Small stock wins Showa brothers prizes
Pini Bothoko | Wednesday May 28, 2014 15:17
The duo’s goats winning at the BOCCIM Northern Trade Fair (BNTF), which ended last Sunday, was enough to ease the pain of their initial loss.
Terence Showa, 36 said he was happy that he and his brother Sipho, 39, walked away with prizes even though it was their first time exhibiting at the fair.
He said it has given him encouragement to work hard and improve the standard of his small stock.
“Boer goats are the favourite in the market, they grow big and have a lot of meat,” he said when speaking for the pair in an interview with Mmegi on Monday.
Terence said that showgoers were simply bowled over by the well-fed goats at their stall and a number of them made enquiries with the intention to make purchases.
“People like these type of goats because they have a strong bone and grow big and have a beautiful well built body structure.
They were mostly interested in a he-goat, which is one-and-half year old but big and fat.
“The goat was the champion at the trade fair after winning the best in show prize under the two teeth category and the best in two-teeth category. The female also won the best in two-teeth category, “ said Showa.
To prove that they are truly back in business, Terence exhibited six of the goats for the first time at this year’s BNTF.
However, it was the wise decision they made prior to the fair that got the brothers a new lease of life in business.
They were at Ditladi, a farm that fell in the Zone 6, when their small stock was affected by FMD.
Like all the farmers in that area, they were left desolate when the Department of Veterinary Services culled their goats following the outbreak.
He said the government compensated them with P80,000 and they topped that up with P83,800 from other financing sources.
Terence, a banker based in Francistown and his brother Sipho, a long time spokesperson for a parastatal organisation in Gaborone, decided to move their farm to Serurubele lands on the outskirts of Mathangwane, about 25 kilometres northwest of Francistown.
The brothers, egged on by their indefatigable mother, Uyapo Showa, were determined to bounce back as they procured other goats (25 stud females and one stud ram) from South Africa. All the female goats were pregnant, according to Terence.
Since then, Terence, a hands-on farmer has been splitting his time between the farm and his workplace on Blue Jacket Street.
At the farm, he ensures that the goats are well maintained and things are running smoothly.
Terence, who said that they inherited their love for farming from the family matriarch, Uyapo, who has been into farming since they were young, said they have changed their approach to farming.
“Before we did it for the sake of it. Now we want to ensure we reap maximum benefit from it. We have plans in place to raise goat numbers. Remember they were all pregnant when we bought them,’ he said.
He said that the he-goat could grow up to 160kg and people like it for its body structure and the meat.
Terence, who said they attended a crash course at Impala Research Unit, just east of Francistown, said that the female goats are worth P5,500 each whilst the he-goat fetches a hefty P20,000.
Apparently, if given enough care the Boer goat can breed three times in one year unlike the Tswana goat that breeds once a year.
Other than the frequency in its breeding, Terence said the Boer goat did not differ much from the Tswana goat.
“But we have put enough security to avoid thieves because they are a rare breed in Botswana,” said Terence.
He said that they want to hold shows to educate those with a love for farming on how to breed goats for commercial purposes because they have realised that Batswana love rearing small stock.
He said that they also want to talk to Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA) and banks to finance people specialising in small stocks to enhance the commercial side of the business.
Terence said that on September 7, 2014 they will host a field day at their farm in which one of the popular small stocks farmers from South Africa, Josef Kleinhans of Dhidejak Boer goats, will educate farmers on how to breed them.