Journal of Global Resources
Volume 5July2017
ISSN: 2395-3160 (Print), 2455-2445 (Online)

Page 109-115

14LIVESTOCK MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES IN A CHANGING CLIMATE IN ROMBO
DISTRICT, TANZANIA
Evarist Fundisha
Department of Geography, Mkwawa University College of Education
Email: evarist_fundisha@yahoo.com
Abstract: Livestock are important socio-economic assets essentially kept for food, manure,income, bride prize and prestige. This study was conducted in Rombo District to assess theeffectiveness of livestock management strategies in a changing climate. Triangulation of themethods of data collection, analysis and presentation facilitated production ofcomprehensive research report. The study found that about 94 percent of the heads ofhousehold used different strategies to reduce the impact of climate change and variability onlivestock. The devised strategies include fodder fetching, planted fodder, store fodder,keeping manageable livestock, and livestock keeping avoidance. The constraints tostrategies used in livestock-keeping were risks associated with pasture fetching, lack offunds, denying farm supply of manure, and loss of households’ assets. The projected climatechange and variability would have less effects on livestock keeping because about 66.7
percent of the heads of household had plans on it. For effective livestock management in achanging climate, appropriate strategies are recommended.
Key words:

Climate change and variability; fodder; livestock management strategy.

Introduction
Livestock constitutes important socio-economic assets to the majority of population globally.
According to Hartung (2013), domestication of livestock can be traced back to 11,000 years
ago when man began to domestic sheep followed by goats and cattle. Livestock keepers
have been trying to manage their livestock in a changing climate using different strategies.
For example, pastoralists of the Sahel managed to adapt to climate change and variability byusing emergency fodder during droughts to feed their livestock (Nyong et al., 2007). Similarfindings have been reported in India where farmers in Hindu Khush region use indigenous
systems to select and store nutritious tree fodders to reduce drought risk for their livestock(Srinivasan, 2004). Also, because of increasing grazing scarcity, crop residues are
increasingly stored to feed livestock during the dry season in Northern Burkina Faso (Barbieret al., 2009).
A study conducted in the Sahel shows that pastoralists and agro-pastoralists change
from cattle to sheep and goat husbandry as the feed requirements of the later are less thanthose of the former (Nyong et al., 2007) when their numbers are the same. In Swaziland,
local people have shifted to more drought-resistant livestock breeds such as kraal sheep(Stringer et al., 2009). The nomadic pastoralists in the Sahel managed to survive thechanging climate by moving from the dry northern areas to the wetter southern areas of theSahel (Nyong et al., 2007). Similarly, pastoralists in Same District, Tanzania, use traditionalrotational techniques to overcome pasture problems resulting from climate change and109

variability (Mahoo and Mpeta, 2011). Barabaig and the Masaai of Northern Tanzania uses
transhumance to overcome pasture problems caused by unreliable and poor distribution ofrainfall (Shemsanga et al., 2010). The effects of climate change and variability on livestock
keeping in Rombo District should keenly be considered because livestock are zero grazed.
Zero-grazed livestock require special management strategies because a slight change inclimatic variables such as rainfall and temperature may bring awful effect on pasture (Kotir etal., 2011). A study conducted in the lowland of Rombo District revealed differentiatedmagnitudes of drought (Mongula, 2000) leading into a spatial variation in pasturedeterioration. Since little is known on the strategies employed by local community to manage
livestock in a changing climate, this study is important.
Research area and Methodologies
This study was conducted in Rombo District, which is one of the six districts of Kilimanjaro
Region located in northern Tanzania.
Figure 1: Study area

The climate of Rombo District varies from semi-arid, tropical to subalpine. This area
receives bimodal average annual rainfall that varies from 400 to 2,000mm from the lowlands
to the highlands (Meena and O‘Keefe, 2007). The long rains generally occur between Marchand May and the short rains from October to December (Mongula, 2000). There wasaverage decrease of about 300mm of rainfall from 1974 to 2004 (Meena and O‘Keefe,2007). Such decrease potentially has impacts on livestock keeping. Data were collectedusing questionnaire, focus group discussion, and field observation. Direct questionnaires

110were administered to 611 heads of household selected randomly in eight villages in threeAEZs (Fig. 1) to assess the effectiveness of the livestock management strategies in achanging climate. Field observations were done to collect none verbal data concerning somestrategies devised to manage pasture. Collected data were analysed both quantitatively
using SPSS Version 20 and qualitatively based on themes. Results were presented infrequency tables and narrations.
Results and discussion
Characteristics of respondents
Some characteristics of the respondents are summarised in Table 1.
HouseholdCharacteristics
Sex
Size of land

