Durban - In a bid to confront youth unemployment in KwaZulu-Natal, the eThekwini Municipality launched a R3.5 million Intensive Sheep Feedlot facility yesterday at the Cato Ridge Agri-Park Incubator, in the outer west of Durban.
This is set to produce 12 000 sheep and has already employed 20 longterm employees from the community.
Facilitated by the City’s Business Support, Tourism, Markets and Agri-Business Unit, the facility features two intensive sheep feedlot facilities that accommodate 1 000 lambs per feedlot. It also has feeding and storage space as well as a weighing area.
Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda said the establishment of the sheep-breeding facility comes after the municipality was identified as a major lamb and mutton market in the country.
“However, production in the entire KZN remains below 5% of total national production, which means we are consumers and not producers. Therefore, this is our response to this demand,” he said.
The incubation facility also houses poultry farmers previously employed by Rainbow Chicken farm, who after retrenchment started their own poultry business.
Nonhle Mdunge, of the Isukile poultry project, said with the help of the municipality they had helped a little over 100 people, most individuals who also run their own poultry businesses.
Chairperson of the Economic Development and Planning Committee in eThekwini, Thanduxolo Sabelo, said when Rainbow Chicken Farms shut down, the municipality bought one of the farms with the plans to give young farmers an opportunity.
“We are proud to say that all the farmers that are part of the initiative are doing well, they are anticipating more growth and as the municipality we will offer financial support.”
Kaunda said the poultry farming business that the city opened in December 2020 was progressing well and had made a turnover of about R5 million since inception, through the six businesses that are fully operational in separate poultry units at Cato Ridge.
“Such success encouraged us to expand to sheep farming as it is among the five commodities adopted in the eThekwini Agribusiness Master plan.”
One of the beneficiaries of this project, Sifiso Myeni, chief executive of AgriHouse Group employs seven former Rainbow Chicken staff.