Nhara RB1,2*, Halimani TE2 and Masunda B2
1Department of Livestock, Wildlife and Fisheries, Great Zimbabwe University,
Zimbabwe
2Department of Animal Science, University of Zimbabwe, Mount Pleasant, Harare,
Zimbabwe
*Corresponding Author: Nhara RB, Department of Livestock, Wildlife and Fisheries, Garry Magadzire School of Agriculture, Great Zimbabwe University, Masvingo, Zimbabwe.
Received: May 25, 2020; Published: July 30, 2020
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
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: © 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.