Sheep farmer Xolisa Bomela\u2019s two prized sheep won him top awards at the annual flock competition held in Mgcwe Village, outside Ngqamakwe on May 12.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bomela, the secretary of the Eastern Cape Communal Woolgrowers Association (ECCWGA), won first spots in the merino and Dohne merino categories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The competition is the brainchild of the provincial Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform (DRDAR), which donates livestock to local farmers, as part of supporting communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking during the event, Mnquma Local Municipality Mayor, Councillor Tunyiswa Manxila-Nkamisa, said that the event was in line with the municipality\u2019s vision and mission, which is to create self-sustainable communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Manxila-Nkamisa also officially handed over a R1.3 million fully equipped shearing shed to Siyazama Gqoloma, a sheep breeding cooperative, as part of festivities for the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA new abattoir will soon open here in Mnquma, and this competition is preparing farmers to grow the fattest sheep which can be sold at the abattoir. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGovernment is grooming farmers who don\u2019t just keep livestock for display and honour, but we want people who are market-oriented so that they can get returns on their investment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have a lot of butcheries and supermarkets that they can supply around the municipality. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe congratulate all the winners,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eastern Cape DRDAR director for livestock, Mfundo Macanda, said farmers were competing in five categories: Dohne merino (meat and wool producers), merino (wool producers), two-tooth ewes and four-tooth ewes and lambs, and they were judged by independent judges who are animal scientists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Winners received a ram, feed, and medication.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sheep farmer Xolisa Bomela\u2019s two prized sheep won him top awards at the annual flock competition held in Mgcwe Village, outside Ngqamakwe on May 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