The breed has become popular with farmers because it is hardy and offers more returns
When youth in semi-arid areas are asked what they can rear for commercial purposes, few would say sheep. Elizabeth Njeri, an aspiring agricultural entrepreneur from Kajiado, notes that it is common knowledge that sheep can only thrive in cold places. “Many of us believe that sheep will do well in places like Nyandarua”, she notes.
But according to Richard Keshura, a research assistant at Kenya Agricultural & Livestock Research Organization attached at Veterinary Science Research Institute, Muguga, sheep does well in hot climate.
Keshura says youth in Kajiado and other semi-arid places can comfortably and profitably keep sheep. They just have to choose the right breed – the Dorper sheep. “The Dorper has over the years become a sensation to the local farmers because it is hardy and offers more returns,” he notes.
His sentiments are echoed by Dr Joseph Othieno, Vet of the Year Award winner 2020, who notes that Dorper sheep are not selective grazers, hence flourish even on relatively poor quality feeds.
Cattle, goats and sheep have proven overtime to be a good investment. Rearing of small ruminants including goats and sheep require low capital investment.
They are considered as the dairy animals of the poor because of the lower capital investment, production cost required, rapid generation turn over, shorter pregnancy periods and milk supplies in quantities that are suitable for immediate household consumption.
“This could be a very good avenue for the youth,” notes Mr Keshura.
Linda Kariuki is, however, sceptical about the profitability of sheep rearing. Residing in the drier parts of Limuru, she notes that her sheep died and prefers goats.
Mr Keshura, who is particularly interested in understanding the relationship between hosts and parasites and ways in which this relationship can be exploited to improve animal health and productivity to ensure food security, says that Dorper sheep could be the solution.
“It is a breed that was developed to thrive in arid and semi-arid areas and provides excellent meat on sparse vegetation. Also, they are in high demand right now because they have an extremely beefy carcass and convert forage into a lot of meat per animal,” he adds.
Sheep farming requires little labour and little startup capital. This is very important for the youth who do not have huge capital. Lambs under good management can attain market weight in four months ensuring quick returns on investment.
Investing in Dorper sheep
For the youth, it is advisable to start with a cross breed of the Dorper ewes and a pure Dorper ram. This won’t require huge capital investment. A Dorper crossbreed can go for Ksh6000 – Ksh7000 and ram for Ksh10,000 – Ksh15,000. A ready to service pure Dorper ram fetches Ksh20,000 – Ksh30,000 whereas the ewe goes for Ksh15,000- Ksh20,000.
“With as low as Ksh50,000 you can start your sheep farming business including 5 ewes (cross breeds) and 1 ram (pure),” states Mr Keshura.
To ensure profitability in this venture, it is important to keep your vet close. Helminth infections is a huge concern in sheep farming than in any other livestock species. Sheep graze close to the ground and can easily pick up infective larvae while lamps take a long period to develop immunity thus easily succumbing to secondary bacterial infections.
Internal and external parasite control and vaccination are the most efficient ways to keep sheep-disease free. Internal parasitic worms, which are ingested while grazing, are controlled through the use of anthelmintics. External sheep parasites include ticks, mites and maggots, which are generally managed by the use of sprays or sheep dips.
The Dorper sheep was developed for arid and semi-arid regions like Kajiado. However, they are developed to perform favourably under a variety of climatic and grazing conditions, including intensive feeding system.
Further, the Kenya Agricultural & Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) has played a great role in its mandate to disseminate the right information on the right breeds, disease control and feed formulation. KALRO has also established a call centre manned by experts where farmers can receive expert advice on livestock related issues.
They train farmers on breeding, disease control, animal health, feed formulation, value addition and marketing.
To encourage the use of appropriate breeds, KALRO also purchases pure Dorper rams from farmers. The collected rams are then distributed to different common interest groups for improvement of their flocks.
This approach is undertaken to have as many Dorper sheep as possible so that farmers can have access to rams at affordable price compared to what they are getting from South Africa.
Source: MY Gov