214
1 Introduction
Agriculture is the mainstay of economies of most developing countries and mainly
comprises crop and livestock production. Livestock production, including cattle,
small ruminants and poultry farming, forms an important integral component of
agriculture in the world that significantly contributes to food and nutrition security
(Godber and Wall 2014). Livestock contributes to food and nutrition security
through provision of animal-source foods such as meat, milk and eggs and as source
of income and manure (Smith et al. 2013).
For marginalised rural poor smallholders, livestock is a source of income and
acts as a four-legged bank account with vital functions, such as paying for household expenses like school fees, social functions, and serves as insurance against
shocks like crop failures, accidents and illnesses (Thornton 2010; Njuki et al. 2013;
Kristjanson et al. 2014). Livestock is also an important source of manure and income
for the poor in agro-based economies like Malawi, which is dominated by crop and
livestock production. Not surprisingly, livestock can be considered as the mainstay
and key livelihood asset of most rural poor in the world, especially women.
In Malawi, cattle production is one of the agricultural activities practised by both
smallholder and large-scale farmers as a source of livelihood (Chingala et al. 2017).
Malawi has a population of 1, 470, 895 herds of cattle, supplying about 41,615
tonnes of beef (Malawi Government 2016). Like in other developing countries,
cattle production is primarily based on an extensive free range system, with little or
no supplementation apart from a few cattle feedlots scattered throughout the country.
In general, agriculture is highly vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate
change and weather variability (Vermeulen et al. 2012), with negative implications
on agriculture, affecting livestock production systems (Thornton and Gerber 2010).
In Africa, negative impacts of climate change are worsened by overreliance on lowinput rain-fed agriculture production and the continent’s low adaptive capacity
(FAO 2010). According to Thornton et al. (2007), there are poor prognosis and
misunderstanding of localised impacts of climate change on crop and livestock agriculture. With a proper prognosis and a better understanding, aggressive exploration
of mitigation and adaptation measures through which smallholder farmers can be
supported to ensure food and nutrition security in the wake of climate change
(Vermeulen et al. 2012) and weather variability would be required.
Malawi is not spared from the negative impacts of climate change. According to
a report by a floods post-disaster needs assessment conducted in Malawi, it was
shown that changes in weather variability were characterised by significant changes
in temperature and rainfall patterns and increased frequency and intensity of
droughts, floods, strong winds, strong rains, hailstorms, earthquakes, landslides and
disease outbreaks (Malawi Government 2015). These extreme events are associated
with negative impacts on livestock production, including meat quality (Gregory
2010), and impairment of production, reproductive performance, health status and
immune response (Nardone et al. 2010). Other negative impacts attributed to climate change and variability-induced droughts and extreme weather events on
J. Nanganga and A. C. L. Safalaoh
1 Introduction
Agriculture is the mainstay of economies of most developing countries and mainly
comprises crop and livestock production. Livestock production, including cattle,
small ruminants and poultry farming, forms an important integral component of
agriculture in the world that significantly contributes to food and nutrition security
(Godber and Wall 2014). Livestock contributes to food and nutrition security
through provision of animal-source foods such as meat, milk and eggs and as source
of income and manure (Smith et al. 2013).
For marginalised rural poor smallholders, livestock is a source of income and
acts as a four-legged bank account with vital functions, such as paying for household expenses like school fees, social functions, and serves as insurance against
shocks like crop failures, accidents and illnesses (Thornton 2010; Njuki et al. 2013;
Kristjanson et al. 2014). Livestock is also an important source of manure and income
for the poor in agro-based economies like Malawi, which is dominated by crop and
livestock production. Not surprisingly, livestock can be considered as the mainstay
and key livelihood asset of most rural poor in the world, especially women.
In Malawi, cattle production is one of the agricultural activities practised by both
smallholder and large-scale farmers as a source of livelihood (Chingala et al. 2017).
Malawi has a population of 1, 470, 895 herds of cattle, supplying about 41,615
tonnes of beef (Malawi Government 2016). Like in other developing countries,
cattle production is primarily based on an extensive free range system, with little or
no supplementation apart from a few cattle feedlots scattered throughout the country.
In general, agriculture is highly vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate
change and weather variability (Vermeulen et al. 2012), with negative implications
on agriculture, affecting livestock production systems (Thornton and Gerber 2010).
In Africa, negative impacts of climate change are worsened by overreliance on lowinput rain-fed agriculture production and the continent’s low adaptive capacity
(FAO 2010). According to Thornton et al. (2007), there are poor prognosis and
misunderstanding of localised impacts of climate change on crop and livestock agriculture. With a proper prognosis and a better understanding, aggressive exploration
of mitigation and adaptation measures through which smallholder farmers can be
supported to ensure food and nutrition security in the wake of climate change
(Vermeulen et al. 2012) and weather variability would be required.
Malawi is not spared from the negative impacts of climate change. According to
a report by a floods post-disaster needs assessment conducted in Malawi, it was
shown that changes in weather variability were characterised by significant changes
in temperature and rainfall patterns and increased frequency and intensity of
droughts, floods, strong winds, strong rains, hailstorms, earthquakes, landslides and
disease outbreaks (Malawi Government 2015). These extreme events are associated
with negative impacts on livestock production, including meat quality (Gregory
2010), and impairment of production, reproductive performance, health status and
immune response (Nardone et al. 2010). Other negative impacts attributed to climate change and variability-induced droughts and extreme weather events on
J. Nanganga and A. C. L. Safalaoh