The proverbial well-fed white sheep with long sharp horns that children used to be afraid of when bought as a sacrificial lamb for the feast locally known as Tabaski or Bana Salo now cost between 18 to 25 thousand dalasi. There are plenty of them around, but people are not buying them.
Apparently, because of poverty, many may do without a sheep this year. A similar thing happened last year. Many sheep were in the market, but because of the absence of buyers they had to sell to a few and went back with the rest of the stock.
This brings into question whether the trade of sheep in the market is sustainable. Many importers would be disappointed with the low turnout. The livestock marketing agency therefore has a responsibility to assess the number of sheep that are bought annually for the feast so that measures could be taken to produce more sheep. The country has to be self-reliant in livestock production.
Foroyaa will follow the agency to get updates on livestock production in the country. A nation that cannot feed itself cannot proudly call itself an independent nation.
