Determinants of Stock Theft and Its Implication on Household Dietary Diversity in Semiarid Regions of Zimbabwe: Case of Gwanda District (original) (raw)
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Communal Livestock Production in Simbe, Gokwe South District of Zimbabwe
Communal livestock production systems are dynamic being responsive to changes in the socio-political and economic environments. A survey was conducted in Simbe communal area of Gokwe South District in Zimbabwe, to assess current livestock production systems. Five villages and 3 wards were randomly selected and a semi-structured questionnaire administered by 5 trained enumerators to collect data on; household demographics, livestock species kept and their numbers, uses of livestock and waste, feeding and watering as well as livestock health management. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16. It was observed that farmers in the study area kept a wide range of livestock species including; poultry (notably; chickens, ducks, turkeys and guinea fowls), goats, cattle, donkeys and pigs. Cattle and goats were the major sources of draught power and income, respectively. Farmers indicated that they faced challenges in feeding and watering their animals during the dry season. Diseases were the major cause of offspring mortality in most animal species while predation was the major cause in chickens. It was recommended that farmers acquire education on production and improve on health and general management.
undergraduate mini-thesis, 2017
Abstract Results of the study on causes, losses and preventive measures of stock theft on farms in Omaheke Region of Namibia For 2016 N.T. Tjirimuje1, and A.S. Bishi2 1Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture & Natural Resources, University of Namibia, Namibia 2School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Agriculture & Natural Resources, University of Namibia, Namibia *Author for correspondence Email: natangwetjirimuje@gmail.com; +264816607695 and abishi@unam.na; Tel: +264-61-2064158 Stock theft is recognised as one of the main causes of livestock loses in Namibia, besides infectious diseases, plant poisoning, drought and predation. The objectives of this study, which is being conducted in Omaheke Region, is to establish the underlying causes of stock theft, evaluate the effectiveness of law enforcement measures, estimate the monetary losses and recommend other preventive measures that can be applied to minimize the impact of the problem in the region. A questionnaire based survey was undertaken targeted at farmers and convicted offenders involved in stock theft. The questionnaire survey was completed for the convicted offenders at the Gobabis correctional facility in which 30 inmates were interviewed from a total 130. One hundred farmers were randomly selected and telephonically interviewed from a total of 9,885. Results from the farmers show that by proportion, sheep (58%) had the highest loss to livestock theft followed by goats (53%) and then the cattle (9%). This then confirms that small stock animals (sheep and goats) were frequently stolen than the large stock (cattle). Results of the interviews conducted with the prison inmates showed that poverty was cited by 43.3 % of the prisoners as the underlying cause of stock theft. Fifty percent (50%) of the prisoners were convicted for stealing sheep, 33.3% for goats and 16.7 % for cattle theft. The ages of the stock theft offenders ranged from 14 to 61 with a mean age of 26.8 (and a standard deviation of 11.0) and a median age of 25. Stock theft also affected farmers of all age groups of the interviewed farmers and with the age groups of 50-59 and 80-89 being affected the most out of the 100 interviewed farmers. The mean age was 59.71 was the median and mode ages were 60. The majority of the offenders (53.3%) believed that the best strategy to combat stock theft was to offer employment opportunities to them. While the farmers interviewed identified “individual criminals” acting alone as the main culprits (45.2%) of stock theft within the region and identified “other farmers” as the least (17.7%) suspects for stock theft within the region. Key words: Farmers, inmates, Omaheke, stock theft
A survey of livestock theft at Mogonono village in Kweneng District of Botswana
Journal of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine
The objective of this study was to determine the causes of livestock theft, its prevalence and impact on livelihoods of people of Mogonono village in Kweneng District. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire which was administered to 30 randomly selected farmers (respondents) and the Botswana Police Service. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package of Social Science (SPSS), version 16.0 (2015). Results showed that all respondents experienced livestock theft and 80% of them said it was high. Furthermore, 50% of the respondents stated that cattle were prone to theft than other livestock species. Fifty percent of the respondents said they lost 5 to 15 herds of cattle and goats each in the past five years while 60% stated that stock theft was high in summer compared to other seasons. The age group of 20 to 30 years was mostly involved in livestock theft. About 47% of the respondents used a combination of ear tags and ear notching for animal identification followed by ear notching alone, branding and bolus (36.7%). Two thirds of the respondents identified their animals at 2 to 3 months of age. Additionally, 70% of the respondents ensured safety of their animals by confining them at night, herding and using animal identification followed by confinement at night only (40%) and herding only (7%). Fifty percent of the respondents indicated that livestock theft affected their livelihoods owing to loss of earnings. Thirty-seven percent of the respondents attributed stock theft to high unemployment rate and readily available markets for stolen livestock followed by high unemployment rates only (30%) and unemployment, absence of police in the area and readily available market for stolen livestock (23%). Overall, the respondents were not satisfied with the way government agencies handle livestock theft cases. Eighty-four percent of the respondents mentioned that sentences given to criminals were not harsh to deter them from stealing again. The current results indicate that livestock theft is high in Mogonono village, thus calling for the need to develop strategies to combat this crime.
