Abstract

 The study sought to find and measure climate change impacts on livestock production in Chiredzi district. Purposive sampling was done on 6 selected wards. Primary data on perceived climate change impacts was collected using a pretested questionnaire and 150 households were sampled. Secondary data on climatic records were collected from meteorological department. Climate data was used to establish climatic patterns. Empirical Ricardian regression model and descriptive statistics were used to measure climate change impacts on livestock. Increase in temperatures and decrease in rainfall events were highlighted by 98% and 84% of the farmers, respectively. In relation to forage and water availability 92% and 93% perceived a decrease respectively. Respondents perceived an increase in incidence of climate influenced diseases to include Heart water in goats, Foot and Mouth disease in cattle and Newcastle disease in poultry. Ricardian model concluded that climate change has an economic impact on livestock production at P < 0.05. In conclusion, climate change had an impact on livestock production in Chiredzi district as perceived by farmers. Proper livestock adaptation and mitigation strategies to reduce climate change vulnerability are required.

Keywords: Climate Change; Communal Livestock Production; Ricardian Regression Model

References

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47. Niggol Seo S., et al. “Analysis of the Impact of Climate Change on South American Farms”. Chilean Journal of Agricultural Research1 (2008): 69-79.
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49. Eriksen S and Rosentrater, L. “Climate Change in Eastern and Southern Africa: Impacts, vulnerability and adaptation” (2008): 27.
50. Oyhantçabal W., et al. “Climate change and links to animal diseases and animal production”. OIE (2010): 179-186.
51. Bossche P., et al. “Climate change and animal health in Africa”. Revue Scientifique et Technique - Office International Des Épizooties2 (2008): 551-562.
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54. Pilling D and I Hoffmann. “Climate change and animal genetic resources for food and agriculture: state of knowledge, risks and opportunities”. Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Background Study Paper No. 53 (2011).
55. Babinszky, L., et al. “Impacts of climate change on Animal Production and Quality of Animal Food Products”. www.intechopen.com. (2012)
56. Baylis M and Githeko AK. “The Effects of Climate Change on Infectious Disease of Animals”. Journal of Natural Products (2006).
57. Kimaro EG and Chibinga OC. “Potential impact of climate change on livestock production and health in East Africa: A review”. Livestock Research for Rural Development (2013).
58. de La Rocque SG., et al. “Climate change: impact on the epidemiology and control of animal diseases”. Revue Scientific et Technique office International des Epizooties 27 (2008): 614.
59. Whitman EJ and M Baylis. “Climate change: Effects on Culicoides-transmitted viruses and implications for the UK”. Veterinary Journal 160 (2000): 107-117.
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Citation

Citation: Nhara RB., et al. “Impacts of Climate Change on Communal Livestock Production: Experiences in Chiredzi District". Acta Scientific Agriculture 4.8 (2020): 91-96.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2020 Nhara RB., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.