Sheep Rearing Level 3

About this module

At Level 3 you are no longer the helper. You are the manager, the buyer, the record-keeper and the boss.

Who it is for. People who have finished Sheep Rearing Level 2, or who already run 20 or more ewes and can show the same skills. In Ghana's TVET qualifications framework, National Certificate I is where workers do "complex and varied activities under minimum supervision", with substantial workplace learning. This module is written at that advanced level. It is an honest comparison, not an accreditation.

The flock. 50 or more ewes with rams and young stock, in the wet south of Ghana.

CTVET status. CTVET has no sheep or livestock programme; its accredited agriculture programmes are cashew, mango and oil palm. This module is not a CTVET curriculum, and nothing in it is a legal opinion. Where a Ghana rule could not be verified, this manual says so: ask the office named.

Bridge from Level 2: what you already know

Choosing a ram, timing mating, flushing, avoiding inbreeding
Dry-season feed budgets, bag silage, minerals, urea safety
FAMACHA, drug resistance, foot rot, bloat, withdrawal periods and a health calendar
Late pregnancy care, when to call the vet, weaning and replacements
Fattening a 60–90 day round for Eid or Christmas; gains and prices
Selling, movement permits, theft prevention, manure
Gross margin per ram and per ewe; Disability Desk and accessibility

How the module works

Each unit has learning outcomes, performance criteria, the range and the evidence your assessor needs. You are judged Competent or Not Yet Competent. About 70% of the time is practical, following CTVET's Oil Palm split of about 30% school and 70% workplace. Units 5 to 7 go deeper on business than the hub's Money Skills Level 2 and Entrepreneurial Thinking Level 2: read those first.

Unit 1 · Manage a larger flock by the numbers

At 50 ewes you cannot remember every sheep. Records, groups and routines do the remembering for you.

Competency standard

Learning outcome	Performance criteria — the trainee…
1.1 Group the flock	divides the flock into working groups and plans pens, feeders and labour for each
1.2 Measure performance	calculates lambing, litter, weaning and loss figures from records
1.3 Solve a non-routine problem	uses records to find the cause of a flock problem and writes a plan
1.4 Supervise helpers	gives clear tasks and checks them with a daily and weekly routine

Range. A flock of 50 or more ewes, or the records of one. Evidence. Group plan; performance sheet; problem report; helper rota.

Working groups

Split the flock into groups that need different care: ewes to be mated, pregnant ewes, ewes with lambs, weaned lambs, fattening rams, breeding rams, and a sick or new-arrival pen. Keep new sheep apart before joining the flock. Use the Level 2 and Level 1 space figures: 0.7–0.8 m² for a 35 kg ewe, 0.4–0.5 m² for a lamb and 2.5–3.0 m² for a ram. FAO's larger figure of 1.8 m² for a ewe with one lamb and 2.2 m² for twins is safer for lambing groups. Feeder space is 0.35–0.5 m per animal.

Size the pens (example flock)

A flock has 60 ewes (slatted floor, 0.7 m² each), 3 rams (2.5 m² each) and 70 lambs (0.35 m² each). (1) Total floor area? (2) Feeder length for the 63 adults at 0.4 m each?

Performance numbers

Add up your records at the end of each year. A humid-forest flock study showed 1.9 lambs per ewe per year in the best-timed group, and in Ghana studies 17–28% of Djallonké lambs died before weaning. Compare your own figures with these, not with a foreign flock.

Measure	Formula
Lambing rate	ewes that lambed ÷ ewes mated × 100
Litter size	lambs born ÷ ewes that lambed
Weaning percentage	lambs weaned ÷ lambs born × 100
Lambs weaned per ewe mated	lambs weaned ÷ ewes mated
Ewe loss	ewes that died or were lost ÷ ewes at start × 100

Performance sheet (example figures)

In one year 50 ewes were mated; 40 lambed; 64 lambs were born; 52 were weaned. (1) Lambing rate? (2) Litter size? (3) Weaning percentage? (4) Lambs weaned per ewe mated?

