3.2 Farm characteristics
The average farm size determined in this study was
7.9 ha including 6.6 ha own land and 1.3 ha leased
land (Table 2). The land holding of the farmers varied
strongly, ranging from 0.4 to 181.6 ha for the total land,
from 0 to 181.6 ha for the own land and from 0 to 32 ha
for the leased land. Farmers allocated on average 3.66
ha (3.10 ha own, 0.56 ha leased) for crop production
and 3.15 ha (2.4 ha own, 0.75 ha leased) for livestock
production including housing, grazing land and fodder
cultivation. The remaining land was used for homestead
and non-agricultural activities.
Bu ffalo farmers with large herds cultivated more land
than large-scale cattle farmers, whereas the land size of
the bu ffalo farmers with small- and medium-sized herds
were lower than the respective land size of the cattle
farmers. The number of animals raised was positively
correlated to the total land size (r =0.40, p