Livestock
NumberCattleGoat/sheep

Table 1: Characteristics of households (n = 611)
Description
Responses based on the AEZ (%)
HighlandIntermediate Lowland
Average(n=230)(n=274)(n=107)
Male
32.1
38
14.2
85.3
Female
4.6
6.9
3.3
14.7
> 1 acre
24.2
28.0
5.0
19.1
2 acres
50.4
47.4
40.0
45.9
3 acres
17.0
23.2
20.0
20.1
4 + acres
8.3
1.1
35.0
14.8
0
28.758.8
27.4
38.3
1
45.2
21.2
19.8
28.7
2
20.4
16.1
29.2
4.3
3
2.6
3.6
6.6
21.9
4
1.3
0.4
3.8
1.8
5+
1.7
0.0
13.2
5.0
0
7.8
0.7
14.2
7.6
1
8.7
2.9
0.9
4.2
2
18.3
25.5
3.8
15.9
3
15.2
19.3
3.8
12.8
4
17.0
19.3
6.6
14.3
5+
33.0
32.1
70.8
45.3

In addition to cattle, goats and sheep (Table 1), respondents also mentioned to rearpigs and poultry. Poultry keeping is done through both free range and zero grazing systems
depending on the status of farm crops. Other animals are zero-grazing fed with crop
residues, grass, life fences, and trees that provide shade to coffee. Some households
supplement the pasture with protein food such as cotton and sunflower seed cakes andgrain husks.
Livestock Management Strategies
Findings presented in Table 2 show that the study community has devised different
strategies to ensure that pasture deterioration resulting from climate change and variability
and other environmental stressors would not bring about awful effects on livestock-keeping.
Table 2 shows that fetching fodder away from home constitutes a major livestock
management strategy with more heads of household in the highland AEZ. This could be
attributed to the small size of the land they possessed (See Table 1). Thus the heads ofhousehold in the highland AEZ to get involved in pasture fetching to withstand pasturedeterioration primarily because the highland AEZ does not offer opportunities for increasing111

the pasture area. Strategies mentioned to be involved in the fetching fodder include begging,buying and stealing. Begging and/or buying pasture is mainly done on the Kenya side where
they sell fodder or exchange it with banana or any other edibles including local brew. Headsof household interviewed and FGD participants revealed that a round trip to fetch fodder far
from home, particularly on the Kenyan side or Kilimanjaro Forest Reserve, took four to five
hours depending on the AEZ where their households were located. Pasture fetchingconsumes time that could otherwise be dedicated to other economic activities. Continuous
begging may lead to someone being labelled a ‘beggar’ thereby lowering the status of thatparticular individual in the eyes of other members of the community. Stealing is unlawful andif a culprit is caught, she or he might be harmed or jailed.
Table 2: Livestock management strategies (n = 611)
Responses based on the AEZ (%)
HighlandIntermediate
Lowland
Average(n=230)(n=274)(n=107)
Fodder fetching
34.2
29.2
23.7
30.2
Planted fodder
26.5
18.2
20.1
21.7
Manageable livestock
8.1
17.1
26.6
15.3
Store fodder
14.5
13.8
16.5
14.5
Small livestock
6.1
169.4
11.1
Not keeping
2.1
0
0.7
1.2
Seasonal migration00
2.9
0.5No practice
7.7
5.805.5

Strategies

The findings in Table 2 show that the study community has embarked on pasturemanagement by planting fodder trees and grasses. Different names have been given to thetypes of the planted fodder including uwata and kimongo and the management techniques
involved signify a long interaction with the practice. The study also show that the households
were found to be knowledgeable about fodder trees as being important despite the fact thattrees limit crop production (Albrecht and Kandji, 2003). This indicates that local people areexperts of their environments and that their undertaking reflects long-established interaction
with the environment.
The practice of planting fodder was reported to be undermined by the small land lots,
soil infertility, aged trees and climate change and variability. It was noted during the FGD
conducted in the lowland AEZ that trees for fodder were no longer forming branches andplots for pasture were underperforming nowadays compared to the past for the former andclimate change and variability for both. Field observation also verified that plots for fodder(kimongo) were characterised by stunted grasses. One participant in the FGD held in thelowland AEZ presented the testimony that: “Before the 1980s we used to prune trees andharvest grass twice a year. But things have now changed ... we do it yearly”. This testimony
corroborate with the findings that about 40 percent of sub-Saharan African countries will be
at risk of significant declines in pasture production due to climate change (Kotir et al., 2011).
The findings revealed that “manageable” is a relative term since manageability differs fromone household to another. What is regarded to be manageable to a certain household could
not be manageable to another and vice versa. For example, the findings presented in Table
2 show that there were more heads of household in the lowland AEZ who opted for few
livestock to adapt to pasture deterioration than in other areas. On the other hand, Table 1112

