by-DR. RAJESH KUMAR SINGH, (LIVESTOCK & POULTRY CONSULTANT), JAMSHEDPUR, JHARKHAND,INDIA 9431309542, rajeshsinghvet@gmail.com
Goat farming may be the way out of poverty for farmers in rural India aftermath of COVID19 Pandemic containment.Whole world is facing unprecedented crisis due to this Pandemic.Many strategic plan has been adopted by our government to get over the crisis & we all are expecting to get over this pandemic by the end of April 2020.As we know during lockdown each and every bussiness activities has been stopped which will have great adverse impact on our economy.All the service sector & manufacturing sector has been badly spoiled.In India crores of people will become unemployed.The fate of labourers belonging to the unorganized sectors has become worst.In order to cope up with the giant problems related to unemployment & economy slowdown ,Govt must focus its attention to the Livestock sector .India can be hub in livestock products export replacing controversial China from the export map by adopting best animal husbandry practices & maintaing phyto sanitary standard of agriculture & Livestock produce at par European standard.For this our govt will have to come up with strategy.Also With the goal of doubling farmers’ incomes by 2022, as announced by the Indian Prime Minister ,here are the pictures and strategies to lift rural farmers out of poverty through goat farming.
Why Goats?———
India is home to the second largest goat population already, making goats a readily accessible resource. Goats require little investment; as long as there is land to graze, goats can survive – even in drought-ridden areas. Biologically, goats are a strong resource because they can reproduce twice a year, giving birth to twins more often than triplets and quadruplets.
raising goats is an income-generating activity that has enormous potential to increase incomes and improve nutrition for resource poor households, especially in remote, tribal and ecologically vulnerable areas.It is an activity that requires minimal investment and input costs. Goats are also prolific breeders and have a good survival rate in drought prone areas.
there is a market for goat-based products, such as goat cheese, in overseas markets. This will connect India, and in particular, rural India, to global, competitive markets. Goats also provide more than just milk products, such as leather and meat, which expands the markets that can be reached through the development of goat farming in India.
How would it work in India?——–
Estimates show that each goat could produce a net income of approximately 1200-1300 rupees per year. An average size of a herd of goats is 15, which could equal approximately 12000-19,000 rupees per year for each farmer. This provides farmers in India with extra means, and can lift them out of poverty.
Goats are primarily reared by landless smallholders, particularly women in the rural areas, who are unable to increase their flock size (3–5 goats/household) as they lack space, human resource (to take care of more goats), feed, and access to veterinary and other services.
Feeds and fodder:
Almost all farmers rear goats under extensive systems using common property resources (CPR) or natural vegetation on common grazing lands and tree lopping. There is no system of feeding purchased inputs such as concentrates (except in commercial farms). As a result, productivity is low. CPRs mainly consist of village pastures belonging to the Panchayats, revenue land (under Revenue Department) and forest land (under Forest Department). It was reported that these CPRs are shrinking gradually due to expansion of agricultural land, encroachment and privatization. This has serious implications on the livelihoods of the marginalized communities. No agency was found to be taking initiatives to improve the feed situation, including development of grazing lands.
Breeding:
Though Artificial Insemination is an effective tool for genetic improvement, it has not been used successfully because of low fertilizing capacity of frozen semen and the lack of sufficiently trained people. Through various schemes, bucks are supplied, usually selected based on phenotypic characteristics. The government farms and research institutes produce bucks through genetic selection but are grossly inadequate to meet the requirements.Farmers have been observed selling their better animals (males) for higher prices so the remaining bucks are of low quality.
Health and veterinary services:
Mortality in goats is reported to be very high (up to 33%), especially in rural areas. There is a high prevalence of diseases such as Peste des Petite Ruminants (PPR), Enterotoxaemia (ET) and Goat pox. There are also insufficiencies in the cold chain management for vaccines. Veterinary services from the public sector are not found to reach most goat producers, especially the majority living in remote locations. Even though the number of veterinary hospitals, polyclinics and dispensaries in the public sector has increased over the last decade,small ruminant health care still receives low priority due to lack of infrastructure, shortage of trained personnel, non-availability of medicines and vaccines.
Marketing: Small ruminant marketing is mainly in the informal sector and is in the hands of traders, butchers and other middlemen. Village based traders buy goats from farmers based on visual quality and estimated weight. These traders aim to make a trading margin, the maximum possible and in quick time. Distress sales of animals (including
diseased animals) by farmers offer them opportunities to cut into the purchase price. Though the middlemen are
generally portrayed as ‘exploiters’, they are also found to provide a set of vital services to farmers including credit.
