Eastern Cape Rural Development Agency (ECRDA) recently handed over 80 sheep rams to 95 livestock farmers in Mnceba near Ntabankulu to improve the genetic material of the local sheep.
ECRDA said the initiative would include improving weaning rates, balancing the flock structure, changing the mating season and introducing vaccination programmes over a five-year period and is aimed to enable local livestock farmers to compete with commercial farmers and to receive market-related income for their stock.
The Eastern Cape has the highest number of cattle, goats, chicken and horses in South Africa. However, emerging or communal farmers are largely unable to tap into and exploit the opportunities that exist within the commercial livestock development sector.
ECRDA livestock specialist Mathemba Mapuma said the agency embarked on livestock improvement in the area after an assessment of the sheep flock revealed that the sheep were of poor quality with backward farming methods.
“ECRDA conducted an analysis of the situation and decided to introduce sheep with better genetic material. The sheep were of poor quality, they were sickly, weaning rates were low, the flock structure was not balanced which meant there were too many male sheep which compromised reproduction rates.
“There were no vaccination programmes, sheep were small-framed and therefore could not compete with commercial farmers,” said Mapuma.
ECRDA introduced 80 rams to mate with their existing 2900 ewes (female sheep) to improve the genetic material and quality of their stock. “This is based on a ratio of 3% of the 2900 female sheep in the area. This means each of the 80 rams will mate with 30-35 of the 2900 ewes. They should now be able to fetch better prices for their sheep in the market. In addition, we have introduced a general sheep production training programme for the next five years to change the subsistence culture to a commercial one. ECRDA has also introduced a veterinary programme, sheep shearing as well as a new mating season.”
Mapuma said this commercialisation drive was crucial because the Eastern Cape was importing sheep from the Free State province and commercial farmers were losing their sheep to stock theft, among other things.
Ntabankulu, which is about two hours from Mthatha presents an opportunity to instil a commercial culture to local farmers where theft is not prevalent.
Mapuma said the sheep shearing programme for wool was still a challenge because there was currently no shearing shed.
The Ntabankulu Local Municipality has committed to build a shearing shed in the new financial year.
The construction of the shed should provide a clean environment for shearing as well as enough space for sorting and baling of the wool.
“The introduction of the shed will protect the local sheep farmers from speculators who buy their wool for next to nothing. They will now be able to sell directly to wool trader, BKB in Port Elizabeth. This should expose them to a commercial mindset.
“Similarly the current breeding season for the local farmers is November/December. Sheep take five months to breed and they end up lambing in May or June which is the beginning of winter.
Winter brings dry grass and there is therefore not much grazing exposing sheep to starvation as well as sheep losses,” Mapuma said.
He said ECRDA was introducing ram camps so that they are kept away from females until May or June to change the mating season. “This will ensure they lamb in November or December when there is enough rain so that there is enough grazing and hence more milk to feed their lambs,” explained Mapuma.
ECRDA has also begun a process of marking all the rams and hammels with a poor genetic stock in households and asking them to sell them to preserve the new stock. —siyam@dispatch.co.za
Rams shipment boosts farmers
ECRDA said the initiative would include improving weaning rates, balancing the flock structure, changing the mating season and introducing vaccination programmes over a five-year period and is aimed to enable local livestock farmers to compete with commercial farmers and to receive market-related income for their stock.
The Eastern Cape has the highest number of cattle, goats, chicken and horses in South Africa. However, emerging or communal farmers are largely unable to tap into and exploit the opportunities that exist within the commercial livestock development sector.
ECRDA livestock specialist Mathemba Mapuma said the agency embarked on livestock improvement in the area after an assessment of the sheep flock revealed that the sheep were of poor quality with backward farming methods.
“ECRDA conducted an analysis of the situation and decided to introduce sheep with better genetic material. The sheep were of poor quality, they were sickly, weaning rates were low, the flock structure was not balanced which meant there were too many male sheep which compromised reproduction rates.
“There were no vaccination programmes, sheep were small-framed and therefore could not compete with commercial farmers,” said Mapuma.
ECRDA introduced 80 rams to mate with their existing 2900 ewes (female sheep) to improve the genetic material and quality of their stock. “This is based on a ratio of 3% of the 2900 female sheep in the area. This means each of the 80 rams will mate with 30-35 of the 2900 ewes. They should now be able to fetch better prices for their sheep in the market. In addition, we have introduced a general sheep production training programme for the next five years to change the subsistence culture to a commercial one. ECRDA has also introduced a veterinary programme, sheep shearing as well as a new mating season.”
Mapuma said this commercialisation drive was crucial because the Eastern Cape was importing sheep from the Free State province and commercial farmers were losing their sheep to stock theft, among other things.
Ntabankulu, which is about two hours from Mthatha presents an opportunity to instil a commercial culture to local farmers where theft is not prevalent.
Mapuma said the sheep shearing programme for wool was still a challenge because there was currently no shearing shed.
The Ntabankulu Local Municipality has committed to build a shearing shed in the new financial year.
The construction of the shed should provide a clean environment for shearing as well as enough space for sorting and baling of the wool.
“The introduction of the shed will protect the local sheep farmers from speculators who buy their wool for next to nothing. They will now be able to sell directly to wool trader, BKB in Port Elizabeth. This should expose them to a commercial mindset.
“Similarly the current breeding season for the local farmers is November/December. Sheep take five months to breed and they end up lambing in May or June which is the beginning of winter.
Winter brings dry grass and there is therefore not much grazing exposing sheep to starvation as well as sheep losses,” Mapuma said.
He said ECRDA was introducing ram camps so that they are kept away from females until May or June to change the mating season. “This will ensure they lamb in November or December when there is enough rain so that there is enough grazing and hence more milk to feed their lambs,” explained Mapuma.
ECRDA has also begun a process of marking all the rams and hammels with a poor genetic stock in households and asking them to sell them to preserve the new stock. —siyam@dispatch.co.za
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