shows that the same AEZ had many heads of household who mentioned keeping a bigger
number of livestock than other zones. This could be attributed to the large sizes of lands attheir disposal. In other words, manageability in livestock keeping is not only a case ofnumber but is associated with many other factors. Livestock keepers in Bolivia saw livestock
as a potential adaptation strategy for the future and indicated the need for assistance inacquiring and managing larger herds (McDowell and Hess, 2010). Possessing large herds ofcattle is prestigious since it is considered to be an indicator of wealth in many traditionalsocieties (Fisher et al., 2010).
Storage of fodder found in this study is similar to those reported by in the Hindu
Khush Region (Srivasan, 2004), African Sahel (Nyong et al., 2007) and northern BurkinaFaso (Barbier et al., 2009). It is important, however, to note that the mode of keeping
livestock in the study area differs substantively with other regions because animals arecompletely kept in sheds. In the study area, the stored fodder was predominantly maizestraws probably because they are easily obtainable and do not require special preparation
as other forms of grass. The effectiveness of fodder storage in ensuring the availability offodder was found to be hindered by the high cost of constructing the banda, environmental
conditions and unavailability of fodder. It is anticipated that with increasing rainfall
unreliability and temperature, fodder will become increasingly scarcer and hence limited
storage.
This study found that households have adapted to pasture deterioration by keeping
small livestock types and varieties (see Table 2). The findings presented in Table 1 showthat small livestock types such as poultry and goats/sheep were the most preferred probably
because it is easy to feed and curl them whenever deemed necessary. Small animals suchas guinea pigs and poultry supplement household diets and help to generate small income(McDowell and Hess, 2012). Although the practice of keeping small livestock types andvarieties has been recommended by some scholars, this study found that poultry keeping inthe study area was affected by limited market. This means that, keeping small livestock
types is of more dietary importance than income generation. Similarly, most of the families
have a few large animals which they slaughtered in times of serious need for food or cash
(McDowell and Hess, 2012). As for this study, no individuals mentioned having slaughteredlarge animals for food but rather to sell them whenever their number becomes too big to befed easily or when there is a serious problem or need like a need to build a house.
During the FGD held in the lowland AEZ, the participants reported that somehouseholds did not keep any livestock at all due to pasture deterioration. This strategy
should be discouraged because livestock are important in solving immediate events that use
money such as sudden illness, accidents, paying of school fees, and sometimes buying offood. In this regard, 80.1 percent of the heads of household stated that they kept livestock
for manure. This means that avoiding livestock-keeping is not a sustainable strategy inlivestock management because livestock remains centripetal to guaranteeing householdincome, food and soil fertility by providing manure. As such very few heads of household
have resorted to it (Table 2).

113

The findings presented in Table 2 show further that adapting to pasture deterioration
through seasonal migration was not common in the study area probably due to its
ineffective. Its ineffective could be deduced from interview with a head of household, aveteran in seasonal migration with cattle from Holili Vijijini Village to Mabogini, Moshi (about25 km.) who claimed that: “During 2006/2007, I migrated with cattle from Holili Vijijini Village
to Mabogini, Moshi for pasture. On the way, I quarrelled with the Tanzania Road Agency
despite the fact that I had a permit from the Rombo District Council since trans-district
animal movement demands such permission. Some cattle died due to sickness caused bypassing through a contaminated environment......it is very disturbing”. Similar quarrelling had
been reported in Kilosa District in Morogoro Region (Mwamfupe and Mung’ong’o, 2003) andPangan Basin in Tanga Region (Mbonile, 2005), both in Tanzania.
Future Plans in Livestock Management
The plan to reduce the number of livestock kept was apparent in all studied AEZs (Table 3).
Table 3: Planned livestock management strategies (n = 611)
Plans
Location
Highland Intermediate
Lowland(n=230)(n=274)(n=107)
Reduce number of livestock
17.7
29.1
40.3
Store fodder
15.3
18.6
21.0
Planting fodder
14.9
8.1
13.7
Keeping small livestock
2.8
11.5
2.4
Not keeping livestock
1.6
1.7
1.6
No plan
47.6
31.1
21.0

