South Africa is one of the most fenced countries in the world, with livestock farmers encouraged to use fencing in their grazing strategies to the point that farming without fences have become almost unthinkable. Dr. Igshaan Samuels, rangeland ecologist at the Agricultural Research Council, points out that there is another way.
I once asked a communal livestock farmer about their grazing management system that they use on their land, and he replied that they do not have a system because they do not have fences. His reply was typical of farmers in his position where they view fencing as the best fit model to manage livestock in the veld.
We can’t blame them because they have been indoctrinated into believing that a fence will bring about prosperity and sustainability to their farming enterprise. I will give my reasons for saying so, but let’s quickly look at the historical context of fencing for livestock farms in South Africa.
In 1912, the Fencing Act and its amendment in 1922 facilitated stock- and vermin- proof fencing on private land largely to combat predation. Moreover, after the release of the Drought Investigation Commission report in 1923, fingers were pointed at herding and kraaling as the main contributors to the increase in land degradation in the country. An alternative model of livestock grazing using fenced camps was promoted and it was perceived to protect the grazing lands, halt soil erosion, prevent selective grazing and improve livestock production. The state at that time also subsidised farmers to fence off their land and grazing camps. As a result, South Africa became one of the most fenced countries in the world.
There are certainly many benefits of managing livestock by using fences. Some of these benefits include being able to allow animals to graze at night and provide a much more relaxed environment for livestock to graze. Fences control access to grazing lands and it can be used to set aside some parts of the land to rest, make farm owners less dependent on labour to manage animals, etc.
However, we need to acknowledge that some of the perceived benefits of fences have not always materialised. Soil erosion still occurs on some fenced private land, predation of livestock was never eradicated and is getting worse in some areas, non-selective grazing has not been achieved in many cases and improving livestock productivity is about more than just using fences. Truthfully, there are numerous cases where some of the initial objectives such as land restoration and reduced predation have been achieved on livestock farms in South African without fences.
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Detrimental to wildlife
In fact, when fences have been introduced on communal and traditional grazing areas, several negative effects occurred. Stock theft increased because livestock were left unattended, and some farmers wanted to ‘privatise’ portions of the land that was not theirs. Predation increased, soil erosion and land degradation worsened due to increased stocking rates and constraining of livestock within permanent borders, and also, farmers could not escape drought conditions. Most of these factors lead to livestock deaths.
Fences are also detrimental to wildlife that need to move over extended areas to search for food, water and mates, disperse seeds or to escape predation, to name a few. Therefore, some ecosystem services delivered by these game species such as improving rainfall infiltration and nutrient cycling cannot be rendered beyond the fences.
We need to acknowledge that livestock farming could still be sustained and even thrive without fences…
Thus, while fences might be better for some farmers, it could be detrimental to others. We should not treat fences as the crowning achievement to improve the condition of the veld and improve livestock productivity.
A vast amount of research has highlighted the positive impacts of herding, such as a sharp decline in predation, assisting in land restoration, improving biodiversity on the farm, job creation, knowledge production and sharing, skills development, etc. Yet herding is still viewed in a negative light.
So, why this obsession with fences? We need to acknowledge that livestock farming could still be sustained and even thrive without fences (referring largely to internal grazing camps). Let’s not assume a one-size-fits-all grazing system or approach. Let us support livestock farming management based on local context and production objectives.
These are the messages that need to be conveyed to extension workers, agricultural technicians, trainers and government officials who are tasked to advise and assist farmers. Agricultural policies and regulations still advocate for fixed stocking rates even when forage production varies over time and space, and these policies need to be revised based on recent scientific evidence.
With about 80% of the country being arid and semi-arid with high rainfall variability, food for animals vary and it is best that herd sizes fluctuate accordingly. Fixed stocking rates could result in overstocking when forage abundance is low during drought.
Fences thus have its advantages and disadvantages, if and how you use them will determine whether it is a friend or a foe.
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