Solving a problem you have not seen

Method: (1) State the problem in a number ("weaning percentage fell from 85% to 70%"). (2) List possible causes from the records: sire, season, feed, ewe age, disease, pen. (3) Find the group where it is worst. (4) Test one change. (5) Check the next batch. Call your vet early for anything that spreads, kills or involves the nervous system.

Helpers

Write each helper a daily task list and check it at a fixed time. Show, watch, then let go. Keep a weekly flock walk with the helper and write what you found. The Labour Act rules on contracts, notice, leave and hours are in Unit 5.

Run the flock by numbers

Divide a flock (or its records) into groups and draw the pen plan with floor areas.
Work out the five performance numbers from a full year of records.
Pick the weakest number and write a five-step problem-solving note.
Write a daily and weekly rota for two helpers.

Compare

Ask one commercial flock owner for their weaning percentage. Compare it to yours and write one reason for the difference.

Unit 2 · Breeding programmes and lambing management

A breeding programme is a plan that lasts years. Every ram and every ewe you keep is a vote for the next flock.

Competency standard

Learning outcome	Performance criteria — the trainee…
2.1 Plan a breeding programme	sets goals, selects, crosses and replaces stock to a written plan
2.2 Run mating	works out ram numbers, groups and mating dates for the flock
2.3 Manage lambing	prepares for peak lambing, handles routine problems and refers hard ones
2.4 Evaluate	uses records to cull and choose replacements

Range. A flock of 50+ ewes; one mating and lambing season. Evidence. Breeding plan; mating roster; lambing records; replacement and cull list.

Goals and selection

A Ghana study found survival worth most per ewe, then reproduction, then growth. So the first goals for most flocks are lambs that live, ewes that lamb regularly and raise lambs, and then growth. Keep a ewe's score over several lambings, not one: lambs weaned, lamb weights, how easily she lambed, her health. Cull the lowest-scoring ewes and keep ewe lambs from your best mothers.

Organised schemes show how to do this at scale. CSIR-Animal Research Institute improves Djallonké sheep by selecting rams on farms and on its station and giving the best rams to farmers. In Côte d'Ivoire a Djallonké selection scheme ran on an open-nucleus design, with rams sold to farms outside the scheme (summary only). Cooperative village schemes rotate rams between flocks and change them about every two years.

Crossbreeding

Pure Djallonké suits the wet south. Sahelian crosses are heavier: crossbred lambs weighed 2.28 kg (50% Sahelian) and 2.69 kg (75% Sahelian) at birth, against 1.68 kg for pure Djallonké, and 7.41 and 7.55 kg against 6.11 kg at 12 weeks. But the pure Sahelian catches disease easily and survives poorly.

Advice from the author, not research. In a wet, worm-heavy area keep the Sahelian share at or below 50%, make crossbreds in a small separate group, and compare their survival to the Djallonké group before you expand. No local trial of crossbred survival in the Western Region was found.

Ram numbers and mating groups

One mature ram can serve 35–50 ewes and a ram lamb 15–30. For 100 ewes at one ram per 40 ewes you need 3 rams, plus a spare so a ram can rest or be replaced. Never mate a ram with daughters, mother, sisters, half-sisters or cousins. Record the sire of every lamb so you can see who is related.

Heat comes about every 17 days. Pregnancy is about 150 days. The interval between lambings in Ghana studies was about 264–273 days. A faster lambing schedule is possible only if ewes stay in good condition; no Ghana trial of an eight-month schedule was found.

Flush ewes for 2–3 weeks before and during mating. Mate ewes that have reached at least 70% of adult weight.

Ram roster (example)

You keep 90 ewes and mate at 1 ram per 40 ewes. (1) Rams needed in use? (2) You change each ram every 2 years: how many new rams a year, if you buy one spare? (3) Ewes mated 1 March: expected lambing date (150 days)?

Lambing at scale

Plan a lambing group so it is not all in one week: stagger mating by groups. Keep one lambing pen for every 8–10 ewes due in the same week (the author's rule of thumb; not from a source). Lambs need colostrum in the first 12 hours. Call the vet if straining lasts over 30–60 minutes, if only a head or one leg shows, or the ewe is weak. Wear gloves because late abortions can pass infection to people. Record every birth: date, ewe, sire, number, weights, problems.

