A unique developmental initiative is alleviating poverty and uplifting the entire, often elderly, communal sheep farming community in the Dudumashe area of the former Transkei. With better disease and breeding management and by introducing superior rams, production and wool quality have improved significantly.
Communal grazing techniques in the former Transkei represent a major challenge to effectively manage stock and to create proper breeding seasons.
Countering these challenges has been a major focus of the development programme in the Dudumashe region of the former Transkei.
Wool transformation
The PRACTICES of communal farming often make it impossible for communal stock to compete with commercial stock. This is especially true for wooled sheep in the former Transkei, traditionally characterised by below-average wool and often ravaged by scab. To help communal farmers get the most from their communal wooled sheep, the National Wool Growers Association (NWGA) development programme, funded by the Eastern Cape Department of Agriculture (ECDA) in the former Ciskei and Transkei, is trying to address these problems.
Wool production boosted
In 2000, communal NWGA shearing sheds were built and the association set out to help farmers market their wool. That year, only 220 sheep belonging to four communal farmers in the Dudumashe region were shorn. They produced four bales of wool for a profit of R3 288. By 2008, 63 communal farmers received a collective cheque for wool produced in 2007, amounting to R75 795 from 50 bales.
In 2008, 4 549 sheep belonging to 93 communal farmers produced 69 bales for a cheque still to be issued. Such a rapid increase in turnover bears testament to the success of this NWGA initiative over the past decade.
A focus on wool quality
A second interlinked project is focused on improving wool quality in communal flocks. Annually, about 3 000 genetically superior rams bred by commercial farmers under contract to the NWGA are introduced to flocks in the Ciskei and Transkei and existing communal rams are removed or castrated. “We got our first Merino rams in 2001 and since then we’ve received Dohne Merino rams,” says local headman, chairperson and the creator of the Dudumashe Wool Growers Association, Colonel Dudumashe. “They’ve made a big difference to our wool quality.”
Gadi gets involved
Through the NWGA initiative, Bryan King from the Grootfontein Agricultural Development Institute (Gadi) in Middelburg was introduced to the Dudumashe community in 2000. He has become a regular face in the area over the years, offering advice on breeding, management, disease control and marketing. Under a mandate to research and initiate new strategies, he aims to improve wool production in the area. Dudumashe farmers agree his contribution has been critical, as he urged them to learn and succeed.
A local farmer Alfred Fanqa comments, “Since the start of the project, I’ve learnt a lot. I remember once Mr King brought some samples of wool and compared them to ours and it gave us the motivation to be more competitive.”
Colonel agrees. “Sheep farming has enriched the communities over the years. We have found a son and brother in Bryan King.”
Controlling breeding and disease
Dudumashe’s successful wool production is all the more impressive, considering the numerous challenges the local farmers face. Communal areas are defined by communal grazing, which hampers even the most basic management tasks like defining breeding seasons to ensure ewes don’t lamb in the dead of winter.
“Lambs are being born during cold spells, the mothers don’t have milk and a lot of them die,” says Bryan. “The lambing percentage is 100%, but the weaning percentage is a disaster.” Therefore, Bryan emphasises separating rams from ewes, creating breeding seasons and minimising the risk of communal rams distributing their inferior genes to Dudumashe ewes. To achieve this, he has arranged for shepherds to be paid to “guard” flocks during the mating season from May to June.
Communal grazing practices also make the control of scab very difficult, despite regular dipping by farmers belonging to the NWGA programme. Dipped sheep are simply re-contaminated, due to contact with sheep owned by farmers not involved in the programme. But with more farmers getting involved, the problem of sheep scab is steadily decreasing, says Alfred. “The disease used to devastate our flocks, but since Bryan’s been here, there’s been a huge difference.”
Stock theft and lack of support
Stock theft is another major problem, as most farmers only own about 100 sheep, the loss of 20 or more sheep in a single night is devastating.
It seems the problem isn’t being solved if the conviction rate of thieves is anything to go by, says Alfred. “There’s a problem with the justice system – thieves are released too easily.” Bryan says all he can do is to urge farmers to tattoo their sheep to assist with tracking them down. Another reality of farming in Dudumashe is the lack of support from the ECDA extension officers, say some of the mostly elderly farmers. “Generally, youngsters aren’t interested in farming, but we want to change that through this project,” explains Colonel.
The communal ram breeding project
In 2004, a communal ram breeding project was launched, supported once again by the NWGA, the ECDA and Gadi, with additional funders being the Dohne Research Institute (DRI), and the Agricultural Research Council (ARC). This project aims to produce rams from flocks of ewes from nine rural communities, including Dudumashe, for distribution to various communal regions of the former Transkei and Ciskei.
This empowers communal farmers to breed superior rams for sale, at a premium, to surrounding communities. Not only will this ensure farmers more income from wooled sheep, but it will also contribute to the distribution of genetically superior rams to more communal farmers. This adds to what’s already being achieved by the original NWGA project. “The 3 000 rams provided by the NWGA are not enough; we’d like to make these farmers self-sufficient in terms of breeding their own quality, registered rams. I’m sure we can get good quality animals out of this project,” says Bryan. So in 2004, 240 ewes from Dudumashe were selected and they’ve been mated annually with six of a total of 60 superior rams from the NWGA’s annual batch of 3 000.
The flock of 60 rams are kept under optimal conditions for four months before being delivered to communal farmers for mating in May and June. In 2009, the first Dudumashe communal rams will be selected, registered and marketed.
“The communal sheep farmers will now be able to get a certificate allowing them to sell certified rams from the Dudumashe breeding group. We will then be able to ask more for these rams and the money will go back to the farmers,” says Bryan.
Contact Bryan King on 083 554 4648 or Gadi on (049) 802 6723. |fw
