Sheep and Goat Farming Feasibility Study in Mauritania (MRU)
Sheep and goat farming feasibility study for Mauritania: capital, dry-season feed, herder and water, revenue, break-even and sensitivity, with an illustrative example in ouguiya.
A sheep and goat farming feasibility study for Mauritania rests on five parts: capital (ewes, does, males, the enclosure and equipment), running costs led by dry-season supplementary feed, then the herder and water, revenue from young stock sold by the head, break-even, and a sensitivity check. The project can make money, but a long dry season, feed prices and losses can turn the result around.
Most Mauritanian herders rely on grazing during the rainy season (known locally as khareef), then on dry pasture and supplementary feed through the long months that follow, moving to find grass and water. So a study here looks nothing like one for a closed feedlot elsewhere. Build your own with the method below and fill it with prices from your area. For the general method in more depth, see our sheep farm feasibility study guide.
What a Mauritanian herd costs
Capital (paid once):
- Animals: ewes, does, rams and a buck from local breeds adapted to heat and walking, plus a vet check and isolation on arrival.
- Enclosure: fencing, shade and separate pens for mothers, young stock, males and sick animals, protecting against heat, wind and predators.
- Equipment: feeders, drinkers, water containers, a scale and tagging tools.
Running costs (per year):
- Supplementary feed: concentrates, straw and minerals during the dry season. This is the most volatile line, because the dry season stretches or shrinks with the rains.
- Herder: wages and food. In a pastoral system, the herder is the backbone of the project.
- Water: well fees or water transport, rising late in the dry season.
- Vet care: vaccinations following your vet and the competent authorities, plus treatments.
- Transport and market fees.
- Depreciation: a yearly share of what the enclosure and equipment cost.
The revenue formula
In Mauritania animals are usually sold by the head rather than by the kilo, so revenue works like this:
- Young born = mothers × average young per mother per year (goats usually twin more often).
- Reaching sale = young born × survival rate.
- Sold = survivors − females kept as replacements.
- Young-stock income = head sold × price per head.
- Add income from culled mothers.
Gestation is about 147 days for ewes and about 150 for goats, then several months of growth, so the first real sales come about a year after the males go in. Selling before Tabaski (Eid al-Adha) lifts income considerably.
Illustrative example: 50 ewes and 40 does
Illustrative example — replace the figures with prices from your area. Every price and rate below is an assumption for explanation, not a Mauritanian market price.
| Capital | Calculation | Amount (MRU) |
|---|---|---|
| Ewes | 50 × 4,000 | 200,000 |
| Does | 40 × 2,500 | 100,000 |
| Rams | 2 × 8,000 | 16,000 |
| Buck | 1 × 5,000 | 5,000 |
| Enclosure, shade, fencing | from quotes | 40,000 |
| Feeders, drinkers, scale | from quotes | 20,000 |
| Total | 381,000 |
| Yearly running costs | Calculation | Amount (MRU) |
|---|---|---|
| Supplement for mothers and males | 93 head × 14 per day × 210 dry-season days | 273,420 |
| Feed for young stock until sale | 108 head × 300 | 32,400 |
| Herder | 12 months × 3,000 | 36,000 |
| Water | estimate | 12,000 |
| Vet care | estimate | 10,000 |
| Transport and market fees | estimate | 8,000 |
| Depreciation | 60,000 ÷ 10 years | 6,000 |
| Total | 377,820 |
| Yearly revenue | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Lambs | 50 × 1.2 = 60, 90% survive = 54, keep 8 | 46 to sell |
| Kids | 40 × 1.5 = 60, 90% survive = 54, keep 8 | 46 to sell |
| Lamb income | 46 × 5,000 | 230,000 |
| Kid income | 46 × 3,000 | 138,000 |
| Culled mothers | 8 × 3,000 + 8 × 1,800 | 38,400 |
| Total revenue | 406,400 |
Net profit in this example is about 28,580 MRU a year, roughly 7.5% of capital, before land and the owner's time. The project also needs cash to buy dry-season feed before the first sales.
Break-even and sensitivity
Break-even: young-stock sales must bring in 377,820 − 38,400 = 339,420 MRU, against 368,000 in the base case. In other words, the average price per head can fall only about 8% before the project breaks even.
Now change one factor and keep the rest fixed:
| Change (all else equal) | Approx. net result (MRU) |
|---|---|
| Base case | profit 28,580 |
| Feed cost +20% | loss 32,584 |
| Feed cost −10% | profit 59,162 |
| Dry season two months longer (270 days) | loss 49,540 |
| 80% survival instead of 90% | loss 15,820 |
| Price per head −10% | loss 8,220 |
| Price per head +10% (selling before Tabaski) | profit 65,380 |
The lesson: in Mauritania, one weak rainy season that lengthens the feeding period is enough to turn profit into loss. Combine just two improvements, 10% cheaper feed and selling before Tabaski at 10% more, and net profit rises to about 95,960 MRU, with payback in about 4 years instead of roughly 13.
What moves prices and costs?
We do not quote market prices, as they vary by region and season, but the drivers are well known:
- Rain and pasture: a good rainy season means less bought feed and fatter animals.
- Tabaski: demand for rams rises sharply beforehand, in Mauritania and in neighbouring markets.
- Breed and size: a large, well-presented ram sells far above the average.
- Feed prices: usually highest late in the dry season, when pasture is scarce.
- Condition: health, finish and age.
For a clear dry-season plan, read herd management in drought and the dry season.
From paper to real numbers
A study is an estimate; what matters is comparing it with reality. On the Throf platform you record expenses and sales and see net profit and cost per head, and you track feed stock in kilos along with births, twins and deaths, so you know whether your does really give 1.5 kids a year. If you are still setting up, read our guide to a sheep and goat farming project in Mauritania.
Before you start, check animal-health, movement and export requirements with the competent authorities in Mauritania.
FAQ
How much does a small sheep and goat farm cost in Mauritania?
It depends on herd size, breeds and region. In our illustrative example of 50 ewes and 40 does, capital came to about 381,000 MRU before working cash, but build your own figures from local prices.
Is sheep farming profitable in Mauritania?
It can be, especially when selling before Tabaski, but the margin is sensitive to the length of the dry season, supplementary feed prices and losses.
What is the biggest cost of a sheep farm in Mauritania?
Usually dry-season supplementary feed, followed by the herder's wages and water.
Sheep or goats: which is more profitable in Mauritania?
Goats twin more often and cost less to buy; sheep sell for more, especially at Tabaski. Many herders keep both, so cost each species separately.
General guidance only — it does not replace your veterinarian or the competent authority in your country.
