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4.4 Interventions to Address Negative Impacts
Respondents mentioned several interventions that are employed to address the negative
impacts of climate change and weather variability as indicated in Fig. 2. In terms of
water inadequacy or unavailability, farmers draw water from boreholes or travel long
distances in search of water points along previously known perennial rivers, which can
be more than 10 kms away. Feed scarcity is addressed by moving cattle to faraway
grazing areas found along perennial river banks or wetlands, grazing cattle in protected
forests or purchasing grass from vendors (17% of respondents). On a positive note, it
was noted that extension workers are now advising and encouraging farmers to adopt
feed preserving methods such as hay or silage for use during the dry season or periods
of drought; but only few have adopted this technology of feed preservation. The few
that practise feed preservation do so during the rainy period of October to January,
although the period is also characterised by changing rainfall patterns.
The commonest feeds preserved were hay (77%) and silage (23%), with others
using natural perennial pasture grasses such as Hyparrhenia rufa (locally known as
tsekera or kambumbu grass). Only 7% of the farmers indicated that they deliberately cultivate or grow pasture such as elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum) as
feed for their animals. Most of the farmers that grow pasture are feedlot owners that
also supplement their animals with molasses in addition to grass they cut or gather
along roads. Apart from feed preservation, some farmers also plant trees (24%),
construct drainage ditches (17%), construct soil or stone bunds (10%), make terraces (10%) and erect fences (4%) as a way of mitigating effects of weather variability and climate change.
Some farmers do not practice fodder preservation at all. Reasons mentioned for
not practising feed preservation include lack of knowledge and difficulty in practising feed preservation (36%); others are satisfied with communal extensive grazing
(12%) which requires less labour. The majority (52%) had no specific reason for not
practising feed preservation.
4.5 Extension Services and Other Interventions
One would ideally expect farmer advisory services to be readily available for smallholder farmers. However, 24% of the respondents indicated they have never received
any government or non-governmental organisation advisory services on what intervention to employ in order to address issues related to weather variability or climate
change. But it was encouraging to note that many farmers have had the privilege of
being taught or have received support in the form of drilling of water wells and
boreholes (24%) for water supply. Some have been taught how to do fodder preservation (15%), while others have received support with early disease outbreak alerts
(23%). Sadly, there are no deliberate efforts to build structures specifically for capturing and storing water for livestock during periods of water scarcity.
Climate Change and Weather Variability Effects on Cattle Production: Perception…
4.4 Interventions to Address Negative Impacts
Respondents mentioned several interventions that are employed to address the negative
impacts of climate change and weather variability as indicated in Fig. 2. In terms of
water inadequacy or unavailability, farmers draw water from boreholes or travel long
distances in search of water points along previously known perennial rivers, which can
be more than 10 kms away. Feed scarcity is addressed by moving cattle to faraway
grazing areas found along perennial river banks or wetlands, grazing cattle in protected
forests or purchasing grass from vendors (17% of respondents). On a positive note, it
was noted that extension workers are now advising and encouraging farmers to adopt
feed preserving methods such as hay or silage for use during the dry season or periods
of drought; but only few have adopted this technology of feed preservation. The few
that practise feed preservation do so during the rainy period of October to January,
although the period is also characterised by changing rainfall patterns.
The commonest feeds preserved were hay (77%) and silage (23%), with others
using natural perennial pasture grasses such as Hyparrhenia rufa (locally known as
tsekera or kambumbu grass). Only 7% of the farmers indicated that they deliberately cultivate or grow pasture such as elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum) as
feed for their animals. Most of the farmers that grow pasture are feedlot owners that
also supplement their animals with molasses in addition to grass they cut or gather
along roads. Apart from feed preservation, some farmers also plant trees (24%),
construct drainage ditches (17%), construct soil or stone bunds (10%), make terraces (10%) and erect fences (4%) as a way of mitigating effects of weather variability and climate change.
Some farmers do not practice fodder preservation at all. Reasons mentioned for
not practising feed preservation include lack of knowledge and difficulty in practising feed preservation (36%); others are satisfied with communal extensive grazing
(12%) which requires less labour. The majority (52%) had no specific reason for not
practising feed preservation.
4.5 Extension Services and Other Interventions
One would ideally expect farmer advisory services to be readily available for smallholder farmers. However, 24% of the respondents indicated they have never received
any government or non-governmental organisation advisory services on what intervention to employ in order to address issues related to weather variability or climate
change. But it was encouraging to note that many farmers have had the privilege of
being taught or have received support in the form of drilling of water wells and
boreholes (24%) for water supply. Some have been taught how to do fodder preservation (15%), while others have received support with early disease outbreak alerts
(23%). Sadly, there are no deliberate efforts to build structures specifically for capturing and storing water for livestock during periods of water scarcity.
Climate Change and Weather Variability Effects on Cattle Production: Perception…