AP - Livestock-based Livelihoods: Commercialising Livestock Production Under Communal Land Use Systems

South African agriculture has a dualistic economy: the first economy comprising of large commercial farmers, and the second economy composed of small subsistence and developing farmers. Supporting the second economy is a major need and priority in South Africa. In Limpopo Province, Blouberg Local Municipality has been identified as a nodal area where livestock farmers need to be supported for the production of livestock. The focus is on the development of the livestock production sector, concentrating on communal lands. In this paper, strategies that can be used to transform farmers in communal land use systems from subsistence livestock production into viable systems of production and marketing livestock through formal markets are evaluated using Agricultural Research for Development (ARD), a holistic approach to collective rural innovation and development. The findings of this study indicate that involvement of all stakeholders in formulating development interventions can lead to sustainable development and strengthening of inter-organisational linkages.

Key words: Livelihoods, Communal land-use systems, Livestock, South Africa.