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Sheep farming and the export of wool have provided the main base of the Falkland Islands economy for the past 160 years. With the introduction of the fishery conservation zone in 1987 the sale of fishing licences has become the major income source for the Islands. However, sheep farming remains the major form of land use. The soils of the Islands are quite acidic and relatively infertile. These inherent difficulties when coupled with a windy and cool oceanic climate, and added to the geographic isolation of the Falkland Islands, has ensured that wool is the main land based export.

Approximately 1,140,500 hectares of land is farmed in the Falkland Islands. This area carries approximately 600,000 sheep and 5,000 cattle. Pre 1979 there were 36 farms in the Islands. However as a result of government policy to increase the number of locally owned and operated farms through sub division of some of the larger "corporate farms", there are now 88 farms. Most of these are run as family units with an average size of 10,000 hectares running 6,400 sheep.

In 1991 the Falkland Islands Government purchased four large farms, owned by the Falkland Islands Company Limited. This purchase demonstrated the government's commitment to agriculture in the Islands. Falklands Landholdings Corporation was then established as a statutory organisation to run these farms which total 308,000 hectares with 180,000 sheep and approximately 900 head of cattle.

The Islands average annual wool clip for the past decade has been approximately 2,200 tonnes (greasy) with an average fibre diameter of 26 micron. Sheep breeds are predominantly Polwarth and Corriedale.

A major ovine Embryo Transplant and Artificial Insemination programme in 2005 aims to speed up the lowering of the micron and to improve the meat carcasses in order to increase revenues to farmers.  This includes introducing sheep breeds such as Dohne Merino on farms.

Changes are afoot with growing opportunities for farmers to diversify into enterprises that complement sheep and wool production. These include meat production, tourism, vegetable production, coastal fishing and aquaculture. The aim is to reduce the level of reliance on food importation and provide unique 'added value' products for export.

An abattoir has been constructed and in December 2002 received accreditation to enable meat exports to the UK and Europe. Sand Bay Abattoir's first production of sheep meat was exported to the UK in May 2003. In 2005 the meat from approximately 23,000 sheep and lambs were exported to the UK and European markets.

In addition to the sheep improvement work, the Department of Agriculture has funds for pasture improvement, where farmers can enroll on the scheme if they can demonstrate a return on funds provided by the government.  Farmers are being encouraged to run their farms as profitable businesses that can compete on world markets.

Farms in the Falkland Islands are extensively managed and lend themselves to the production of sheep meat, wool and beef grazed almost exclusively on natural pastures with very little use of synthetic chemicals or treatments. In fact some farms on the Islands are designated as organic suppliers for their produce.

The Department of Agriculture, as it exists today, was established in August 1989 and has 20 staff. The Department's main charter is to foster a viable and internationally competitive agricultural industry through integrated applied research, extension, business skill development and regulatory programmes. The Department also provides veterinary, quarantine and agricultural laboratory services to the Islands.

The Rural Business Association is a farmer led group that represents the interests of farmers on issues related to agriculture in the Islands. Approximately two thirds of farms are members of this association.

Published in the Penguin News Visitor's Guide 2005/6 sponsored by the Falkland Islands Tourist Board

www.penguin-news.com  www.tourism.org.fk 

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