Producer organizations are not found to operate in these areas, though some minor initiatives have been started
recently by some NGOs .
Meat processing:
slaughter and marketing of small ruminants take place in the informal sector and slaughtering is done mainly in road side butcheries under doubtful hygienic conditions. Where integrated abattoirs are present, they are mainly used for buffalo meat and sheep meat (hardly 1%). There are various zoonotic diseases and many harmful parasites that could have deleterious effects on people’s health and wellbeing.
Consumers are attuned to buy fresh meat and in most cases the animal is cut by butchers in the market according to estimated demand. This means there is usually a calculative risk wherein the butcher is able to sell meat entirely
or the leftovers sold to local hotels. These meat buying approaches continue with no significant change or up-grading adopted by either butchers or consumers. There is little or no sensitization of consumers and butchers on potential health risks in the meat value chain nor on modern slaughter practices
Goat Farming and Poverty Alleviation Strategies———–
The only foreseeable threat to the development of the goat farming sector is urbanization. Goat farming is only sustainable if goats have ample lands to graze upon. As urbanization increases in India, there is the threat of encroachment on open lands, which would be used to farm goats.
Goat farming in India provides a unique way to begin lifting farmers out of poverty, while simultaneously connecting India to global markets. As the sector develops, farmers’ incomes will double, and the agricultural-based economy in India will get a much-needed boost.
Piloting dairy goat production and products for niche markets—————
Dairy goat farming is slowly gaining momentum in India. Reports suggest there is a growing niche market in India for goat milk for ayurvedic medicinal preparations, cheese production and for lactose intolerant people. Compositional similarity with human milk and benefits in terms of lesser allergenicity and better digestibility make it a suitable feeding option for infants. It is considered as a natural functional food because of a higher amount of lactose-derived oligosaccharides, short and medium chain fatty acids (MCFA), richness in conjugated and branched chain fatty acids, higher calcium, zinc and vitamin A levels. Recent research findings indicate that there is a great potential to use goat milk to produce novel dairy products and ingredients such as flavored milk, probiotic yoghurt, cheeses, ice-cream and bioactive peptides. The demand for fermented milk including cheeses is on the increase in India, mainly due to the health benefits associated with them. Health benefits of goat milk can be further enhanced by its conversion into fermented products, as it leads to better digestibility, higher availability of micronutrients, presence of viable lactic bacteria and production of certain bioactive peptides
Though there are no milch goat breeds in India, Jamnapari and Jakhrana are found to be good milk yielders. Of these, Jakhrana performs better considering adaptability. The exotic breed ‘Saanen’ is also found to be extensively reared (in Maharashtra) for milk production as they are high milk yielders and their care and management is very easy. It is also noticed that cheese has become an item in the food basket of people in the Indian metros and some urban cities across India. Amul sells cheeses in India for the last 15 years and their market is reported to be growing. Some entrepreneurs in India are also found producing cheese from goat milk. Considering the increasing awareness among consumers, there is substantial scope to develop goat milk based value added products. This niche area is worth exploring for the benefit of smallholder farmers and the sector as a whole
Encouraging private animal health care service providers———–
To effectively deliver preventive health care services (defined under “Minor Veterinary Services”) and provide advisory/ extension support to goat producers on feeding, management and health/hygiene, the human resource can be developed in the villages (where public veterinary care is not available) by selecting, training and positioning private ‘animal health workers’, preferably women called “Pashu Sakhis”.
