Grazing management systems across biomes and land tenure in South Africa

Abstract

Grazing management in South Africa often distinguishes between rotational and continuous grazing. However, due to the country’s complexity and diversity of rangelands and land tenure, there is a need for a detailed and nuanced understanding of grazing management practices beyond these dualistic descriptions. This research aimed to describe grazing management practices of livestock farmers with different land tenure in five South African biomes. A case study approach with descriptive analysis was used for the study. A total of 66 interview responses were summarised from the Grassland, Savanna, Nama-Karoo, Succulent Karoo and Albany Thicket biomes. Twelve grazing management systems were identified, with herding, the 3-camp rotation and group camp approach as the main implemented systems across biomes and land tenure. These grazing management systems were associated with increased rangeland resting periods, reduced selective grazing and livestock protection. Intensive and technological grazing systems were practised on private farms, while traditional grazing systems were mainly practised on land reform and communal lands. The study recommends that South African agricultural policies and programme development need to take into consideration the complexity of rangelands, land tenure and grazing management systems in order to improve the sustainability of agricultural production in the country