The Namibian livestock industry is in decline. There is a large-scale loss of palatable perennial grasses, widely spread bush encroachment, and Namibia is regarded as a country that will be severely affected by climate change.

To counter this trend, the Department of Agriculture, Water and Forestry (MAWF), together with industry partners such as the Namibian Farmers’ Union, initiated and developed an innovative rangeland policy that can add N$4 billion per year to the GDP if fully implemented.

This is the last extract from the policy document that can help farmers to survive the next drought. The best practices presented in this section are intended to give an idea of methods available and how they have been applied.

Case study 7: Alternative feeds for livestock in communal areas

Professor Sikhalazo Dube is the Southern African regional representative of the International Livestock Research Institute.

At the National Rangeland Forum in 2018, Prof Dube said: “The lack of market access, prolonged dry seasons, livestock deaths and poor income, are all key challenges that smallholder farmers face, with climate change as an added threat to agricultural productivity. There are, however, solutions for smallholder farmers to break out of poverty.”

Prof Dube, who worked in the northern  regions of Namibia, shared his experiences of crop and livestock farming in Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Malawi and Mozambique. He indicated that four of the five highest-value global agricultural commodities (milk, rice, pigs, cattle, and chicken) are from livestock. He emphasised the importance of agriculture and added that 4 billion people who live on less than US$10 a day (primarily in developing countries) represent a food market of about $2,9 trillion per year, with an asset value of $1,4 trillion that employs at least 1,3 billion people.

There is also massive potential for growth, with expected annual meat consumption increasing from 258 million tonnes in 1997 to 460 million tonnes in 2050. The livestock sector  can provide food and nutritional security; power economic development; improve human health; and enhance the environment. Prof Dube warns, however, that the livestock sector must be developed equitably, while mitigating possible health and critical environmental issues.

Feed options for cattle

“Cattle depend on natural pasture as a main source of feed, but the protein content of grass declines in the dry season. To boost the protein intake of livestock, it is a good idea in certain parts of the country to supplement their feed with forage legumes and crop residues such as groundnut, maize stover, and mucuna (velvet bean) hay reserved from the farmers’ previous harvests.”

Prof Dube conducted a feed ration experiment for 56 days with maize stover offered ad libitum in various ratios with crushed maize, soya bean meal, soya bean residue, mucuna hay, mucuna seed, lablab hay, cowpea shells, groundnut residue, poultry litter, beef concentrate, minerals and vitamins.

The results were that the body weight of cattle fed on rations based on lablab/cowpea, mucuna and groundnut stover were significantly higher than that of commercial feeds or grassfed cattle. Looking at the gross margin analysis of all the different feed rations, mucuna was the costliest option, but it achieved the highest gross profit margin per animal.

Forage seed production

Prof Dube also suggested that forage seed production should be investigated in some parts of Namibia to improve pastures and provide fodder for livestock, improve soil (nitrogen fixation from legume crops, crop rotations, cover crops, et cetera), and diversify farm income sources.

The crops with the best gross margin were lablab and mucuna, followed by cowpea. It was widely adopted in Zimbabwe where it was planted in rotation with cereals. After planting mucuna, farmers found that the soil was significantly more fertile as a result of nitrogen fixation.

They also realised that mucuna seeds have a market value and started selling it to other farmers and development organisations. Indicative of the value farmers place on forage plants, mucuna seeds sold in 2014 in the Beitbridge area generated US$11 000. In 2018, seed sales for that area amounted to approximately US$50 000.

Mini-feedlot

Prof Dube also shared his experience in the establishment and running of small feedlots as registered companies in the communal setting. These feedlots are small and not costly, but are proving to be very effective for the finishing of animals on a relatively small scale in a sustainable and viable way, with inputs grown by the farmers or surrounding farmers.

Conclusions

In conclusion, Prof Dube indicated that mucuna and groundnut-based diets produce viable returns when fed to livestock, and that these technologies are easily adopted by smallholder farmers. He said that supplementing beef cattle with alternative protein sources grown in the location is a viable option in smallholder systems. Prof Dube believes that the private sector and other market players need to be involved to strengthen the market.

*The National Rangeland Management Policy (NRMP) was approved in 2012. In 2014, the NRMPS Projectwas commissioned in support of this policy under the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry (MAWF), to address the declining natural resource base in Namibia.

Extract from Reviving Namibia’s Livestock Industry, Regenerative Livestock Production Trends, Key Profit Drivers, Case Studies and Recommendations, NRMP Best Practice Strategy Document (Revised edition from 2012 NRMPS), Based on Namibia Rangeland Management Policy (NRMP).