Smallholder sheep and goat farmers are advised to restrain from slaughtering their female breeds in order to increase their stock.
Minister for Agriculture Dr Mahendra Reddy stressed this point to 11 smallholder farmers of Sigatoka while handing over assistance packages.
He said the packages were part of efforts to develop the sector.
“The idea for this is to migrate you from a smallholder farmer to a medium and large holder goat and sheep farmer,” Mr Reddy was quoted saying in a Government statement.
“We want to grow our livestock sector and for that, you cannot continue to free-range graze your animals or tether it manually, it’s just not possible.”
Minister Reddy also stressed that in order for these smallholder farmers to grow their stock, they needed to restrain from slaughtering their female breeds as females will increase their stock.
