Goat and sheep breeders warn about branch’s extinction

The number of goats and sheep has significantly fallen, and the situation continues to worsen, claims Pantelei Bulgaru, president of the Goat and Sheep Breeder Association. 2-3 years ago the country had about 1 million goats and sheep, which has fallen to 700,000 current. “The issue at hand is how to keep this number of animals, since the danger of the traditional branch’s extinction is evident, especially taking into account the deficit of fodder, caused by last year’s drought”, stated Bulgaru at a press conference, reports Info-Prim Neo. The Goat and Sheep Breeders Association have prepared an interpellation to the Government, for the purchase of 500,000 tons of cereals, which would help farmers take their animals through the winter. The animal upkeep costs are very high, and the State only offers subsidies for buying breeding stock, pointed out Tudor Nicu, farmer from Cahul. The man complains that wool sells for only 6-8 lei per kg, and the demand is low, both on the local and the international market. In Nicolae Mardari’s opinion, sheep herder from Ungheni, it would be good if the upkeep per animal would be subsidized with at least 50 lei. “We would, at least, cover our expenses and there will be conditions that would attract youth to work in this branch, since presently most of the herding is done by retirees”, said Nicolae Mardari. Valentin Dodi, who has a farm in Gratiesti, Chisinau Municipality, says that the main product, cheese, cannot be exported due to lack of certification. “In countries from where we import breeding stock, there is one attendant per 300 sheep, whereas here we need to pay a lot of people, because everything is done manually. We also dream of farms that would have milk and meat processing factories, we dream of the diversification of our products, so that we can also produce 10-15 names of cheeses”, said the herder. University professor Serghei Chilimari said that this traditional branch should be modernized and set on an industrial basis. “The demand for wool and skins is very low and, if we continue the upkeep of caracul and prime wool breeds, the breeders will not able to cover their expenses. It is necessary to buy sheep and goat species that are highly productive, and specialize in the production of lamb meat and milk, including goat milk”, said Serghei Chilimari. According to the professor, the reorientation initiative should come from the animal breeders, whereas the Government should be more flexible in its subsidizing policy.