Chief Moshoeshoe said farmers resident in the Tele area currently receive shearing services from Dilli-Dilli and Moyeni, “…which are far from our area. Small stocks from here sometimes die on the way to the sheds during heavy rainfall or drought.”

He further said accommodation and food were also a problem when farmers waited to their livestock to be sheared at either Dilli-Dilli or Moyeni.

The construction of the new Tele woolshed is also expected to benefit farmers from the areas of Paballong and Mjanyane. The Quthing district has 13 government built woolshed in total.

Wool and mohair form the bedrock of Lesotho’s rural economy, and producers range from smallholder farmers with small flocks, to breeders of superior gene-quality animals who manage larger flocks. In 2011, Lesotho was estimated to have approximately 1.2 million sheep and 845 000 goats. On average terms, one sheep yields 2.63 kg of wool; in the case of mohair, one goat yields 0.86 kg of wool.

Wool and mohair are Lesotho’s major agricultural exports: wool is the leading agricultural commodity export and mohair ranks fifth.