests the null hypothesis that the effect is zero. In simulation studies, it is shown to be a useful method to identify important effects. However, the effects are random, so such a test is not strictly appropriate. After the specification of the alternative LASSO model, a method for making probability statements about the random effects being above or below zero is developed. This method is based on the predictive distribution of the random effects (posterior in Bayesian terminology). The random LASSO model is not sufficiently flexible to model most QTL mapping data. Typically, these data arise from large experiments and require models containing terms for experimental design. For example, the Davies' Gene Mapping experiment requires fixed effects for different sires, a covariate for birthdate within season and random normal effects for management group. To accommodate these sources of variation a mixed model is employed. The marker effects are included into this model as random LASSO effects. Estimation of the dispersion parameters is based on an approximate restricted likelihood (an extension of the first method of estimation for the simple random effects model). Prediction of the random effects is performed using a generalisation of Henderson's mixed model equations. The performance of the LASSO linear mixed model for QTL identification is assessed via simulation. It performs well against other commonly used methods but it may lack power for lowly heritable traits in small experiments. However, the rate of false positives in such situations is much lower. Also, the LASSO method is more precise in locating the correct marker rather than a marker in its vicinity. Analysis of the Davies' Gene Mapping Data using the methods described in this thesis identified five non-zero marker-within-sire effects ( there were 570 such effects). This analysis clearly shows that most of the genome does not affect the trait of interest. The simulation results and the analysis of the Davies' Gene Mapping Project Data show that the LASSO linear mixed model is a competitive method for QTL identification. It provides a flexible method to model the genetic and experimental effects simultaneously. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, 2006.

Thesis (M. Dev.) -- University of Limpopo, 2017 / There is a gap in the literature about the role and relevance of Indigenous Knowledge and beef cattle welfare in many parts of the Limpopo province. This gap is relevant because many marginalised cattle owners use indigenous knowledge in their day to day management of beef cattle. The aim of the study is to investigate the use of IK methods on beef cattle husbandry in Tshebela village in the Capricorn district of the Limpopo province as a contribution to filling the void identified above. The objectives of the study were as follows:  -To investigate the IK methods used in beef cattle husbandry in the area of the study;  -To assess if beef farmers use IK to identify medicinal plants to cure beef cattle;  -To investigate farmers‘ perceptions and attitudes on the use of IKS on beef cattle husbandry in the area of study. A qualitative methodology that was used was primarily phenomenological in design. A purposive sampling technique was used and twenty seven (27) traditional beef farmers, two (2) local herbalists were recruited as participants. Data was collected through focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and observations. An interpretative phenomenological-based analysis was used to surface the role and relevance of indigenous knowledge in beef cattle husbandry. The findings suggest that indigenous knowledge is used by cattle owners alongside modern knowledge and that communal farming posed some challenges to the farmers.

Thesis (M. Dev.) -- University of Limpopo, 2017 / There is a gap in the literature about the role and relevance of Indigenous Knowledge and beef cattle welfare in many parts of the Limpopo province. This gap is relevant because many marginalised cattle owners use indigenous knowledge in their day to day management of beef cattle. The aim of the study is to investigate the use of IK methods on beef cattle husbandry in Tshebela village in the Capricorn district of the Limpopo province as a contribution to filling the void identified above. The objectives of the study were as follows:  To investigate the IK methods used in beef cattle husbandry in the area of the study;  To assess if beef farmers use IK to identify medicinal plants to cure beef cattle;  To investigate farmers‘ perceptions and attitudes on the use of IKS on beef cattle husbandry in the area of study. A qualitative methodology that was used was primarily phenomenological in design. A purposive sampling technique was used and twenty seven (27) traditional beef farmers, two (2) local herbalists were recruited as participants. Data was collected through focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and observations. An interpretative phenomenological-based analysis was used to surface the role and relevance of indigenous knowledge in beef cattle husbandry. The findings suggest that indigenous knowledge is used by cattle owners alongside modern knowledge and that communal farming posed some challenges to the farmers

Min utgångshypotes var att en minskad köttkonsumtion ger en minskad boskapsuppfödning. En boskapsuppfödning som idag tar i anspråk ca 70 procent av all jordbruksmark och 40 procent av den globala spannmålsproduktionen. Tanken var att en minskad boskapsuppfödning skulle bidra till en ökad tillgång på spannmål för människor och därmed en minskad svält. Men sambandet mellan svält och jordens resurser var inte så enkelt som jag hade förespeglat mig. Maktkoncentrationen som återfinns i matens distributionsled visade sig ha satt spelreglerna om tillgång och efterfrågan mer eller mindre ur spel. En ökad tillgång på mat genom en minskad köttkonsumtion och bättre resurshantering verkar därför inte påverka fattigdom och svält nämnvärt. Den nuvarande världshandeln visade sig också vara en bidragande orsak till fattigdom och svält då mat från nord, producerad med hjälp av statliga subventioner, konkurrerar ut lokalproducenter i syd. Den avgörande faktorn tycks vara människors tillgång på pengar. Inga pengar, ingen mat oavsett om maten finns i överflöd eller inte. Mina efterforskningar tyder på att de viktigaste faktorerna för att minska världssvälten är en förändring av den globala handeln för att därigenom öka de utsattas tillgång på kapital och självförsörjningsgrad samt en diskussion om vilket politiskt och ekonomiskt system som krävs för det.

