Plans to improve sheep industry

Plans are on stream to restart a Barbados Black Belly Sheep registry in this country, beginning early in the new year.

So says Chief Executive Officer of the Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS), James Paul, who explained it is one measure that will be employed to ensure the longevity of the industry. He made the disclosure during a recent interview with The Barbados Advocate,explaining that the last time that a sheep registration programme was done, they registered around 700 animals as Barbados Black Belly Sheep, but he said without a current registry, it is difficult to know if the figures have expanded, decreased or remained stable.

“We are very concerned about the state of the industry at the moment. One large producer has actually gone out of business and sold off his sheep and we are seeing now an attempt by some other farmers who have significant numbers of animals also looking to get out of the business. This is not healthy for the industry because in most livestock industries, one of the things that is needed is large producers. Without large producers, you tend to lose the genetic base from which you can actually seek to expand the population of the animals,” Paul explained.

He insisted that the Barbados Black Belly Sheep population is one that must be expanded if the country wants to capitalise on potential export opportunities. His comments came as he lamented that requests to export the animals are difficult to fulfil, because there are not enough sheep to service such exports. This interest from overseas, he indicated, stems from the excellent meat-to-fat ratio of the Barbados Black Belly Sheep.

“We therefore need to look closely and see how we can increase the pop-ulation and one of the things that the BAS will be paying attention to in 2021, once we get past the COVID restrictions or find a suitable way to work within them, is the whole question of training. We have to look at how we are going to help our farmers to engage in better husbandry practices within the industry. I think that is going to be extremely important in terms of trying to improve the Barbados Black Belly Sheep and increase the numbers. We do have to see an increase in the numbers,” he stated.

Paul explained that it takes in the region of 11 months for a sheep to reach maturity and go to market, and he suggested that one of the reasons that is, is improper management of the breed. With that in mind, the BAS official said that by registering the animals, they would know definitively which sheep are pure-bred, and he added they would be able to avoid any inbreeding, which has been a problem in the past.

“Inbreeding is an issue and it is often because some farmers are not keeping accurate breeding records within the industry in order to prevent it. The poor performance of the sheep could be attributed to the fact that there is inbreeding. We therefore need to get this under control and will be holding seminars in the new year,” he added.

He went on to say that they are exploring the idea of getting software that can be utilised by the Barbados Sheep Farmers Association Inc. to allow for a “breed book” to be developed, such that persons interested in buying sheep would have greater information in terms of the pedigree of the animals. He said it will likely be an expensive undertaking, and they will be looking for funds to make it a reality, given the importance of the breed to the country.