Do not do difficult deliveries yourself without training. The vet or a trained animal health worker does them.

Breeding plan

Write a three-year breeding goal and list the five traits you will measure.
Draw a mating roster with groups, rams, dates and flushing days.
Score ewes on three lambings and produce a cull and replacement list.
Prepare a lambing station checklist (pens, iodine, gloves, scale, tags, vet number).

Ram exchange

Write to two flock owners 10 km or more apart about exchanging rams every two years. Note what records each would share.

Unit 3 · Feed, pasture and festival fattening at scale

Feed is the biggest cost. Plan it as a budget, grow part of it, and sell the finished sheep on the right day.

Competency standard

Learning outcome	Performance criteria — the trainee…
3.1 Plan feed for a year	writes a feed budget for 50+ ewes and young stock and sizes the fodder plot
3.2 Run silage and stores	makes, stores and checks silage and by-products
3.3 Run a fattening round	selects, feeds, weighs and sells rams for a festival on time
3.4 Cost the round	calculates cost per kg of gain and profit

Range. A flock and a fodder plot; one fattening round. Evidence. Feed budget; silage records; fattening plan with weights; round costing.

The yearly budget

Dry matter needed = daily dry matter per sheep × number of sheep × days + 10–20% waste

A grown sheep eats about 2–3% of its body weight as dry feed each day. The waste allowance is a planning guess. Water is 2–3 litres per kg of dry feed, more in heat.

Size the plot (example figures)

60 ewes weigh 25 kg each and eat 3% of body weight as dry matter. (1) Dry matter for a 90-day dry season plus 15% waste? (2) A cut-and-carry grass plot gives 8,000 kg dry matter per hectare a year (example figure; measure your own). What area would cover this one dry season's need if it were all grass?

Fodder, silage and by-products

Panicum (Massai, Mombasa) and Brachiaria Camello gave the most fodder in a 2024 northern Ghana trial; no southern trial was found. Leucaena and Gliricidia as a supplement helped sheep grow faster and survive better in humid West Africa, but Leucaena above about 30% of the diet causes hair loss, poor appetite and lost pregnancies. Ensiled cassava peels were better than dried peels for Djallonké growth. Bag silage: chop, wilt, pack, press out air, tie, keep a month. Keep a silage book: bag number, date, material, opening date, smell and mould.

Urea can kill. Never let sheep eat loose urea. Use tested blocks only. Bloat is an emergency: call the vet.

Fattening for Eid and Christmas

Plan rounds of up to 90 days ending just before the festival; underfeeding and wrong timing are the commonest failures. Eid al-Adha 2027 is expected around 16 May 2027, depending on the moon, so start in mid-February. For Christmas on 25 December count back 90 days to about 26 September. Rams in a northern trial on a cassava peel diet gained 130 g a day, but they may have been larger Sahelian-type rams, so expect less from Djallonké. Djallonké rams on 250 g a day of concentrate gained 63–71 g a day.

Prices at Eid 2026 ran from GH¢850 to 3,000 in Tamale and GH¢5,000–5,500 for large rams in Accra, mostly from imported animals. In Kumasi prices fell from GH¢2,500 to GH¢1,500 as imports became cheaper. Sell to buyers all year, not only at Eid, and take pre-orders.

Round costing (example figures)

You fatten 20 Djallonké rams for 90 days. Each is bought at GH¢800 at 22 kg and sold at 31 kg for GH¢1,500. Feed per ram GH¢300, drugs GH¢50, transport GH¢60, labour share GH¢40. (1) Daily gain per ram? (2) Cost per kg of gain (feed + drugs + labour, per kg gained)? (3) Profit per ram and for the 20? (4) The sale price falls to GH¢1,200: profit?

Feed and fatten

Write a 12-month feed budget by group, with sources and cost.
Make and label silage bags; keep the silage book.
Plan a fattening round with start date, rams, feeding, weigh dates and buyers.
Cost the round and calculate profit and break-even sale price.

Price list

Collect prices of three feeds and two by-products near you in October 2026 and compute cost per kg of dry matter.

