Bad weather, high prices compounded cattle breeders' suffering

MUHAMMAD AL-AHMAD- AHMAD AL-KAMIYAN/ GIRE SIPI

Livestock breeders, especially nomads, rely on livestock as a primary source of income. However, the scarcity of rain and the lack of pastures have led to higher costs of livestock farming, forcing farmers to sell some of their flocks to cover costs.

The livestock breeders continue to maintain their profession despite the difficult living conditions and the high costs of raising them, especially this year in light of the scarcity of rain with the beginning of winter until almost the end of spring, as well as torrents and floods, which occurred in the area in late spring, the scarcity of rainfall led to the loss of rangelands, resulting in high feed prices, livestock breeders rent wheat and barley fields that their owners are forced to sell after the crop has been damaged and used by the breeders to graze their livestock.

The daily costs paid by the livestock breeders as a price for the feed and pasture they buy are almost twice as high as the price of milk and dairy products they sell, many cattle farmers, who cannot afford to pay, have sold up to half of their livestock to pay for pasture and fodder.

The price of one hectare rented by sheep farmers is about 20 thousand SP. The one hectare of grazing land is only enough to graze 50 sheep for one day, according to livestock owners, the profits earned from them in one day do not exceed 30 liters of milk, and sometimes the price does not reach 6 thousand SP.

All these costs have prompted livestock breeders to buy fodder, although feeding sheep the fodder during this period of the year is a strange phenomenon, but it is done by livestock breeders.

"The fodder is not better or less expensive than the pastures we have been rented, the increase in demand has led to higher prices, bringing the price of a kilogram of fodder to 35 S.P. The price of barley has fallen," said Hussein al-Hamoud, "This is a difficult year for us."

"We do not have another livelihood as an alternative to it, and we cannot work in another profession because it is inherited from our ancestors. We have never put all these costs on livestock, and the lack of pastures and bad air conditions have led to the bad condition of livestock owners this year," Said Salama al-Ahmad.

In the face of all these difficulties, many have wondered whether livestock owners who have been practicing this profession for decades will be able to continue working on it.

H/S

ANHA