Average
29.0
18.3
12.2
5.6
1.6
33.2

The findings in Table 3 show that majority of respondents from the highland AEZ would be
hit the hardest in case of persistent pasture deterioration because they dominated in “noplan” responses. In other words, if pastures continue being affected by climate change andvariability, these respondents could adapt reactively as they are based on the wait-and-seestance. Available literatures indicate that the wait-and-see attitude provokes reactive
adaptation, which may lead to unnecessary uses of the resources (Fussel et al., 2006). It isinteresting to note, however, that the plan to avoid keeping livestock is low and almost
similar to the three AEZs (see Table 3) probably because respondents are aware of theimportance of livestock keeping.
Conclusion and recommendations
The study community has to some extent managed to reduce the impact of climate change
and variability on livestock using different strategies. The strategies applied in livestock
management in a changing climate are less effective due to different factors. It is also worth
to acknowledge that the projected climate change and variability would have less impact on
livestock-keeping due to some plans the studied community had. For effective livestock
management in a changing climate, there is a need for capacity-building at various levels
coupled with alternative sources of income that suit the study environment.
References
1. Albrecht, A. and Kandji, S. T. (2003) Carbon Sequestration in Tropical Agroforestry
Systems. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment Vol. 99 pp. 15-27.

114

2. Barbier, B., Yacouba, H., Karambiri, H., Zoromĕ, M. and Somĕ, B. (2009) Human
Vulnerability to Climate Variability in the Sahel: Farmers’ Adaptation Strategies inNorthern Burkina Faso. Environmental Management Vol. 43 pp. 790-803.
3. Fisher, M., Chaudhury, M. and Mccuske, B. (2010) Do Forests Help Rural Households
Adapt to Climate Variability? Evidence from Southern Malawi. World Development Vol.
38 (9) pp. 1241-1250.
4. Füssel, M. H. and Klein, R. J. T. (2006) Assessing Vulnerability and Adaptation toClimate Change: An Evolution of Conceptual Thinking. Climatic Change Vol. 75 pp. 301.
5. Hartung,J.
(2013)
A
short
historyoflivestockproduction.
www.wageningenacademic.com/doi/pdf/10.3920/978-90-8686-771 4_01(07/09/2016).
6. Kotir, J. H. (2011) Climate Change and Variability in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Review ofCurrent and Future Trends and Impacts on Agriculture and Food Security. Environment,Development and Sustainability Vol. 13 pp. 587-605.
7. Mahoo, H. and Mpeta, E. (2011) Combining Indigenous and Scientific Weather
Forecasting Knowledge in Climate Risk Management in Semi-arid Areas of Tanzania.
Presentation made at a workshop on Achieving Benefits of Enhanced Service Delivery
by National Meteorological Services in Eastern and Southern Africa held in Dar es
Salaam from 21st -24th February, 2011.
8. Mbonile, M. (2005) Migration and intensification of water conflicts in the Pangani basin,Tanzania. Habitat International 29, 41-67.
9. McDowell, J. Z. and Hess, J. J. (2010) Vulnerability to Competing Social and ClimaticStressors in the Bolivian Highlands. 2nd International Conference on Climate,
Sustainability and Development in Semi-arid Regions. August 16-20, 2010, FortalezaCeara, Brazil.
10. McDowell, J. Z. and Hess, J. J. (2012) Accessing adaptation: Multiple Stressors onLivelihoods in the Bolivian Highlands under a Changing Climate. Global Environmental
Change Vol. 22 pp. 342-352.
11. Meena, H. E. and O‘Keefe, P. (2007) Sustainable Livelihoods in the Context ofVulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change Impacts in Tanzania: A Case Study ofKilimanjaro Region. The Netherlands Climate Association Program, Netherlands.
12. Mongula, B. (2000) Food Security, Appropriate Technology and Micro-Industry: TheCase of Drought Areas of Rombo District in Tanzania. Institute of Development Studies,
University of Dar es Salaam.
13. Mwamfupe, D. and Mung’ong’o, C. (2003) Poverty and Changing Livelihoods of Migrant
Maasai Pastoralists in Morogoro and Kilosa Districts, Tanzania. Research on Poverty
Alleviation No. 03.5; Mkuki Na Nyota Publishers Ltd, Dar es Salaam.
14. Nyong, A., Adesina, F. and Elasha, B. O. (2007) The Value of Indigenous Knowledge in
Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies in the African Sahel. Mitigation andAdaptation Strategies for Global Change Vol. 5 (12) pp. 787-797.
15. Shemsanga, C., Omambia, A. N. and Gu, Y. (2010) The Cost of Climate Change inTanzania: Impacts and Adaptations. Journal of American Science Vol. 6 (3).
16. Srinivasan, A. (2004) Local Knowledge for Facilitating Adaptation to Climate Change inAsia and the Pacific: Policy Implications. Working Paper Series No. 002. IGES Climate
Policy Project.
17. Stringer, L. C., Dyer, J. C., Reed, M. S., Dougill, A. J., Twyman, C. and Mkwambisi, D.
(2009) Adaptation to Climate Change, Drought and Desertification: Local Insights toEnhance Policy in Southern Africa. Environmental Science and Policy Vol. 12 pp. 748765.

115