Benefits from dual purpose goats for crop and livestock production under small-scale peasant systems in Kondoa eroded areas, Tanzania

E J M Shirima

Livestock Research Institute, PO Box 5016, Tanga, Tanzania
lrc@kaributanga.com

Abstract

A socio-economic assessment was done of the impact of dual purpose goats (DPGs) introduced in Kondoa Eroded Areas (KEA) since 1996.  . Farming System Research and Extension (FSR/E) methodologies were used. The interaction of DPGs x crop production was assessed through the changes in crop production and household income.

 

The socio-economic benefits of the DPGs included the increase of employment opportunities, income and nutrition among the beneficiaries. There was also a significant increase of awareness and number of people keeping DPGs within and outside KEA. There were quantifiable changes in economic development like building of modern houses and improvement of literacy rate among the community by sending more children to secondary schools. The availability of DPGs enabled the farmers to replace inorganic fertilisers by organic manure for crop production. Meanwhile, per capita consumption of milk and meat was raised to 156 litres and 4.57 kg, respectively.

 

The DPGs  contributed additional household income as well as increased social benefits.

 

Key words: Dual-purpose goats, goat milk, growth, socio-economic benefits

Introduction

 

Small ruminants play a crucial role in food production in developing countries (Devendra and McLeroy 1982). In Africa, it is estimated that there are 172 million goats or approximately 29% of the world's population (Peacock 1996). Meanwhile, Tanzania has one of the largest ruminant animal populations in Africa, ranked third in cattle numbers after Ethiopia and Sudan (MOAC 1997). On the basis of the latest estimates, Tanzania has 16.7 million cattle, 3.5 million sheep and 12.6 million goats of which about 1% are of imported breeds and their crosses (MAFS 2002). The indigenous goats are bred mainly for meat and belong to the Small East African Goat type. Although they have not been extensively characterised, Tanzanian goats from various localities have different phenotypic characteristics. The main types are named after locations (e.g. Newala, Ujiji) or tribes (e.g. Maasai, Gogo and Sukuma). Breeding research efforts at Kongwa, West Kilimanjaro and Malya Research Centres in Tanzania led to the production of a 'Blended' (composite) type of goat which has the milk yield and large size of the Kamorai, hardness of the indigenous Tanzanian goats and Galla from Kenya and meatiness of the Boer from South Africa (Das 1989; Das and Sendalo 1990; URT 2003).

 

In 1996, thirty six dual-purpose does commonly known as 'Blended goats' (Kamorai 55%, Boer 30% and Indigenous Tanzania Goats 15%) x Anglonubian bucks were transferred from Kongwa Pasture Research Centre to smallholder farmers in three villages in Kondoa district, namely Baura, Bolisa and Kolo. Two female goats were sold to resource-poor farmers at 50% subsidised price to enable them get milk, meat and manure for home consumption and cash from the surplus products. The study in phase 1 (1996 - 1999) was based on the introduction of the animals, and monitoring and evaluating their on-farm performance. This was followed by phase 2 (2001- 2004) which concentrated on studying the socio-economic impact and benefits associated with zero-grazing system, feed availability, crop-livestock interaction and goat productivity. Mixed mode monitoring was employed, whereby a range of information collection techniques was used in an iterative form to study the existed farming system (Anderson et al 1993).

 

The objectives of the study were to establish the socio-economic benefits from the introduction of the dual-purpose goats in smallholder farming systems in Kondoa Eroded Areas of Tanzania.

 

Materials and methods

 

Location and climate

 

Baura, Bolisa and Kolo villages are under Kondoa Eroded Area (KEA) in Kondoa , which is among the five districts of Dodoma Region in Tanzanuia. The region is located in the semi-arid zone of Central Tanzania, and is characterised by a long dry season of up to eight months. The district is approximately situated between latitudes 4^o00^' - 5 ^o 45^' South of Equator and longitudes 35^o 00^' - 36 ^o 30^' East. The district is in a landscape with plains and hills, with altitude of 1300 - 2000 m above sea level covering an area of 13,210 km². The annual rainfall ranges from 400 to 900 mm falling between November and April. The mean temperature ranges from 22 to 30^oC while the soils are characterised by red or grey sands which are moderately poor in nutrients (MOAC 1996).

 

Experimental animals and management

 

The animals used in this study were the F₁ DPGs of "Blended" (Kamorai 55%, Boer 30% and Indigenous Tanzania Goats 15%) x Anglo-Nubian  introduced in KEA since 1996. Their number varied from one household to another, ranging from 2 to 16 of different age and sex categories. Likewise, a limited number of farmers were encouraged to keep local goats for future crossing with improved bucks from the DPGs. All the animals were managed under a zero-grazing system and housed in a raised thatched house. Most of the feeds used were seasonal and were found from the village surroundings including crop residues, natural fodder and some cultivated pasture species. Family labour was used in almost every household that kept goats. Technical assistance was provided from the respective Village Extension Officers.

