Mumba Chisoni, Häsler Barbara, Muma John B, Munyeme Musso, Sitali Doreen Chilolo, Skjerve Eystein, Rich Karl M
Department of Disease Control, School of Veterinary Medicine, The University of Zambia, P.O. Box 32379, Lusaka, Zambia.
Department of Food Safety and Infection Biology, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, P.O. Box 8146, Oslo, Norway.
Trop Anim Health Prod. 2018 Jan;50(1):49-62. doi: 10.1007/s11250-017-1399-0. Epub 2017 Sep 25.
Understanding the practices of traditional cattle farmers in developing countries is an important factor in the development of appropriate, pro-poor disease control policies, and in formulating regional-specific production incentives that can improve productivity. This paper describes the production, husbandry practices, economics, and constraints of traditional cattle farming in Zambia. A cross-sectional study design was used to obtain data from traditional cattle farmers (n = 699) using a structured questionnaire. Data analyses were carried out using SPSS and STATA statistical packages. The results revealed that the majority [65% (95% CI: 59.3-71.1)] of farmers practised a transhumant cattle herding system under communal grazing. In these transhumant herding systems, animal husbandry and management systems were found to be of poor quality, in terms of supplementary feeding, vaccination coverage, deworming, uptake of veterinary services, usage of artificial insemination, and dip tanks all being low or absent. East Coast Fever was the most common disease, affecting 60% (95% CI: 56.4-63.7) of farmers. Cattle sales were low, as farmers only sold a median of two cattle per household per year. Crop farming was found to be the main source of farm income (47%) in agro-pastoralist communities, followed by cattle farming (28%) and other sources (25%). The median cost of production in the surveyed provinces was reported at US$316, while that of revenue from cattle and cattle products sales was estimated at US$885 per herd per year. This translates to an estimated gross margin of US$569, representing 64.3% of revenue.There is considerable diversity in disease distribution, animal husbandry practices, economics, and challenges in traditional cattle production in different locations of Zambia. Therefore, to improve the productivity of the traditional cattle sub-sector, policy makers and stakeholders in the beef value chain must develop fit-for-purpose policies and interventions that consider these variations.
了解发展中国家传统养牛户的养殖方式，是制定适当的扶贫疾病控制政策以及制定能够提高生产力的区域特定生产激励措施的重要因素。本文描述了赞比亚传统养牛业的生产、饲养方式、经济状况及制约因素。采用横断面研究设计，通过结构化问卷从传统养牛户（n = 699）获取数据。使用SPSS和STATA统计软件包进行数据分析。结果显示，大多数[65%（95%可信区间：59.3 - 71.1）]农户在公共牧场实行季节性游牧养牛系统。在这些季节性游牧系统中，发现畜牧业和管理系统质量较差，补充饲料、疫苗接种覆盖率、驱虫、兽医服务利用率、人工授精使用情况以及浸浴槽的使用都很低或根本没有。东海岸热是最常见的疾病，影响了60%（95%可信区间：56.4 - 63.7）的农户。牛的销售量很低，因为农户每户每年平均只出售两头牛。在农牧结合社区，农作物种植是农场收入的主要来源（47%），其次是养牛业（28%）和其他来源（25%）。据报告，被调查省份的生产中位数成本为316美元，而每群牛及其产品销售的年收入估计为885美元。这意味着估计毛利率为569美元，占收入的64.3%。赞比亚不同地区的传统养牛生产在疾病分布、畜牧方式、经济状况和挑战方面存在很大差异。因此，为提高传统养牛业的生产力，牛肉价值链中的政策制定者和利益相关者必须制定考虑到这些差异的适用政策和干预措施。
