GOAT FARMING

There are more than 3 .5 million goats in Zimbabwe, of which 98 per cent are indigenous breeds  and owned by the smallholder farmers.     Most of them are kept in the drier agro - ecological zones in Natural Ecological Regions IV and V and in Tse -tse infested areas .Natural  Region IV has a low rainfall subject to periodic droughts and extended dry spells. Overall, the  importance of goats increases as the rainfall decreases. Goats are hardy and easier animals to look  after, which can survive under harsh environments. Goats are reared under extensive farming conditions, mainly for meat (chevon) and to a lesser  extent for milk. To some extent productivity of these goats is low due various factors such as  high kid mortality and lack of good animal husbandry practices. Goats also provide skins of  commercial importance and manure for gardens (and crop fields). In other parts of the world  goats are kept for their wool (mohair).

Human populations are growing, and creating a significant and increasing demand for additional  animal protein foods. The goat can play an important role in meeting these demands. This calls  for farmers to put value in their goat enterprises by shifting from subsistence production to  commercial production. It is easier to increase the population of small ruminants (goats and  sheep) than large stock. In economic terms the opportunity costs are low for goat production.

 “The goat was probably the first animal to be domesticated around 9000-7000  B.C. This long association between goat and human indicates the variety of  functions the goat can provide.”

This manual has been written to provide information to farmers who are in need of knowledge to  start a goat enterprise on a commercial basis, and goat husbandry. The information is not  completely comprehensive, but combines experiences from authors and farmers.

Goats are among the main meat-producing animals in India, whose meat (chevon) is one of the choicest meats and has huge domestic demand. Besides meat, goats provide other products like milk, skin, fibre and manure. Goats are important part of rural economy, particularly in the arid, semi-arid and mountainous regions of the country. With more than 124 million population, goats account for more than 25 per cent of the total livestock in the country and contribute Rs 1,06,335 million annually to the national economy. They provide food and nutritional security to the millions of marginal and small farmers and agricultural labourers. However, the productivity of goats under the prevailing traditional production system is very low. It is because they are maintained under the extensive system on natural vegetation on degraded common grazing lands and tree lopping. Even these degraded grazing resources are shrinking continuously. Moreover, adoption of improved production technologies/ management practices in the farmers’ flock is very low. Therefore, rearing of goats under intensive and semi-intensive system using improved technologies for commercial production has become imperative not only for realizing their full potential but also to meet the increasing demand of chevon (goat meat) in the domestic as well as international markets. Of the total meat production, more than 70 per cent comes from cattle, buffalo and pig and for that preference is limited due to socio-religious factors. Therefore, burden lies on goat and sheep meats. Rising per capita income, growing urbanization and unfolding globalization are boosting the demand for high-value commodities including meat  Due to these fast socio-economic changes in the recent past, a rapid shift has taken place in the dietary habits in favour of non-vegetarian diet. As a result, the demand for goat and sheep meats has swiftly increased and the domestic market price for chevon/mutton has risen from Rs 60 per kg to Rs 130-160 per kg over a decade. Moreover, huge expected increase in the demand for meat in developing countries (by 100%), especially in the East and SouthEast Asia in the next 20 years presents an excellent opportunity for enhancing export of live goat/sheep and their meat from India  Responding to the market signals, the goat production system in India has been slowly moving from extensive to intensive system of management for commercial production. However, in the absence of any systematic study, there have been questions from the entrepreneurs, progressive farmers and even researchers on the economic viability and sustainability of commercial goat farming under intensive system. No information was available on the socio-economic aspects of commercial goat farming under semi-intensive and intensive systems of production in the country. This study, probably for the first time, was planned to address issues related to commercialization of goat farming in the country and to evolve a suitable policy framework for this otherwise neglected sector of the livestock economy. The present paper has thus analyzed the status, economics and prospects of commercialization of goat production in the country

Methodology

The goat rearing using improved management practices undertaken for maximization of returns from the enterprise was considered as ‘commercial goat farming’ in the present context. This paper has used primary data collected from the commercial goat farms spread in different states of the country. No information was available on the commercial goat farms operating in different parts of the country; however during the past one decade, a number of such commercial farms have come into existence. Therefore, initially, the efforts were made to identify commercial goat farms operating in different states and develop rapport with them. Information on the extent and process of commercialization, marketing and constraints was solicited from all the identified farms through questionnaire mode. The questionnaire responses could be collected from 61 commercial goat farmers in 11 states of the country. Based on the preliminary analysis of data of these 61 farms, an initial view on commercial goat farming in the country was formed. Finally, 18 commercial goat farms from different states were selected randomly for an in-depth study