Since 2004, Samoa has embarked on an ambitious plan to introduce sheep farming with the import of 40 ewes and four rams from Fiji. Three years later, supported by a carefully chosen breeding programme and the birth of many twins and triplets, the stock of sheep has increased six-fold and now totals 248 lambs. The number of breedable females is 114, and the sheep are about to be distributed to 30 farmers on the islands of Upolu and Savaii who have undergone training.

Provided under a regional food security project assisted by FAO, sheep have successfully been trialled on this island of 180 000 people.

"The sheep are performing well under Samoa condition and would seem to fit in well in traditional farming," emphasized Vili Fuavao, the Apia-based chief of FAO in the Pacific.

Financing for the Pacific regional programme for food security is provided by Italy through funds in trust, FAO added.

The large scale introduction of tropical sheep is expected to have a major impact on both the country’s food security and its evolving traditional and cultural practises.

Genetic stock
"The results have been very encouraging," says Peseta Frank Fong, assistant chief executive officer of the Samoan ministry of agriculture, who oversees FAO's assistance to the country.

"It is very important that we keep a broad genetic stock to avoid inbreeding," explains Peseta Fong, "and now we are looking at importing another 30 to 40 rams to form a new genetic stock."

He emphasizes that the ministry keeps exact records of the animals to trace their genetic stock to avert inbreeding. Inbreeding occurs when closely related individuals are allowed to breed or mate.

Farmers training
Since last year, the beneficiary farmers have formed a group to facilitate the introduction of the animals on the farms, and the training to be conducted well ahead of the distribution.

"We've developed a farm manual under the project that covers all basic areas such as sheep anatomy, upkeep and farm management," explains project manager Donna Sila, based at the ministry's Avele research and trial station.

The ministry is also exploring the involvement of women and children as shepherds and has successfully experimented with using sheep to control weeds in farms growing staples such as taro.

There is also the potential of shifting herds of sheep to control weeds on farms without sheep, under mutually beneficial arrangements.

The main problem for sheep is dogs and farmers need to specially protect their stock from dog attacks, especially as there are many stray dogs around.

But farmers' interest has been very high and the ministry is striving to meet growing demands, and counting on further assistance from FAO to achieve a high success rate.

Nutrition
The locally raised sheep are expected to gradually replace imported lamb, chicken and turkey tails. Due to its high fat content, the latter has been banned by the Samoan government in July 2007 on medical advice and in a move to stem the rapid increase of lifestyle and food related diseases that required the establishment of a kidney dialysis unit at the country's main hospital.

Culture, tradition and integration
For many decades, animals such as pigs and cattle have been a mainstay for food and Samoan culture. Food presentations at weddings, funerals, cultural and religious celebrations keep the country as a closely knit society based on family and chiefly connections.

The sheep's size and ease in keeping blends in well with Samoan traditional and cultural practices.

Indeed, as religious people, Samoa's affiliation with sheep goes back to Christianity and the Bible and the success of rearing the animals proves that the very close association is working well.

It is a very easy animal to look after, and some families might even be inclined to see them as pets. This is but one of the areas emphasized during farmers training.