Hi, welcome to this hall on the Importance of pastoral farming, the meaning, types and problems.
Table Of Contents
- Definition of pastoral farming
- State and discuss the types of pastoral farming.
- Factors favourable to pastoral farming
- Areas of pastoral farming.
- Methods of pastoral farming.
- Importance or benefits of pastoral farming.
- Problems of pastoral farming
- Solutions to the problems of pastoral farming.
Definition And Types Of Pastoral Farming
Definition: Pastoral farming is defined as the system of farming in which livestock animals like cattle, sheep and goat are reared either for food or for sale.
Types Of Pastoral Farming
There are two types of pastoral farming. These are:
- Pastoral normalism: In this type, the cattle with their owners move from place to place in search of pasture (grasses) and water e.g. the movement of cattle from north to south during certain seasons in Nigeria.
- Transhumance: This the movement of cattle with their owners from lowland or Valley during the rainy season to the highland and vice versa during the dry season in search of pasture and water.
Factors Favorable To Pastoral Farming
- Favourable climate, especially the presence of tropical continental (Sudan) climate favours the rearing of animals.
- Presence of abundance grasses for the animals.
- Presence of large expanse or area of land for grazing by animals.
- Absence of some dangerous insects like tsetse flies which cause sleeping sickness, i.e. trypanosomasis.
- Availability of large markets to consume the meat, milk, hide and skin of the animals.
- Low rainfall which favours the growth of grasses.
- The culture of tribes involved in pastoral farming who takes cattle as a source of wealth.
Areas and tribes involved in pastoral farming in Africa
(a) In West Africa: Pastoral farming is practised in the Sudan and Sahel Savannah regions of Nigeria, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso and mauritania.
(b) In East Africa: Pastoral farming is practised in the Masai reserve grassland in Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia and in the wetter and tsetse fly – free areas of the highlands.
Tribes involved in pastoral farming
(a) In West Africa: The major tribe involved is the fulani and to some extent the hausas.
(b) In East Africa: The Masai, Beja and Karamojon people are they tribes engaged in pastoral farming.
Methods Of Pastoral Farming
- In West Africa and East Africa, Nomadic herding which is the movement of pastoral nomads with their cattle from place to place in search of pasture and water is practised.
- Unlike in West Africa, many European settlers are involved in livestock farming in East Africa.
- Unlike in West Africa, transhumance is also practised in East Africa.
Animals involved in pastoral farming
Animals involved in pastoral farming are mainly ruminant or polygastric animals like cattle, sheep, and goat.
Importance Or Benefits Of Pastoral Farming
- Sources of food: Cattle, sheep and goat are sources of proteinous food like meat and milk.
- Sources of power: Some animals like cattle can be used to pull Farm implement during land preparation.
- Sources of income: Farmers get money by selling their animals.
- Employment: Pastoral farming provide jobs for many people, e.g. cattle rearers and butchers.
- Foreign exchange: Export of cattle, hide and skin provides foreign exchange for the country.
- Raw materials for Industries: It provides raw materials like hide and skin for tannery Industries for leather, bags, and shoe making.
Problems Of Pastoral Farming
- Unreliable and scanty rainfall leads to shortage of water and grasses for the animals.
- The breeds of cattle are poor or low with slow growth rate and late maturity.
- Presence of tsetse flies which cause sleeping sickness in the animals.
- Lack of drugs and vaccines to treat sick animals.
- Inadequate veterinary officers to perform the treatment.
- Overgrazing of pasture leads to soil erosion.
- Poor transport system as cattle easily die during their long movement from place to place.
- Negative attitude of the fulanis and the masai who regard cattle rearing as a way of life and a standard of measuring wealth rather than for Economic reasons.
- Presence of poor quality pasture (grasses and legumes).
Solution To The Problems Of Pastoral Farming
- Ranching which is the artificial growth of pasture, to restrict movement, should be encouraged.
- All shades or trees within grazing areas which are the habitat of tsetse flies should be cut off.
- Better breeds of cattle should be adopted.
- Transport network should be developed.
- Sufficient or adequate drugs and vaccines should be provided at reduced prices.
- Adequate veterinary officials should be provided.
- Special grazing reserves which contain high quality of grasses and water should be developed.
- Nomadic education should be encouraged for the fulanis and Masai.
Revision Questions
- (a) What is pastoral farming? (b) Differentiate between pastoral nomadism and transhumance (c) list four major importance of pastoral Farming.
- (a) Discuss the methods of pastoral farming (b) Outline the factors favourable for pastoral farming.
- State the problems of pastoral farming and solutions.