Assessment of cattle owners' perceptions and expectations, and identification of constraints on production in a peri-urban, resource-poor environment

This questionnaire survey was conducted amongst 200 farmers in the resource -poor, urban and periurban environments of Botshabelo and Thaba Nchu towns in the Free State Province of South Africa. The questionnaire was divided i nto seven sections, namely demography, livestock, cattle, parasites, parasi te control, livestock diseases and problems experienced. A total of 87,5% o f the livestock owners were not employed (unemployed or pensioner). Cattle constituted more than 50% of the livestock units owned in the area and farm ers owned an average of 9,33 +/- 0,812 head of cattle. A total of 193 (96,5 %) of the farmers indicated that milk was the most important product from t heir cattle. Only 26% of them slaughtered their own cattle for meat consump tion. Eighty-eight percent of them indicated that external parasites on the ir livestock presented a problem, but only 72,9% of farmers implemented any tick control measures. Less than half (45,5%) of the farmers who attempted to control ticks used commercial acaricides. The remainder used various ot her methods, including the application of used engine oil and household det ergents. Amongst the clinical diseases observed in their cattle, dry gallsi ckness was mentioned most often (20%). This figure, however, is believed to be inaccurate because dry gallsickness may be a clinical manifestation of some of the other diseases mentioned by the farmers, such as anaplasmosis, foreign body obstruction of the gastro-intestinal tract by plastic bags, pn eumonia and mastitis. Animal husbandry problems experienced by the farmers included pollution (i.e. ingestion of plastic bags and string by their live stock), availability of water and theft.