Livestock plays an important role in the rural life of Ciskei, but has not made significant contribution to earnings. The provision of a livestock marketing system was aimed at giving farmers satisfactory returns for their animals. This has not increased the turnover of livestock among the farmers, despite farmers stating that they keep livestock as a source of income. The major drawback to farmers more fully utilising the marketing facilities is that the majority of the households have insufficient livestock to meet their social and cultural needs and to have animals to sell on a regular basis.