Unit 4 · Health programme, vets, meat hygiene and the rules

You treat sheep that need it, protect people who eat them, and keep the papers a regulator or buyer may ask for.

Competency standard

Learning outcome	Performance criteria — the trainee…
4.1 Run a health programme	writes a yearly programme with the vet and keeps full treatment records
4.2 Control parasites	uses FAMACHA, egg counts and efficacy tests to guide treatment
4.3 Protect the flock	applies quarantine, hygiene and PPR reporting
4.4 Keep the rules	follows rules on medicines, movement, slaughter and meat hygiene, and knows who to ask

Range. The flock; vet visits; one sale or slaughter. Evidence. Health programme; treatment register; FECRT note; compliance file.

A health programme with your vet

Agree with your vet: vaccinations, worm checks, foot care, a quarantine rule and what to do in an outbreak. Pneumonia causes over a third of deaths in West African sheep and goats. PPR can kill up to 80% of an unprotected flock; if you see its signs separate sheep, stop movement and sales and call the vet. One vaccine dose protects for life if kept cold. Foot rot usually arrives with a bought sheep; trim, use a footbath, cull repeat cases and quarantine new stock. Resistant worms are found across Africa.

Parasite control for a larger flock

FAMACHA: treat only sheep that need it. It works only where barber's pole worm is the main worm.
Targeted selective treatment: treat chosen animals, keep some worms unexposed to drugs, and use egg counts, FAMACHA, body condition and diarrhoea to choose (summary only).
Does the drug still work? A faecal egg count reduction test (FECRT) compares eggs before and after treatment. A fall of at least 95% is the usual standard; some African studies used 80% (summary only). Ask your vet or a lab to run it.
Rotate pastures and keep young lambs off heavily grazed ground. Ethiopia's sheep and goat programme advises grazing young stock ahead of older stock, especially in the rainy season, because young animals are more easily infected. It warns that too many animals on one pasture make them graze close to the ground and pick up more worm larvae, and that cut-and-carry feeding greatly limits worms. It also advises draining wet pastures and putting water points on well-drained ground. No Ghana figure was found, so use this as a guide and agree a grazing plan with your vet.

FECRT (example figures)

Before treatment the group's mean was 600 eggs per gram. Two weeks after albendazole it was 90. (1) Percentage reduction? (2) Does it pass 95%? (3) What do you do?

Medicines, residues and records

Drug residues were found in 24% of Ghana mutton samples because farmers did not know withdrawal periods; over half of Sunyani farmers did not observe them. Examples of label withdrawals: albendazole 7 days, levamisole 3, oral ivermectin 11; closantel 28. Your label is the rule. Buy only FDA-registered veterinary medicines. Keep a treatment register: tag, date, drug, dose, vet, withdrawal end date. No sheep is sold or slaughtered before the withdrawal ends.

Slaughter and meat hygiene

Ghana's Meat Inspection Regulations, 2020 (L.I. 2405) are reported to cover humane slaughter, licensing of slaughterhouses and butcheries, ante-mortem and post-mortem inspection, certification and branding (summary only). The Veterinary Services Directorate has urged butchers to get the required permit before setting up an abattoir, and says the building must meet technical standards. Meat inspectors are trained under the regulation (summary only).

What is not verified here: the sheep-specific rules, permit fee and issuing office. Before you slaughter for sale, ask your district Veterinary Services office and the Assembly's environmental health unit.

Do not sell uninspected meat. Use a licensed slaughter facility. Wash, keep clean water and separate dirty and clean work. Do not slaughter a sick animal or one still in withdrawal.

Movement, medicines and the environment

District veterinary officers issue movement permits. Cattle moved from the north to the south need a movement permit, according to the Ghana Shippers' Authority (summary only). Ask the district office for the current sheep rules. The Environmental Protection Act, 2025 (Act 1124) replaced Act 917, and the EPA has been briefing livestock farmers on waste and pollution control (summary only). Whether your flock size needs an EPA permit is not verified: ask the EPA district office. MoFA's Veterinary Services Directorate is the body to ask about disease rules, permits and training.

Health and compliance file

Write a yearly health programme with the vet and put it on one page.
Keep a treatment register for the flock; check withdrawal dates.
Work out an FECRT from sample figures and plan the next step.
Phone the district vet office and write down current rules for movement, slaughter and permits.