The effect of livestock theft on household poverty in developing countries: The case of Lesotho
2009
While livestock theft in Lesotho is primarily caused by increased poverty among unemployed workers and drought stricken crop farmers, its effect on stock farmers can be devastating. It reduces the affected households' own consumption of both the "returns" on their wealth, e.g. milk and wool, and of wealth itself, e.g. meat and hides. In addition, it restricts their ability to sell their returns and wealth in the market place and use the proceeds to acquire other food and non-food products. Some policy implications are also highlighted.
2014
This study aims at describing the baseline situation of crop-livestock systems in the semi- arid regions of Zimbabwe. Using quantitative household surveys data and stakeholder workshops, it captures livelihood strategies, community visions, crop and livestock production and marketing, perceptions of risk and uncertainties and farm household typologies. The present data set captures quantitative household data from two districts of Gwanda and Nkayi. At each site multi-stage sampling approach was used. A total of four wards in each district were purposively selected, to include wards close to and far from market centres and in each ward three villages were randomly selected. Household village population across the two districts ranged from 200-300 households. Using random sampling techniques 25-30 households were selected in each village. The sample size (n) for Gwanda is 350 and for Nkayi is331. The overall goal of the project is to identify, test and prove ways to increase agricultu...
2015
Household food insecurity has risen amongst the low income communities that are more vulnerable to the health and environmental risks posed by climate change and socio-economic factors. In Southwestern Zimbabwe, this has precipitated nutrition problems and health issues due to increased hunger thereby inhibiting sustainable development of human resources. This study used the quantitative research based on the survey design which was undertaken in Matobo district, Southwestern Zimbabwe. The questionnaire was administered to sixty household heads in the district which were systematically sampled. The results show that most households are food insecure and vulnerability to food insecurity at household level occurs mainly in October to December due to household size, HIV and AIDS, loss of entitlements such as employment, erratic rains leading to loss of assets such as animals. Various coping strategies were observed such as eating wild fruits, cutting meals and eating less preferred foo...
Agriculture & Food Security
Background: Achievement of food security is an important objective in the National Development Plan of Botswana. This study set out to characterise food security situation and food consumption patterns among livestock keepers in Botswana. The study also sought to determine the effect of various factors (including livestock-related issues) on nutrition/food consumption patterns of livestock farmers in Botswana. Data used in this study come from a survey of smallholder livestock producers conducted by the International Livestock Research Institute and its partners in Botswana in 2013. A food consumption score (FCS) is a qualitative measure of food security constructed using data collected at a household level, and to investigate the influence of various factors on food security and consumption patterns, both logit and OLS regression were used. Results: Results show that purchase was the chief source of foodstuffs (including main staples) in these households. About 20% of households claimed that they had suffered lack of food at least once during the preceding 12 months prior to the collection of data used in this analysis. Nearly all of them reported having had to endure going to bed hungry. Application of the World Food Programme (WFP) FCS methodology of food security analysis supported this claim. Based on the FCS, about 9% of households were food insecure. This category constituted 6% that ranked poorly and 3% that were on the borderline according to the WFP's definition of food security. These findings justify continued efforts to ensure realisation of food security among livestock keepers in Botswana. Conclusion: The results from this study justify continued, but well-targeted efforts to ensure realisation of food security among livestock keepers in Botswana. The significant effect that livestock keeping has on food security implies that promotion of the livestock activities, especially in the rural areas, could foster alleviation of malnutrition, especially among the poor.
