Herd dynamics, production and marketing constraints in the commercialization of cattle across Nguni Cattle Project beneficiaries in Eastern Cape, South Africa

Pastoralism

Research, Policy and Practice

Table 1 The geographical coordinates and pedo-climatic conditions of the study areas

District	Geographical coordinates^*	Rangeland type	Annual rainfall (mm)	Mean annual temperature (°C)	Altitude (m)
Alfred Nzo	30.54° S, 28.85° E	Sour	600–950	14–15	600–1400
Amathole	32.58° S, 27.36° E	Sweet	400–700	15–20	400–700
Joe Gqabi	30.98° S, 26.98° E	Sweet-sour	400–700	12–16	1100–1600
O R Tambo	31.46° S, 29.23° E	Sweet-sour	450–750	17–18	600–850
Chris Hani	31.87° S, 26.79° E	Sweet-sour	400–700	12–16	400–1450
Sarah Baartman	33.57° S, 25.36° E	Sour	600–945	12–14	800–1350

Source: Mucina and Rutherford (2006). Sweet rangeland occurs in areas with low water supply and where parent material gives rise to soils with a high base status. This veld type is characterized by production of palatable grazing of predominantly annual grasses (Ellery et al. 1995). Sour rangeland occurs in areas with high water supply and where parent material gives rise to soils with a low base status. This veld type is largely covered with coarse seasonal perennial grasses and affords inferior grazing (Ellery et al. 1995)
^*Geographical coordinates: GPS coordinates of the main Town (seat) in each district