Slaughter visit

Visit a licensed slaughter facility or ask its manager what inspection records it keeps.

Unit 5 · Start your own sheep business

Competency standard

Learning outcome	Performance criteria — the trainee…
5.1 Choose a legal form	compares sole proprietor, partnership, company and cooperative for a sheep farm
5.2 Complete registration	lists each registration, body, document and fee
5.3 Plan premises and start-up costs	chooses a site and builds a start-up budget
5.4 Find finance	matches funding options to need and risk
5.5 Employ and protect	knows Labour Act basics, insurance and safety
5.6 Market	sets up WhatsApp Business and a Google listing plan

Range. Sekondi-Takoradi and nearby districts; a flock of 50+ ewes. Evidence. Form comparison; registration checklist; start-up budget; funding table; one-page plan.

This is not legal advice. Fees come from the pages named and can change; confirm each one at the office. Prices and costs below are examples unless a source is named.

Choose a legal form

Form	Law	Notes
Sole proprietor	Act 151	You are personally liable for debts
Partnership	Act 152	Two to 21 members; write an agreement
Company limited by shares	Act 992	Liability limited to unpaid shares

Cooperatives: registration rules were not verified; ask the Department of Cooperatives or the Assembly.

Registration step by step

ORC (Registrar of Companies): business name GH¢130, with annual renewal GH¢70; partnership GH¢270, renewal GH¢100; company limited by shares GH¢585 plus 1% capital duty on stated capital; annual returns GH¢175. A business name for a sole proprietor was also reported to start from GH¢130.
GRA: your Ghana Card PIN is your TIN, and it is free. Small traders may use the Modified Taxation Scheme.
Assembly business operating permit: in Sekondi-Takoradi all businesses must register, with a 30% penalty if unregistered; check the current fee.
Veterinary and medicine rules: buy FDA-registered vet medicines only. Slaughter and abattoir permits: see Unit 4.
EPA and fire: ask the EPA district office about your flock size (see Unit 4). Fire certificate from the GNFS for premises: see Workplace Safety Level 2.
Employees: register with SSNIT when you hire. SSNIT contributions are 5.5% from the employee and 13% from the employer of basic pay (summary only). Check with SSNIT.

Premises and location

Choose well-drained land away from busy roads, close to feed supplies (peels, grain, farms) and buyers in Sekondi-Takoradi, and near a district vet office. Allow area for pens (Unit 1), a fodder plot (Unit 3), a lambing area, a quarantine pen, and a clean place for feed. Check the land title or lease in writing.

Start-up budget (example, 50 ewes)

Item	GH¢ (example)
50 ewes at 600	30,000
2 rams at 1,200	2,400
Slatted pen about 70 m² at 400 per m²	28,000
Fodder plot and fencing	3,000
Tools, tags, scale, drench gun	2,500
First 3 months feed and health	6,000
Registration and permits	1,500
Total	73,400

Finance

Options: own savings; a savings group (VSLA); government is linking VSLAs to banks; bank or microfinance (check the lender is licensed); GEA services; Presidential Business Support loans of GH¢5,000–50,000 at 10% in an earlier round, current status not verified; the GEA PWD Enterprise Support Programme for owners with disabilities. Assemblies' disability share of the Common Fund rose to 5% in 2026. Livestock loans normally need records, so keep Unit 6 books.

Never pay a "processing fee" for a loan or grant. Call 292 if asked. Check any investment offer with the SEC.

Hire, supervise and insure

The Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651) requires a written contract for jobs of six months or more (s.12) and a written statement of terms within two months (s.13); notice of two weeks for contracts under three years (s.17, s.18); 15 working days annual leave (s.20); at most eight hours a day and 40 a week (s.33); and safe conditions and free PPE. Show apprentices the work, watch them, then let go.

Insurance: the Ghana Agricultural Insurance Pool announced a livestock pilot, but the example in the news was cattle, and a sheep product is not verified (summary only). Ask the National Insurance Commission-licensed insurers for written quotes. Fire cover protects pens and stock stores.

