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Cheetah Conservation Fund’s Programme ‘Future Farmers of Africa’ presented its first Livestock Marketing Course from the 3rd to 7th of December. It focused on the ideal product, the economic viability of production and on environmentally sound and cheetah friendly production practices. 25 farmers learned to determine weight by girth measurement, which is required to calculate market related prices, to monitor weight gain and to evaluate performance. This is important to farmers without scales on their farms as many may not be able to afford them. Techniques learned in this course will help them get the most out of their livestock. While some predator losses are inevitable these courses help farmers minimize losses while maximizing returns. Stakeholders of Namibia’s meat industry, namely the Meat Board of Namibia and the Meat Corporation of Namibia partnered up with CCF to make this event possible. The number of courses we can offer in a year is often limited by funding. We appreciate your help with this.
(Photo: Farmers measure the weight of a slaughter ox). From Günther Roeber - Course Coordinator
6 Comments posted on "First “Future Farmers of Africa” course presented by CCF."
THERESA SISKIND on December 13th, 2007 at 8:48 pm
being a vegetarian, i believe it is morally wrong to kill any animal unless it tries to kill you! i would much rather see ccs support a sustainable crop program for these hard working farmers. i will continue to support ccs in their other endeavors however. you see, i belong to FARM SANCTUARY and PETA, i know only to well the hell livestock experiences before they are finally slaughtered…
cheetahconservation on December 13th, 2007 at 9:16 pm
Theresa, thanks for your very valid comment. Unfortunately, Namibia is quite an arid land, almost incapable of supporting any agriculture, as less than 1% of its land is arable.
Michelle - Cali on December 14th, 2007 at 3:37 pm
I understand what CCF is doing and the farmers need to make a living w/o harming the wildlife, but I too am a vegetarian and find this blog unpleasant to read. Albeit, I’m sure the farmers will be much more humane to the farm animals than the factory farms here in the U.S.
THERESA SISKIND on December 14th, 2007 at 4:22 pm
I have to appologise for my previous posting; I was exhausted from blogging on all the wildlife blogs and feeling discouraged for the future of all endangered species. I learned a lesson a long time ago that COMPROMISE is needed to make any headway in achieving practical goals! ON a much lighter note, Christmas is coming soon and I would like nothing better then to play Santa to the cheetahs at CCS. I’M donating 250.00 now to help with their support. God bless the staff for all their efforts in this ever changing landscape. KISSES AND HUGS to our cheetahs!
cheetahconservation on December 18th, 2007 at 8:16 am
Theresa, thank you so much for your post. Yes, compromise is needed, even if at times it is difficult. Thank you also for your donation. Thanks to everyone who has donated through this site! We are in a year-end rush to raise funds and appreciate every penny that has been donated to help us continue working to save the wild cheetah! Happy holidays to everyone.
Edward Heaslip on December 20th, 2007 at 12:48 am
I think Theresa Siskind means well with her concerted efforts to help the cheetahs. Maybe she can help people programs, too. Post a comment
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