Africa-Press – Botswana. A small stock auction at Mantshwabisi Small Stock Ranch on Saturday raised over P800 00, with the top-selling animal being a Dorper ram (stud) that fetched P20 000.
The auction featured 167 small stock, including Boer goats and sheep of various breeds, comprising Dorper, Meatmaster, and Damara.
Letlhakeng based principal scientific officer in the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture, Mr Kgotso Oteng, expressed satisfaction with the turnout of farmers, emphasising that the auction’s goal was to sell all small stock to replace them with breeding stock of superior genetics.
Mr Oteng said the intention was to transform the 543-hectare Mantshwabisi Small Stock Ranch into a Centre of Excellence.
The new breeding stock will include 100 Dorper ewes, five Dorper rams, 100 Boer goat does, and five Boer goat bucks, which will be sourced from Lobu Small Stock Ranch, which he said were ready for collection. However, Mr Oteng noted that the farm’s infrastructure development was underway in preparations to receive the new breeding stock.
He said the ranch could accommodate up to 1 000 small stock under intensive production system.
He said there was fodder production at the ranch to argument the available grazing and currently maize and lablab had been planted on four hectares.
He said the intention was to clear more land to enhance fodder production at the ranch, saying they were aiming to clear an additional 50 hectares in 2025/2026 and another 50 hectares the following year. Regarding staffing at the Mantshwabisi Small Stock Ranch, Mr Oteng said the farm had a farm manager, an assistant farm manager, and eight support staff, with casual workers hired occasionally.
The auction also brought economic benefits to the local business community by drawing a large number of visitors.
Ms Omphile Masisi, who was selling food and beverages, told BOPA that she had many customers than expected and regretted not preparing for a larger crowd.
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