Matabeleland farmers urged to stick to indigenous breeds

15 Jun, 2014 - 00:06 0 Views
Matabeleland farmers urged to stick to indigenous breeds

The Sunday News

cattleRoberta Katunga Senior Farming Reporter
FARMERS in Matabeleland region have been urged to rear indigenous breeds of cattle as these can withstand climate change as they have higher survival rates as compared to exotic breeds. Matopo Research Station chief research officer Mr Daniel Nkomboni said indigenous cattle like Nguni, Tuli and Mashona had an advantage over exotic breeds as they survive better in semi arid areas.

“With climate change being an issue, we have realised that indigenous breeds can adapt to droughts and prolonged dry periods which is an advantage for this region. When it also comes to diseases like heartwater, indigenous breeds survive better,” said Mr Nkomboni.

Mr Nkomboni said on ticks, indigenous breeds, were not affected due to their smooth hides and they graze less.

He said they also adapt easily as they sometimes eat tree leaves when pastures are limited which makes them favourable for semi arid areas where rainfall is limited.

“Indigenous breeds can switch from eating grass to tree leaves, in times of drought they can survive as they do not eat much that is why we are encouraging people in this region to breed these varieties to avoid cattle loss and to increase their herds,” said Mr Nkomboni.

Speaking on seed varieties, Mr Nkomboni said there are sorghum, rapoko and pearl millet varieties that ripen within a reasonable time and do not need a lot of water which is an advantage for dry areas like Matabeleland South.

He said they had noticed that farmers in this region now planted anything and due to this they usually got low yields hence the need to stick to varieties that do well in these environments.

Since rainfall is the major determinant of production in semi arid rangelands, clear off take strategies must be in place for drought years and Matopos Research Station specialises in coming up with new studies and solutions.

Recent research being done at the institution includes planted forages for animals and road runner management practices.

“We are coming up with these researches to help farmers formulate strategies on how to sustain their livestock in these dry areas. Integration of forage tree legumes into the cereal/legume mixtures substantially increases total biomass and quality.

Bana grass pr sorghum and legume silages can sustain milk production of indigenous and crossbred dairy cattle,” said Mr Nkomboni.

According to Matopos Research Station; they are also evaluating cactus pear as feed for livestock in semi arid areas of the country.

Speaking on the indigenous chicken research, Mr Nkomboni said there were three strains being evaluated namely the necked neck, barred type and the tailess (francolin like) type with the necked neck type being the best.

Important characteristics of indigenous chickens include being adaptable to feeding on household produce, being prolific egg producers as well as having a big body frame which means they are good brooders.

Other characteristics include being dual purpose chickens, sex of chicks easy to determine and are used for cross breeding programmes for commercial layers.

Share This:

Survey


We value your opinion! Take a moment to complete our survey

This will close in 20 seconds