Market yourself

Use a flock name, a WhatsApp Business catalogue with photos, weights and prices, and a free Google Business Profile. Sell tagged animals with records, take festival pre-orders, ask each happy buyer for a referral.

Accessibility

The Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715) is reported to give employers a tax rebate for hiring persons with disabilities (summary only). Practical changes: ground-level feeders and water, a wide firm path, a ramp, a catch pen, phone voice notes for records, large-print signs, and working in pairs.

Which form? Which funding? (example)

Two partners put in GH¢20,000 each; a third offers GH¢10,000 for a share. (1) Total? (2) What should they write before money moves? (3) Total start-up is GH¢73,400 and they have GH¢50,000; how much is missing? (4) Someone offers the rest for a GH¢500 "processing fee". What do you do?

Registration and start-up file

Choose a legal form for your farm and justify it.
Complete the registration checklist with body, document and fee.
Build your own start-up budget with local quotes.
Draft a one-page contract for a helper.

Visit an office

Visit or phone ORC, the Assembly or GEA and ask one question. Write the officer's name and answer.

Unit 6 · Bookkeeping and accounts for a sheep farm

Your flock is stock you own. Your books tell you what it earned, what it cost and whether you are richer or poorer than last month.

Competency standard

Learning outcome	Performance criteria — the trainee…
6.1 Keep the books	keeps a cash book, receipts, petty cash and stock and flock records
6.2 Close the month	reconciles cash and MoMo, and prepares a profit statement and balance sheet
6.3 Cost and price	calculates cost per animal, margin, mark-up and break-even
6.4 Forecast	prepares a cash-flow forecast
6.5 Tax records	keeps records for the tax route and employees

Range. One month of farm records (own or sample). Evidence. Cash book; monthly statements; costing sheet; forecast; tax note.

Basic bookkeeping is in the hub's Money Skills Level 2. Here the examples are farm-specific. All figures are examples.

Records you keep

Cash book: every receipt and payment, same day, with a receipt number.
Receipts and invoices: give a receipt for every sale (date, buyer, tag numbers, price).
Petty cash: a small float for daily costs; top up on a voucher.
Flock register: every sheep in, out, born, sold, died, with value.
Feed and medicine stock: bought, used, left.
Debtors and creditors: who owes you (for sheep sold on credit) and whom you owe (feed supplier).

Keep owner and business money separate: pay yourself a fixed drawing.

A sample cash book (May 2027, example)

Date	Detail	In GH¢	Out GH¢
1 May	Opening cash and MoMo	3,000
2 May	Feed: bran		1,200
3 May	Sale: 4 fattened rams at 1,800	7,200
5 May	Dewormers and vitamins		180
8 May	Helper wages		600
12 May	Transport of rams		250
15 May	Phone data		40
18 May	Pen repairs		120
20 May	Manure sold	150
22 May	Ram service for a neighbour	400
25 May	Owner's drawings		1,000
Totals		10,750	3,390

Closing balance = 10,750 − 3,390 = GH¢7,360.

Month-end routine

Add the cash book. Count the cash tin and read MoMo and bank balances. They must match the closing balance. Example: tin 2,100 + MoMo 5,260 = 7,360.
Reconcile MoMo: statement versus your book; the difference is often unrecorded charges.
Count feed stock and check the flock register against the pen.
Chase debtors, plan payments to creditors.
Draw up the profit statement and balance sheet.
Write next month's cash plan.

Profit statement (May 2027, example)

Line	GH¢
Sales: rams 7,200 + manure 150 + ram service 400	7,750
Direct costs: cost of 4 rams sold 3,600 (bought earlier) + feed 1,200 + drugs 180 + transport 250	5,230
Gross profit	2,520
Overheads: wages 600 + data 40 + repairs 120 + depreciation 275	1,035
Net profit	1,485

Revenue minus cost of goods is gross profit; take off other costs for net profit. Drawings of GH¢1,000 are not a cost: they come out of the profit.

Depreciation (straight line)

Straight-line depreciation = (cost − resale value) ÷ years of life. Pen GH¢28,000, no resale value, 10 years: 2,800 a year, GH¢233 a month. Tools GH¢2,500 over 5 years: 500 a year, GH¢42 a month. Together about GH¢275 a month.