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This study was conducted to determine livestock production, rangeland management and the mineral levels of soils, grass and cattle blood serum in two communal areas (Kwezana and Dikidikana). A total of 77 farmers from both Kwezana and Dikidikana were interviewed to determine farmers’ perceptions. Soil and grass sampling was done at three sites in each communal area. Soil and grass samples were analysed for N, Ca, Mg, K, P, Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn and Bo. Three, two and half year old Nguni heifers were randomly selected from each communal area and blood samples were collected for the analysis of Ca, Mg, K, Cu and Fe. Soil, grass and blood samples were all collected in two seasons (winter and summer). The results of the study revealed that feed availability was the major constraint in livestock production as indicated by 83 percent of thefarmers at Kwezana and 88 percent at Dikidikana. At both villages less than 20 percent practiced supplementation and grazing management. From both villages, 83 percent of the farmers did not know the forage species preferred by their cattle. The second study revealed significant seasonal variations in soil N in both study areas while forage N exhibited seasonal variations (P<0.05) only at Dikidikana. Spatial variation (P<0.05) in soil Mn was apparent in both seasons at Dikidikana and in summer at Kwezana. At Dikidikana forage P varied (P<0.05) both seasonally and spatially. In both study areas, there was a positive correlation (P<0.05) between soil and forage levels of Cu and Zn. The blood serum of animals from both study areas had higher (P<0.05) K and Na in winter than in summer. Farmers do not understand the composition of their rangelands but are concerned about cattle nutrition during winter. Indeed the mineral status of soils, forages and Nguni cattle blood serum tend to vary not only seasonally but also spatially. There is need therefore to assist the farmers to understand these changes in order to find ways of managing the rangelands in a way that will manipulate both seasonal and spatial variations in soil nutrients for the benefit of the grazing livestock. Further research is required to determine the digestibility of the forages and the amount of energy available from these forages for the grazing livestock.

Land reform has been going on in Zimbabwe since the state attained independence from Britain in 1980 as a way of enhancing agrarian livelihoods for the formerly marginalized people. This study argues that, the Land Reform Programme in Southern Matabeleland rather than enhancing agrarian livelihoods, well established livelihoods have actually been drastically reduced. This has been exacerbated by the state programme of land re-distribution that prescribes a „one size fits all‟ model. Yet this is contrary to the thinking in development discourse that equitable land distribution increases rural livelihoods. As a way of gathering data this study utilized ethnography and case study methodologies. I spent two years interacting and interviewing purposively selected new resettles, communal residents, migrant workers and gold panners in this region. Results from this study confirm that, land reform has greatly reduced livelihoods, particularly agrarian livelihoods. Also, this research has found out that, the majority of residents now depend on off-farm livelihoods such as gold panning and migration to neighbouring South Africa. This thesis therefore concludes that, despite a massive expropriation of former commercial farms, people of Southern Matabeleland have not benefitted much as the village settlements (A1) and the small size farms (A2) have not received support from this live-stocking community. People in this region pin their hopes on livestock rearing to sustain their livelihoods and this study therefore recommends that, any agrarian transformation programmes should address the issues that promote livestock rearing

Thesis (M.Sc. Agriculture (Agricultural Economics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / Raising cattle in South Africa and any other developing country in the Southern African region as part of livestock production, is one of the important means through which people sustain their livelihood. Inadequate efforts have been taken by the government to improve the marketing system of cattle, particularly to develop small-scale farming in the Limpopo Province and South Africa as a whole. With that being said, the small-scale sector has not been developed to the extent it is expected to. This study examined the factors affecting the participation of small-scale cattle farmers in livestock auctions in the Capricorn District of the Limpopo Province. The study had three objectives, namely; (i) To describe the socio-economic characteristics of the small scale cattle farmers in the Capricorn District of the Limpopo Province; (ii) To assess the perception of small-scale cattle farmers in the Capricorn District of the Limpopo Province towards livestock auction; (iii) To identify and analyse factors affecting the participation of small-scale cattle farmers in livestock auctions in the Capricorn District of the Limpopo Province. The Multi-stage sampling procedure was used in the selection of the representative sample. Three locations (Lepelle-Nkumpi, Molemole and Polokwane local municipalities) were selected purposively because a large number of small-scale cattle farmers in the Capricorn District rely on the agricultural sector economically. The Logistic Regression Model was used to analyse factors affecting the participation of small-scale cattle farmers in livestock auctions. The results showed that, out of the 120 sample size, 42% of small-scale cattle farmers were auction participants and 58% of small-scale cattle farmers were non-participants . There were 43 male-headed households of the participants and 61 female-headed households of the non-participants . An analysis of the farmers ’ socio-economic characteristics further showed that in order for the farmers to cut the costs of production, the majority of the small-scale cattle farmers preferred using family labourers or household labourers in their cattle farming. Farmers were asked a set of Likert type scale questions about their perceptions on the auctions. The Perception Index score ii was skewed to the left and therefore revealed that the small-scale cattle farmers had a negative perception towards the auction. Farmers who had a positive perception, on the other hand, often sold their cattle at a higher price compared to the non-participants who had a negative perception. Furthermore, small-scale cattle farmers who are participants tend to use the market avenue and through that, their cattle productivity is higher, resulting in a total revenue compared to the non-participants. Consequently, small-scale farmers who participate in auctions acquire valuable production information at the very auctions. Descriptive statistics such as means, minimum and maximum values, frequencies, percentages and standard deviations were used to describe the socioeconomic characteristics of the small-scale cattle farmers in the Capricorn District of the Limpopo Province. The results revealed that only 4 variables were significant. The total herd size, distance to the market, gender of the household head and market information were significant at 1%, 5%, 1%, 5%, respectively and all had a positive effect towards auction participation. The study suggested that the government and other policy makers should increase the marketing information and abilities of small-scale cattle farmers through avenues like mass media, extension service and other means of capacity building. This will help the farmers to minimise transaction costs. Furthermore, farmers will not incur more costs when they participate in the markets, considering that market facilities such as auctions are often hosted far from the farmers, which results in farmers incurring more costs.