2014
Farmers in Zimbabwe face many challenges, including low soil fertility, low and erratic rainfall, and poor market access. They are therefore often poor and vulnerable to risks and shocks. With increasing human populations and a dwindling natural resource base, farming systems are under greater pressure to provide sufficient food and sustain farmers' livelihoods. There is a dire need to intensify farming systems on a sustainable basis. Previous efforts have been focusing on improving either crop or livestock production, often ignoring the potential synergies mixed systems offer. We believe that substantial gains can be made by better integrating crop and livestock systems, using the resources more effectively and following a more market-oriented approach. This report describes the baseline situation of crop-livestock systems in semi-arid Zimbabwe. It informs the ZimCLIFS project, which has the goal to improve rural food security and livelihoods through promoting sustainable intensification of integrated crop-livestock systems and market participation. The report focuses on communities in Nkayi and Gwanda Districts, situated in agro-ecological zones IV and V in southwestern Zimbabwe. In each district participatory community visioning was held to identify development pathways that the communities seek to pursue. About 300 households were interviewed to compile data informing a comprehensive farming systems analysis. Descriptive statistics characterize the households, including a disaggregated gender analysis. Through factor and cluster analysis, farm households were grouped into most common-farm types based on resource endowments, agricultural production levels and market markets. Communities in both districts saw their future in market-oriented agriculture. The levels of both crop and livestock production were however very low at both districts. Maize, the predominant crop, yielded less than 400 kg per ha, during a year of relatively low rainfall. Yields of sorghum and groundnuts were even less. Farmers relied mainly on using resources within their systems. Almost all households used animal draft power to plow crop fields, more than half the households fed crop residues to their animals and a third used animal manure as organic fertilizer. The use of external inputs was more limited. Fewer than 20% of households applied fertilizers. In Gwanda about a third of the livestock keepers fed commercial stock-feeds to their animals. As a result of low production, crop sales and livestock off-take rates were also low (<5%), and financial reinvestments limited. Farm typology analysis suggests that households experienced different levels of resource endowments and their investments in agriculture varied. The majority were very poor, especially female-headed households. They need safety support to protect their assets. For them drought-tolerant crops and small stock, improved management and strong support to start marketable production could make a difference. Distinctively different were the groups of intensifying farmers. They were better endowed in resources and access to information, practiced more diversified and integrated farming systems, and earned higher income from agriculture. Even though a small proportion, these farmers are important for promoting improved agricultural production. The farm typologies will be used to simulate potential yields and welfare gains for different types of household in their specific contexts.
Development Southern Africa, 2014
Policies fronting commercialization of agriculture in Kenya assumed that realization of increased household incomes, through cultivation of cash crops, would guarantee improved food security and subsequent reduction of poverty. Population pressure has led to competition for limited land resource, coupled with unfavorable poverty indicators; they have impacted negatively on food access in the district. Factors influencing households' food security among smallholder tea farmers in Nandi South was investigated using a modified Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS). Multi-stage proportional-to-size cluster sampling was used to sample 180 households. Results showed that income, savings, food storage, land productivity, off-farm income, ratio of land allocated to tea significantly influence household dietary diversity. Policies that aim at improving household food security among smallholder cash crop farmers should target at increasing and diversifying household income sources and farm enterprises, provision of saving opportunities, storage facilities and proper allocation of land resource between cash crops and food crops.
Agricultural Product Types and Household Income Contribution in Mhondoro-Mubaira (Zimbabwe)
International Journal of Agricultural Economics
The objective of this research was to examine agricultural product types and their contribution to the household income for communal farmers in Mhondoro-Mubaira area. The study was carried out in the area of Mhondoro-Mubaira, situated in Mashonaland West province of Zimbabwe. The target population samples for the study comprised of communal farmers (N=150) and the extension officers (N=25). According to the results, remittances and gifts (92.66%) are the major contributors of household income for most communal farmers. This is because of the current bad economic situation and frequent droughts. Despite remittances and gifts being the major household income, farmers still perceive farming has very important contributor to their daily sustenance. The study proves that field crops and maize in particular is a strategic crop in Zimbabwe. Maize is not only for household consumption but also for selling. Tobacco is the most important cash crop for the farmers because of good prices and well-established markets. Farmers indicated that open markets are important but because of unscrupulous traders and lack of monitoring and poor regulations, farmers are prone to being cheated and price manipulations. The government and private sector can contribute in formalizing and improving growing of garden crops. The government should improve and invest in non-farm economy which contributes to communal farmer standard of leaving such has roads, electricity, and related infrastructure. This will inherently improve the farm economy and the livelihood status of the communal farmers.