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In the rugged terrain of Lesotho’s uplands, farmers raise sheep and goats for their wool, supplying an important national industry and providing a major export. But without information, better organization and basic infrastructure, small-scale sheep and goat farmers are unable to lift themselves out of a subsistence existence and obtain better prices for their wool. In addition to building woolsheds in remote areas, an IFAD-funded programme is training farmers in improved animal health as well as care and management of the grasslands their herds feed on. Thanks to these inputs, farmers should soon be getting substantially better prices for their wool in the marketplace.

Communities in Tsatsane in the southern tip of Lesotho have a new woolshed, built by the Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management Programme with the help of community members. The woolshed provides a clean and protected place for shearing sheep and goats, and for classifying, baling and storing wool before it is transported to market.

“There’s a desperate shortage of woolsheds in the programme area,” says Moitahli Khemi, monitoring and evaluation officer for the programme, which is financed by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). “One of our objectives is to build sheds in remote areas where they are lacking.”

Access to woolsheds is a real problem for farmers living in Lesotho’s isolated areas. Some have to drive their herds over rugged terrain for several days to reach a shearing point. On the way the animals can become sick and die, or they can pick up seeds and burrs that bring down the value of their wool. Farmers have to bear the expense of these lengthy journeys in more ways than one.

“Before the Tsatsane woolshed was built, many farmers had to walk three days to reach the nearest woolsheds,” says Khemi. “On the way one farmer lost 18 goats and 5 kids out of his herd of 63. On every trip to the woolsheds farmers risk substantial losses. If the journey to the woolshed lasts no more than a day, the wool arrives in better condition and fetches higher prices.”

Wool and mohair are major products of the uplands of Lesotho, where they provide income for many thousands of households. But farmers with small herds do not have the support services and access to training and new technologies that would help them increase their production. For the farmers, the woolsheds are an important focal point. Each shed is managed by a local wool and mohair producers’ association, which is linked to the national association of producers. Through the associations farmers can learn about market opportunities, improved techniques for animal husbandry and better conservation and management of natural resources.

Better quality earns bigger profits 

The IFAD-funded programme builds the capacity of farmers’ associations to show farmers how closely the quality of their product is related to the price they can get for it in the marketplace. The programme ensures that farmers with smaller herds can benefit equally from its activities, and that they can make lasting improvements in their incomes.

The programme trains community members in shearing, classing and baling wool, and it has introduced improved breeds of sheep and goats. It offers wool producers training in animal care so they can raise healthier animals.

“All the new techniques and approaches that we demonstrate as part of training can help farmers obtain better market prices for their product,” says project coordinator Motebang Pomela. “Even adopting improved shearing methods can affect the quality of the wool.”

Sometimes simple measures can make a big difference. “For example, often the farmers don’t clean their kraals, or enclosures,” explains Pomela. “They don’t see the point of keeping the rangeland clear of plants that might fill the wool with seeds and burrs and lower its value. We are helping them understand that if they pay attention to these details the product will make more money for them.”

Training in animal care includes management practices such as proper housing and feeding, disease control and prevention, and the importance of vaccination. Farmers also learn how to keep records and make business plans.

Rehabilitating degraded grasslands

Poverty in rural Lesotho is closely linked to severe degradation of the natural resource base, the result of decades of overgrazing and soil erosion. The farmers of Tsatsane have learned how the quality of the rangeland affects animal health and nutrition and the value of wool, the end product. They understand the importance of managing their badly degraded resource base.

Once the woolshed was completed, Tsatsane’s farmers started to improve the rangeland where their sheep and goats graze.They have set aside nine hectares of land to reseed with good-quality grass seeds supplied by the programme. Community members put down stone markers across the range in lines delimiting the reseeded area. The programme encourages other communities to designate areas for resting the land, in order to allow it to regenerate. This is not always easy to achieve. The rangeland is common to all, and some groups may agree on resting the land, but they face the problem of preventing others from coming in and using it.

The presence of the new woolshed in Tsatsane has helped create jobs in the area. The programme has trained shearers and wool classers who are available to work locally. The wool producers association has employed 13 people to help prepare the wool for market. They include 2 classers, 8 shearers, 1 security guard and 2 balers.

Training provided by the programme helps the people who manage the woolshed keep clear records of production and sales. Only a few months after the Tsatsane woolshed was built, more than 4,900 sheep had been shorn and almost 16,000 kg of wool had been baled and sent for auction at the regional market at Port Elizabeth in South Africa. Soon it will be possible to see significant improvements in farmers’ incomes as a direct result of the programme.

Source:IFAD