SEBASTIANA Operational Group: Wool selection and classification to improve the competitiveness of small sheep farms

Currently, wool is considered a by-product and sheep farmers barely receive any compensation for it (€0.00 to €0.40/animal), which represents an additional cost for the sheep farmers due to the associated shearing tasks (€1.5/animal). Given this situation and considering the low profit margins with which the sheep sector works, it is necessary to implement innovative measures to improve and standardize the quality of wool, allowing for its revaluation and easier classification by quality, giving farmers negotiating power with third parties. Likewise, a possible solution for the sector is to shorten the marketing channels for wool, for which a differentiated transformation and sale of it at a local level is proposed, instead of being exported to distant foreign countries and returned to the peninsula in the form of imported different fabrics, having a great impact on reducing the carbon footprint and attracting young rural people and wool artisans attracted by the local industry.