Not even the heavy rains sweeping across the Eastern Cape Province could dampen the jovial spirits of the Ngonyama village community in who came in large numbers to witness the official opening of the Ngonyama Shearing Shed by the MEC for Agriculture, Nonceba Kontsiwe, alongside the Mbashe Local Municipality Executive Mayor, Dr. Samkelo Janda.
The department invested more the R1,4 million to construct a fully equipped and fenced shed with a plunge dipping tank, ablution facilities, office and a removable animal handling facility.
Formed in 2017, the shed’s association has 51 members where women are well represented at 23 with 3 youth and 25 males also received 10 Dohne Merino rams from the Department to boost the quality of the wool clip. The farmers are shearing 3409 sheep that produced 19 wool bales which fetched R98 342 in their market CMW in Gqeberha in their last shearing season, thanks to donation of the rams.
Prior to the Department’s investment, the farmers of Masibambisane Woolgrowers Association to travel more than 15km to a shed in Xeni location, which is in Ward 4 hence the shed will assist other farmers in Ward 2 that include Sheshegu and Mputi villages.
The department and Mbashe Local Municipality are annually supporting with remedies to vaccinate animals to prevent diseases.
“We are very happy that the government has provided us with a shed. Over the past 9 to 10 years, we were using our houses to shear wool. We are hopeful that using this shed will increase the quality and quantity of wool. We are also happy that the youth and women are showing interest in wool production because as an old man I want to pass the baton to younger people to continue,” said the association’s chairman Mtutuzeli Vayisi.
He added that the rams provided by the department in 2022 have changed the quality of their flock and they were now producing “good quality wool.”
MEC Kontsiwe encouraged farmers to continue to produce quality wool, adding that the investment should propel them to become commercial and independent farmers.
“Farmers should grow and be able to export their own wool for even better returns instead of only supplying in Gqeberha. This structure should encourage you to roll up your sleeves and work for the development of the community and participate in the economic growth of province,” she said.
She called on the community to work with the police to fight stock theft, adding that they should not be afraid to report suspicious actions. Urging the community to preserve government investment, Mayor Janda said the structure should be utilized for shearing, which brings economic benefits instead of being for other purposes.
“The community should not convert the Sheds into churches and crèches, you should use the for what they were intended for,” he stressed.
