It’s time to walk the talk

These days we hear so much about government’s Transformation and Reset Agenda. We see this buzz thrown about almost every day both in the government and private press. But now it’s time to walk the talk.

Many rightly see agriculture as being a major engine of economic growth which can lead to the creation of countless jobs in Botswana; in particular, in the rural areas where most people depend on farming as a source of income and food, and where formal employment opportunities are few and far apart. However, if agriculture is to play a leading role in Botswana’s economic development, we also need to adopt a more environmentally friendly, or “green”, approach to the ways in which we raise livestock and grow crops. And here we are not just talking about carbon emissions.

This week, we will see how livestock farming has threatened, or damaged, our environment. Botswana has a hot, semi- arid climate and rainfall is low, unreliable, and varies considerably from one year to the next. Some 70 percent of the country is covered with deep, loose, infertile sandy soils. Such soils are permeable and so allow rainwater to pass downwards quickly to beyond the reach of plant roots. Hence these soils are dry. We are aware of the saying “we are what we eat’. And the same is true of grass in the veld; the quality of our grass depends, to a large extent, on the environment which, as we have seen, is not conducive to the growth of lush, nutritious, high quality grass. Cattle have always played an important role in the lives of Batswana. Rather than being reared for sale, cattle often fulfill a social role in our lives. For example, they are used as draught power in ploughing, are slaughtered at funerals and weddings, and are used in the payment of bride price, or lobola. And a man’s social standing in his community may also depend on the number of cattle that he has. Hence, it is no surprise that cattle numbers have, up to recently, increased over time and, at one time, numbered over three million head - and so outnumbered the human population. Range management is concerned with the care of our natural rangelands, or veld, which provide almost all the food for our livestock. Range refers to the botanical composition of the veld. The standard of range management in Botswana is very low since our rangelands are being degraded as a result of overstocking, or the keeping of too many animals on the land. The standard of range management is also affected by land tenure – the way that land is held or owned. Most rural communities lie in areas of communal land tenure where the land is not owned by any one farmer but can be used by any member of the community. For this reason, farmers do not have any incentive to improve the condition of the veld; for example, by fencing the land, controlling livestock numbers, sowing good quality grasses, or drilling boreholes.

The term stocking rate refers to the number of hectares per LSU [ livestock unit] on a farm. One LSU is an animal with a mass of 500kg – this can be one mature cow or 6 goats/ sheep. Now the actual stocking rate on a farm may depend on the level of range management there. The optimum, or correct, stocking rate is the best for a farm and is the number of hectares that can support each LSU without diminishing the natural resources such as grazing and water. For example, around Lobatse this might be 15 hectares per LSU. But overstocking occurs when the number of hectares per LSU is not enough to support animals and so grazing and water may become less plentiful as time goes on. For example, in the Lobatse area, this might be only five hectares per LSU. This will result in overgrazing which is very common in Botswana especially in areas under communal land tenure.

Overstocking results in environmental degradation. Firstly, it leads to overgrazing. Cattle are selective feeders and so choose first the best grasses to eat. A good grass is one that has a lot of biomass [ quantity] and is of good quality. For example, it may be high in protein. Protein is required for healthy and rapid growth of animals. A value of 20 percent protein is a good value for a grass. It may also be rich in minerals, such as calcium and phosphorous which ensure healthy bone development. A good grass will also be digestible - the animal must be able to digest, and so use, most of the grass so that less is excreted. Finally, it must be palatable with a good taste and have a high moisture content. But these