Covenant College Farm - Livestock

The aims of Covenant College Farm are twofold; firstly, to provide food for the students during term time and secondly, to provide agricultural training for students and local farmers. With this in mind we are aiming to stock the farm with all the local animals as well as gradually introducing new livestock.

Oxen and Donkeys

Our two oxen are used for ploughing and transporting material around the farm using the ox-cart. We also have two cows and two young calves and hope to further increase the herd.

We have introduced two donkeys to the farm, which are training to do the same work as the oxen. Donkeys have many advantages over oxen, such as being able to work longer days, which we hope to prove to the local people.

Chickens, Goats and Pigs

Local farmers usually allow their livestock to roam freely. On the farm however, the various animals are all kept housed or in kraals. This has many advantages, which we are trying to prove to the people around.

Our local chickens produce more chicks and the time taken to fatten them ready for eating reduces.

We are proving the same with the local goats. Our herd is now up to nine and by keeping them in the kraal they grow faster and produce more often. There is also the added benefit of being able to harvest the manure from the goats, oxen, donkeys and pigs.

‘New’ Livestock

The next step from looking at ways to improve production with local livestock, is to introduce new breeds. The first project with this in mind is the hybrid chicken house. Hybrid chickens are much better layers, producing eggs both for consumption at the college and for sale into the nearby town.

At the moment we only have local pigs but shortly we will be introducing hybrid white pigs, which we will fatten up for sale in 5-6 months. Other new livestock to be introduced are rabbits for breeding for consumption and hybrid broiler chickens.

All the projects are set up as small ‘business units’ which it is hoped local people and villages will be able to replicate. Essentially, the farm is a training centre for the local subsistence farmers, giving them new ideas for their small holdings with the key aim of trying to provide alternative means of income to their maize crop which is so dependant upon the rains.