African cattle the new status symbol

FORGET the wine farm. The hot new item for South Africa's well-heeled is a herd of indigenous Nguni cattle.

Former Cabinet Minister Valli Moosa, Sir David de Villiers Graaf and Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini are among the businessmen and prominent personalities who have become part-time breeders as the African cow becomes sexy again.

Ngunis have been farmed in South Africa since 600AD. Colonial farmers introduced exotic cattle in the 19th century and a 1934 law stopped the breeding of Ngunis because the cattle were considered inferior.

A recent book about Ngunis called The Abundant Herds and an exhibition of art - now owned by the Oppenheimer family - by the book's illustrator, Leigh Voigt, have put the long-maligned cow on the map, say breeders.

The Nguni's comeback could partly be attributed to a new African pride, said former Cabinet minister Moosa, who has a herd of 90 on his farm near Hermanus in the Western Cape.

"[The Nguni's resurgence] is very much a part of the African renaissance even though many of the new Nguni breeders are traditional, white, cattle farmers. There is no doubt in my mind that this is part of being and becoming African and the assertiveness of the new South Africa."

Nguni are easier and cheaper to farm than exotic breeds as they are fertile and cope well with drought. They have a natural resistance to tick-born diseases and require little supervision.

"I can't be there all the time. If my cattle aren't tough they're not going to make it," said Polokwane surgeon Dr Adrian Wreyford, who has a 150-head herd.

Nguni meat is good quality and the hides are sought-after by decor designers. Ephraim Matjuda, a scientist at the Agricultural Research Council who farms in Limpopo, said he believed there would be a market for branded Nguni meat in the future.

Dr Velile Wakaba, president of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church in SA, who has started a herd on his farm near Bloemfontein, remembers the ban on Nguni for breeding when he was a boy in the Transkei.

"I feel very proud that as an Nguni I can raise the original cattle of the Nguni," he said