ABSTRACT
Experience with cattle in Sato’alepai had begun in 1977 when the Village Association received six subsidised cattle from the Department of Agriculture under the Rural Development Programme. The national average herd size was six cattle. Cattle and Samoan Society considers both the impact of cattle on Samoan society and the impact of Samoan society on the farming of cattle and farmers’ experience with cattle. Cattle, as well as reflecting Samoan society, also allow the expression of social changes that are already occurring. They facilitate change because they widen choices and increase opportunity, and they suit the changes Samoans want to make. Cattle are a new technology in Samoa. The experience farmers have had with cattle includes a number of technical issues. As farmers have incorporated cattle into their farming system they have encountered a number of technical issues and some of the ways in which Samoan farmers farm and use their cattle have technical implications.