Balance sheet

Assets equal liabilities plus equity.

Assets	GH¢	Liabilities and equity	GH¢
Cash and MoMo	7,360	Owed to feed supplier	1,500
Feed stock	900	Bank loan	20,000
Breeding flock at cost	32,400	Equity (owner)	54,560
Rams being fattened at cost	5,400
Pen and tools after depreciation	30,000
Total	76,060	Total	76,060

Costing, margin, mark-up and break-even

Cost per fattened ram = purchase + feed + drugs + transport + labour.
Margin = profit ÷ selling price. Mark-up = profit ÷ cost.
Break-even = fixed costs ÷ profit per unit (summary only).

Example: a ram costs GH¢1,210 and sells at GH¢1,800: profit 590, margin 33%, mark-up 49%. If monthly overheads are GH¢1,035, break-even is 1,035 ÷ 590 = 1.75, so 2 rams a month. A 30% margin target gives price = cost ÷ 0.70 = 1,210 ÷ 0.70 = GH¢1,729.

Full set (example figures)

A farm's month: opening cash GH¢2,000; sales 5 rams at GH¢1,500 = 7,500; feed 1,800; drugs 250; wages 600; transport 300; repairs 150; drawings 900. The 5 rams cost GH¢3,500 to buy earlier. Depreciation is GH¢300. (1) Closing cash? (2) Gross profit? (3) Net profit? (4) Is the owner richer by the cash change or the net profit? Explain. (5) A scale costs GH¢1,800, life 6 years, no resale: monthly depreciation? (6) A MoMo statement shows GH¢5,260 but the book shows GH¢5,360: what can explain the GH¢100 gap?

Cash-flow forecast

A forecast lists expected receipts and payments each month so you see cash shortages ahead. Example:

Month	Opening	Receipts	Payments	Closing
Jan	5,000	2,000	4,500	2,500
Feb	2,500	3,000	4,000	1,500
Mar	1,500	14,000	4,500	11,000

The low point is February; plan a loan, savings or earlier sales. Do the same for 12 months in Unit 7.

Tax and employee records

Small traders may use the Modified Taxation Scheme: GH¢20,001–750,000 annual sales pay 3% of turnover, or tax on earnings after expenses on the modified cash basis. Example: sales of GH¢60,000 give 3% = GH¢1,800. The VAT registration threshold for goods rose to GH¢750,000 on 1 January 2026. Whether live sheep are VAT-exempt is not verified: ask GRA. Keep wage records and SSNIT payments for employees.

Close a month

Write a full month of cash book entries for a sheep farm and total them.
Do the month-end routine and reconcile cash and MoMo.
Prepare the profit statement, depreciation and balance sheet.
Cost one fattened ram, set a price with a target margin and find break-even.
Build a three-month cash-flow forecast.

Mock books

Ask a local farmer or trader for their last month of notes and turn them into a cash book.

Unit 7 · Grow, sustain and present your plan

Growth is only good if quality, cash and trust grow with it. Present your plan so a panel believes it.

Competency standard

Learning outcome	Performance criteria — the trainee…
7.1 Build quality systems	writes routines, checklists and traceability for the flock
7.2 Care for customers and price well	handles complaints and sets prices by cost and market
7.3 Scale and partner	grows in safe steps; uses contracts, partners and records for loans
7.4 Plan for succession and ethics	plans who runs the farm and acts honestly
7.5 Present a plan	presents a one-page plan with a 12-month cash-flow forecast to a panel

Range. The trainee's own or team farm plan. Evidence. Quality checklist; pricing sheet; growth plan; one-page plan and forecast; panel observation.

Quality systems and customer care

Write a one-page routine for each task: feeding, cleaning, health round, weighing, treatment and sale. Use ear tags and a flock register so every animal can be traced from birth to buyer. Give buyers the animal's tag and health record. Reply to complaints the same day and keep a complaints book. Word of mouth is trusted by young Ghanaians (summary only).

