Valuing animals

Milk, meat, eggs and manure – livestock bring a whole host of practical benefits to their owners. And with the right training and ongoing expert support, farmers can integrate their animals into a thriving natural farming system and work their way out of poverty for good.

Send a Cow no longer sends animals from the UK – we buy them locally in Africa. Nor do we give only cows; we provide a variety of animals including goats, poultry and sheep. Sometimes we don’t give animals at all, focusing instead on training in better livestock management – beneficial for owners, animals and the environment too.

The benefits

Families in remote rural Africa have to rely on what they can produce on their own land for survival. So for a hungry family, keeping animals is often essential.

Milk and eggs provide protein and other nutrients, which are particularly vital for growing children, pregnant women and nursing mothers. Families can also start supplementing their diets with meat such as chicken – their own dairy animals are far too valuable to slaughter. Animal manure, when composted, also boosts families’ yields of the crops and vegetables which make up the bulk of their diets.

Once their stomachs are full, families can sell any surplus milk, eggs, calves or kids, maize and vegetables. And animals also act as a savings bank: calves and kids can be kept until their owners need some cash – to pay for healthcare, perhaps – and then sold. That’s vital for the vast majority of the farmers we work with, who have little access to formal banks.

Types of livestock

 Receiving a good quality dairy cow is the answer to many poor families’ prayers. But they’re not suitable for everyone, so we always carry out careful assessments before deciding what animals to place.

Our staff look at a family’s needs and capacities, and the environment in which they live. Caring for a cow is hard work – so would a smaller animal be more suitable? Does the family have enough land to grow fodder? Will there be enough water for a cow (and eventually her calf) the whole year round?

In many areas where we work, livestock is generally poor quality. So we give good quality bulls or bucks (male goats) which can be bred with local animals to produce offspring that are higher yielding than their mothers. That way, it’s not just the families we work with directly who benefit from our work – the wider community does too.

We give the following animals:

Dairy and crossbreed cows               Beehives                   Pigs

Draft cattle                                              Sheep                        Meat goats

Dairy goats                                              Grasscutters

Animal health and management

Healthy, happy animals produce more milk, eggs and offspring, and do so for longer. So Send a Cow’s livestock experts make sure that all the animals we provide are well cared for.

Before farmers receive animals, they are thoroughly trained in livestock management and welfare. They have to build a secure animal shelter with room for exercise, and start water harvesting if necessary.

If they are receiving a dairy cow, they must generally grow a fodder crop. They will then bring this fodder to the stall rather than allow the animal to roam freely, which can damage land and crops and can expose the cow to disease. In some areas, we also train farmers in controlled grazing techniques.

Our staff pay regular monitoring visits, and provide free or low-cost vet services, including vaccination. They are also on the end of a phone if farmers have any worries! (Usually, somebody in the community has a phone that a farmer can borrow.)

In some areas where livestock is plentiful, we don’t provide animals. Instead, our focus is on training so that farmers can make the most of their existing livestock. 

‘I never believed that one day, our lives could be in such a good state as we are in today.”

Those are the words of George Owuor, from Kenya. Often, his family used to have only maize porridge to eat all day, and his children were sickly. But all that changed when George was given two dairy goats.

“We have two litres of milk to drink and two litres to sell,” says George. “We use the money to buy food and send our children to school. Our children’s health is excellent now.”

George and his wife Beatrice also compost the goats’ manure and use it to enrich their land. “I used to get 180kgs of maize; now it’s 450Kgs. I can grow vegetables too, and sell the surplus.”

Regular visits from Send a Cow animal experts mean the goats have thrived. Now George and Beatrice are saving up to set up a small business. They are determined to educate their three children to the highest level.

And George is delighted to pass on kids to another poor family.  “I want to see them improve their lives too: to get milk and manure, and improve their income and their health.”