 

Selection of farmers

 

Of the 96 households (HH) that were selected, 36 kept DPG, 30  kept local goats and 30 did not have goats. The interaction of DPGs x crop production system, and the contribution of the animals to the livelihood of the farmers, was monitored over three years (2001 - 2004) of cropping seasons using Participatory Rapid Appraisal (PRA) techniques. These were integrated with a structured questionnaire taken in the 3 villages before the introduction of the animals.

 

Data collection

 

Data were collected during dry and wet season on: income generation, type and amount of food production and soil nutrient status: including Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC), pH, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Carbon and micro-nutrients.

 

Economic impact assessment

 

Gross margin analysis using partial budgets was used to obtain benefit-cost ratio, net benefit (NB) and marginal rate of return (MRR) of various enterprises within the HH under study. The analyses were done every year (2001/04) in each of the three villages under study.

 

Flow of nutrients with respect to agricultural and livestock production

 

During the 2003/04 cropping seasons, soil nutrient changes were established to measure the impact of livestock on the systems in which they were introduced. Soil sampling was done to determine: pH, Organic Carbon, C/N ratio, CEC, Total Nitrogen, P, K and Base Saturation (BS) each year for three years from the area/land used to obtain animal feeds, reserved land and nearby homesteads (0 - 50 m radius).

 

The data were collected from the following household categories:

Soil category I = Cultivated land with use of goat manure (n = 30) - within KEA
Soil category 2 = Cultivated land without use of goat manure (n = 20) - within KEA
Soil category 3 = Cultivated land without use of goat manure (n - 20) - outside KEA
Soil category 4 = Uncultivated land (virgin) in KEA ( n = 10)

 

The soil analysis was done according to the methods proposed by Ilaco (1981) and de Pauw (1984).

 

Statistical analysis

 

The data from the questionnaire were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 1996). Treatment means were compared at 5% level of significance using the Tukey pair-wise test.

 

Results and discussion

 

Livestock population and beneficiaries

The number of DPG in the three village increased from 2 to 7 goats per household and the number of beneficiaries from 34 to 137 (303%) from 1996 to 2004 (Table 1). This indicates the adaptability of the goats to the local environment and the high level of  adoption within and outside the targeted villages (Table 2). The Association of goat keepers in Baura, Bolisa and Kolo villages recorded 833 goats in total sold from the targeted villages to the neighbouring five villages and outside the district mainly for production purposes. Very few numbers were taken for slaughter as the price was too high compared to the local goats which could serve the same purpose. Another reason for the high demand of the DPGs was due to their importance, as they could easily be incorporated in the management system of other HH agricultural enterprises i.e. high adaptation to feeds and resistance to diseases.

 

Crop and livestock interaction

 

The crop production increased when the soil received manure from the goats, and in some way increased as the time advanced (Table 3). The higher crop yields were observed in plots around the homesteads, but decreased in the plots located far from the homesteads. In the confinement system, it is much easier to have high nutrient inputs, compared with systems like tethering or pasture grazing (Powell et al 2004). Application of manure produced significantly more cereals and vegetable, and yields continued to increase in year two and three after application. Similar observations were documented by Rockström (1995) with millet production where the residual effects of application of manure continued to increase soil fertility significantly in the second and third years after initial application. The manipulation of soil nutrients has a strong link with water availability improving crop productivity (Rockström 1995). In the Sahel, for example, the average crop yield for the strongly fertilized sorghum crop was 2 295 kg/ha i.e. more than 10 times higher than the control (average yield = 208 kg/ha) when fertilizer and organic manure were applied to the sorghum fields (Rockström 1995). Similarly, the application of manure was said to increase dramatically the availability of phosphorus due to the presence of urine in the soil, which raises soil pH (Brouwer and Bouma 1987; Powell et al 1993).

Soil nutrient and DPG manure utilisation

 

It is estimated that goats supply some 15% of the manure used by farmers at the National level (MAFS 2002), but in the study area, they supplied 100% of the manure needed by crops. This was due to the high prices of commercial fertilisers and the erratic rains in the area which could cause more damage to crops if inorganic fertiliser was used (MOAC 2000). According to Defoer et al (2000), goat manure is composed of N (2.2 - 3.7%), P (0.25 - 1.87%), K (0.88 - 1.25%) and DM (50 -70%) if not mixed with other farm yard manure.

