In Botswana, a donkey is mostly just seen as a mode of transportation, people never really consider the benefits of being a donkey farmer. One particular person who saw this as an opportunity is one Mr. Thuto Tshegang. He is based in Ramotswa, he saw an opportunity in donkey farming and this as a way of making a living.
Farmers Magazine Botswana interviewed Thuto with regards to his farming practices. “When I first started investing my time and energy in donkey farming, it was more like a hobby for me, I had 4 donkeys at the farm and they were mostly used for transportation, I then decided to slaughter one and sell the meat to people in my community only to find out that people actually love the meat,” he indicated.
The money he got from the sale of the meat he then bought 2 more donkeys to increase his herd. He says that for a while he just let them grow, feeding them highly fibrous plant material in small quantities. During the spring and summer the donkeys have access to restricted grazing. He said that even though this is a bit expensive it is worth it.
Tshegang further went on to say that due to this he started milking the donkeys and selling the milk it, he says that the milk is rich in vitamins A, B, B1, B12, C and E. Therefore, it is important for building good immunity. He said that he would like to produce the milk in bigger quantities and sell to manufacturing companies since he has researched that it can also be used to produce cosmetics.
Even though this is a lucrative industry, Tshegang explained that there are few challenges in donkey farming. One particular challenge he mentioned was that his donkeys are mostly being mistreated. He explained that usually when the donkeys are free-roaming people usually throw stones at them causing harm and at times injuries to the donkeys.
Another challenge he explained that he only has a few donkeys which in turn means that if he decides to slaughter one and sell it off it will it would be a bit hard to buy another one since most of the people sell their donkeys at high prices.
However, he said that being a donkey farmer is the way to go since donkey meat is wanted in high quantities outside the country. He even said that he saw a gap in the sale of hooves to manufacturing companies in countries such as Japan, he said that the companies use the oil from hooves to make rejuvenating oils.
