Local owners of livestock have expressed their readiness to cater to the demand for sheep and goats during the upcoming Eid al-Adha festival.
They told local Arabic daily Arrayah that the demand for local sheep is expected to be high as many consumers prefer livestock from Qatari farms over imported varieties.
Sheep owners appreciated the initiative of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the Ministry of Municipality and Environment and Widam Food Company to encourage local producers and subsidise the prices of local sheep.
They noted that the initiative supported livestock owners and helped them a lot.
At the same time, they also wondered if the initiative would be extended to include livestock owners who do not have registered farms, as such individuals often have to go the central market or advertise their products online to sell their sheep.
The main difficulties facing livestock owners in increasing their production include the high cost of green fodder for livestock and the steep prices of good breeds of sheep, some of them said.
A citizen said a good number of farm owners who raise only camels would like to raise sheep as well and take part in efforts aimed at increasing local meat production.
However, the high cost of keeping sheep often makes them drop the idea.
He stressed that there is a need to subsidise the price of green fodder, which is much needed to ensure the proper growth of the animals.
Another owner pointed out that local sheep are considered among the best and are also highly preferred by customers.
He, however, said the availability of drinking water could be a problem at times for herd-raisers in Umm Bab, suggesting that the entities concerned should provide adequate water tanks there to help the owners increase their production.
Another livestock owner said the majority of Arabic sheep available in the local market is bred locally.
He also expected that the sheep bred by his farm would be available for sale within the coming weeks.