Pricing strategy

Price from cost plus margin (Unit 6), then check the market: Eid prices swing with imports. Offer pre-order prices, sell by weight when you can, and sell breeding stock, rams for service and manure all year to keep income steady.

Scale in safe steps

Grow the flock by one group at a time: add ewes only when feed, pens, labour, cash and the vet's capacity are ready. Before doubling, check: cost of feed for the new animals, space (Unit 1), one more ram, and cash for three months. If weaning percentage falls after growth, stop and fix it before adding more. Sell or lease surplus fodder or silage.

Contracts, partners and tenders

Written supply contracts with caterers, butchers or festival buyers give a steady order: state number, weight, date, price and what happens if the animals are late. A cooperative or partner can share rams, transport and market stalls. Public tenders for supplying meat or animals: rules and registration are not verified here; ask the Assembly or the Public Procurement Authority.

Records for loans

Banks and funders look for proof: your cash book, monthly statements, balance sheet, flock register, sales receipts and a forecast (summary only). Keep five years of records. Lenders must be licensed, and borrowers should know the interest rate before signing.

Succession and ethics

Write down who will run the farm if you are ill: a trained family member or partner, keys to records, vet and buyer contacts. Keep honest scales and prices, tell buyers about health and withdrawals, pay people on time, and never sell sick sheep or meat still within a withdrawal period. Resilience is a set of habits: keep a reserve, a plan B and a mentor.

The one-page business plan

Who you are and what you sell in one sentence
Market: buyers, festival and all-year, with prices
Flock plan: size, breed, breeding and lambing calendar
Feed and health plan: budget and programme
Rules: registrations, permits and insurance
People: helpers and partners
Numbers: start-up cost, margin, break-even and the 12-month cash-flow forecast
Funding: what you have, what you ask and from where
Risks and the first 90 days

12-month cash flow (example)

Opening cash GH¢10,000. Fixed monthly payments GH¢2,000. Receipts: Jan–Apr GH¢1,500 a month, May GH¢20,000 (Eid), Jun–Oct GH¢1,500 a month, Nov GH¢3,000, Dec GH¢22,000 (Christmas). Feed for each fattening round, GH¢6,000, is paid in the three months before the festival, split evenly (Mar–May and Oct–Dec) on top of the fixed payments. Find the closing cash each month and the lowest balance.

Capstone: panel presentation

Write your one-page business plan with the nine headings above.
Build a 12-month cash-flow forecast with festival peaks and labelled assumptions.
Present for five minutes to a panel of two or three, including an outside guest.
Answer three questions about risk, rules and numbers.

Final polish

Rewrite your plan using the panel's feedback and give it to a mentor.

Glossary

Term	Meaning
Break-even	Sales needed to cover costs
Cash book	Day-by-day record of money in and out
Depreciation	Cost of using up a tool or building over time
Drawings	Money the owner takes out
FECRT	Test that checks if a dewormer still works
Margin	Profit as a share of the selling price
Mark-up	Profit as a share of cost
Reconciliation	Checking your book against the bank or MoMo statement
Traceability	Being able to follow an animal from birth to buyer
Weaning percentage	Lambs weaned as a share of lambs born

Logbook

Unit 1: group plan; performance sheet; problem note; rota
Unit 2: breeding plan; mating roster; lambing records; cull list
Unit 3: feed budget; silage book; fattening plan and costing
Unit 4: health programme; treatment register; FECRT note; rules notes
Unit 5: legal form; registration checklist; start-up budget; contract
Unit 6: cash book; monthly statements; costing; forecast
Unit 7: quality checklist; pricing sheet; one-page plan and forecast
Every homework, dated

Self-check quiz

Write the weaning percentage formula.
Which trait did the Ejura study find most valuable per ewe?
How many rams do 90 ewes need at 1 ram per 40 ewes?
When should a 90-day round for Christmas start?
What is a FECRT and what is the usual pass mark?
Who must you ask before slaughtering sheep for sale?
How much is a business name registration at the ORC in 2026?
What is the legal difference between a sole proprietor and a company limited by shares?
What goes in the cash book, and what does a month-end reconcile check?
Write the straight-line depreciation formula.
Why is net profit different from cash in the tin?
What must you not do with a "processing fee" for a loan?