 

Addition of manure increased soil organic matter (Table 4). This helps to maintain the soil surface and reduces sediment losses from the top soil (Grande et al 2005). This enhances the available P, CEC and moisture contents which are very important to crop performance (Powell et al 1993). On the other hand, the addition of manure enhanced the uptake of Ca and Mg, however, the observed high level of Ca and Mg could also have been brought about  by too much drought in the area. The total N and P were very low in the soil category IV as the KEA historically has suffered soil erosion problems and probably soil leaching (Kips et al 1989).

 

Contribution of goats to HH income and food security

 

Tables 5 and 6 show financial indicators in the household that received goats since 1996. High variability existed among the farms, but less among the villages. The increase in number of modern houses and numbers of children attending private secondary schools were some of the development indicators which were seen in the villages that adopted the goat project. The reasons might be the increase of household income accrued from the sale of goats and food crops. The advantage of goat keeping in raising the standard of houses and education has also been reported among small-holder goat-keepers in Uluguru mountains in Tanzania (Ingratubun et al 2000). The KEA area is now well known in Tanzania for the supply of DPGs, and the demand is higher than supply, which in turn increases the price of the animals (Shirima 2001, Shirima et al 2003). This motivates the farmers to keep the animals and to endeavour to join the project.

The family consumption of milk averaged 156 litres/person/year, well above the Tanzanian average of 25 litres/person/year and about 78% of the 200 litres/person/year recommended by FAO as needed for normal growth and development (MAFS 2002). Likewise, goat meat consumption was 4.57 kg meat per capita (65% of the 7 kg meat average for Tanzania and 9.1% of the 50 kg meat per capita as recommended by FAO (MAFS 2002; MWLD 2003). The additional income accrued from the sale of goats and their products averaged 0.22 USD/person/day adding to the 1.0 USD/person/day estimated to be the Tanzanian mean income earning. The major revenues from the system were from the sale of milk, surplus yearlings, cull-for-age bucks and cull-for-age does. Income from the sale of goats and their products accounted for over 70% of household income, while the rest came from other production activities like crop production and petty business. In Kenya, keeping Dual Purpose Goats under small-holder farmer conditions, like those of KEA, led to the sale of goat milk and meat in quantities equivalent to 39 to 55% of all the household revenues (Bett et al 2004). For example, by using homestead housing quality as indicator, DPG farmers had significantly more capital at their disposal than owners of local goats or crop farmers (Shirima 1998; Shirima and Msechu 2003). The same happened in three villages in the Uluguru mountains in Tanzania where dairy goat farmers had more access to good quality housing, better education and were more active in farmer's associations (Nordhagen et al 2004). The same authors pointed out that the gross value of outputs of one doe plus followers was six times higher for dairy goats than for local goats. In this study, also, the relatively high gross margins were strongly influenced by the high value farmers attributed to the goat manure which was badly needed for crop production.

The goats made a significant contribution to the welfare of the farmers by subsidising other agricultural activities in the area. This is in line with the available information in which the livestock sector contributed 18% to the GDP and 30% to the agricultural GDP (MAFS 2002). The economic development and improved people's welfare resulting from the contribution of the goats are in line with the targeted Tanzania Development Vision 2025 (MOAC 1997).

 

Social role played by goats

 

Apart from the 25% meat contribution from the goats at the National level, 25% of the goats are used for risk management in the country, and 75% as risk management to the goat keepers in the KEA. People in the study area are now using goats as dowry by paying two to four male goats or cash money of TShs 100,000/= to 200,000/= equivalent. In the case of female goats bring used, the numbers for the dowry were cut by half, indicating that the female animal had twice as much value compared to the male ones. This mode of payment of the dowry was seen in all the HH keeping goats and compares with the National data which show that in 20% of cases, goats are used as dowry (MAFS 2002; MWLD 2003). The goats also serve as a bank account that is used under emergency conditions such as for tax payments, health problems, death of a family member, payment of credit and purchase of food items during crop failure.

 

Conclusions

 

Since the start of the project, the following achievements have been identified:

• Employment opportunities generated among the different gender categories

• Income and nutrition of the women have been increased

• Number of improved goats increased

• Increased interest in economic development like building of modern house

• Literacy rate increased by sending more children to secondary schools

• Improvement of soil fertility and crop productivity

Acknowledgements

 

The joint financial support from IFS and FAO to this work is highly acknowledged. I thank all the staff at the IFS secretariat in supporting my work through newsletter and various scientific correspondences. The farmers and extension staff in Kondoa district are also appreciated for their cooperation during the monitoring period. Lastly, the staff and management of the LPRI, Mpwapwa and LRC, Tanga are all acknowledged in their various capacities during phases one and two of the project implementation.

 

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