While the goat federation can do the selection, trainers from the Animal Health Department, Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) and competent NGOs should provide training to the Pashu Sakhis based on a curriculum prepared by the
Department as per Minor Veterinary Service notification. The trained persons can work for the federation based on
performance-based incentives and provide services to goat producers covering an area of 2–3 km or 2000 goats. They can source required inputs (medicines, vaccines, mineral supplements etc.) from veterinary hospitals for supply to farmers. There should be technical and oversight/monitoring support from the local veterinarian by linking them with the district veterinary system, mobile veterinary clinics, digital systems, referral services, kisan call centers etc. The Pashu Sakhis may be allowed to charge farmers for their service based on norms decided by the communities/group. More importantly, to get sufficient income, they can be given a goat unit (5+1), which will help them earn about Rs 10,000 /year. The Pashu Sakhis system will help to target resource-poor goat keepers and women in marginal areas
Thermo-stabilization of goat vaccines——-
It is well-understood that in the remote and inaccessible places more than the quality and availability of vaccine,
maintenance of cold chains in the field is a critical factor deciding disease prevention. Frequent power failures,
non-motorable roads and remoteness create problems for safe storage and transport of vaccines. In this context, production of thermostable vaccines (PPR, Goat pox, FMD) by mixing vaccine with inert chemical stabilizers such as lactalbumin hydrolysate and sucrose and subjecting the mixture to freeze drying or lyophilisation, followed by
stabilization can be done. This will greatly contribute to protection of goat health in the regions. This can be done by working with certified vaccine manufacturers in India such as Indian Immunologicals Ltd. under PPP mode with Heister, Galvmed etc. (ILRI has experience in producing thermo-stable rinderpest vaccine for bovines; Mariner et al.1990a; Mariner et al, 1990b) and recently peste des petits ruminants (PPR) vaccine in East Africa (Mariner et al, 2013
Promoting commercial goat farms—
To respond to the increasing demand for goat meat in the domestic market, to reduce the demand supply gap and to develop the goat sector as a whole, special attention should be given to promote commercial goat farms. Progressive
farmers, entrepreneurs and educated youth showing interest to invest in goat business can be identified and provided
with infrastructure support and production incentives to rear goats as a commercial business enterprises. It is ideal for the new entrants to start with small flock sizes of up to 50 goats and gradually increase to more than 200 animals after gaining experience. These farmers should be provided with low cost credit, knowledge and market intelligence. The initial investment towards housing, breeding stock etc. should also be supported to attract investors in the sector. Though the breed of choice are Black Bengal (Bihar, Odisha) and Barbari (Uttar Pradesh), one can also try for large sized breeds such as Sirohi and Jamnapari to make the business more productive. Continuous production of slaughter kids of F1 crosses of Boer with Sirohi can also be attempted to see how they perform in terms of profit maximization. But this is more of a research interest.
In commercial goat farms, feed costs are the largest share of total expenses. A goat with 15 kg body weight requires 600 g (4% of live weight) of dry matter per day. This can be provided by 50% green fodder, 30% dry fodder and 20% concentrates. While goats can be reared completely under stall feeding with purchased feed inputs, the expenses can be reduced significantly if fodder is produced on farm. On average, one hectare can produce high quality green fodder to support 70 goats for 8 months. During the surplus season when fodder is available at cheaper costs, fodder should be procured and stored. In lean seasons, destocking can be done to match feed availability.
As a rule of thumb, 100 adult females can produce 240 kids per year under excellent management conditions
considering 60% twinning, 40% single and three kiddings in two years. After adjusting for mortality, if 100 males can be sold in a year in festival markets (castrated males in Eid market /uncastrated males in Dussehra or other Hindu festival markets) either in local or remote (Kolkata, Delhi) locations, considerable profit can be generated for investors
Marketing live animals through goat federations
The goat federations can play the role of aggregators. Federation members can be asked to sell their animals to the butchers and traders through their federation based on mutually-agreed transparent mechanisms (live weight, body
condition score etc.) of selling and buying. The federation can retain a small margin while selling goats to help run the federation and if a surplus is generated it can be paid back to members as a bonus. The federations can use electronic platforms to sell goats in festivals and to cater to the requirement of other high value customers in urban areas. They can also access information on market prices, margins, cost of operations, market dynamics, standards, quality, preferences etc. of local and distant markets, inform their member farmers and negotiate with market agents.
Piloting dairy goat production and products for niche markets————
Dairy goat farming is slowly gaining momentum in India. Reports suggest there is a growing niche market in India for goat milk for ayurvedic medicinal preparations, cheese production and for lactose intolerant people. Compositional similarity with human milk and benefits in terms of lesser allergenicity and better digestibility make it a suitable feeding option for infants. It is considered as a natural functional food because of a higher amount of lactose-derived oligosaccharides, short and medium chain fatty acids (MCFA), richness in conjugated and branched chain fatty acids, higher calcium, zinc and vitamin A levels. Recent research findings indicate that there is a great potential to use goat milk to produce novel dairy products and ingredients such as flavored milk, probiotic yoghurt, cheeses, ice-cream and bioactive peptides. The demand for fermented milk including cheeses is on the increase in India, mainly due to the health benefits associated with them. Health benefits of goat milk can be further enhanced by its conversion into fermented products, as it leads to better digestibility, higher availability of micronutrients, presence of viable lactic bacteria and production of certain bioactive peptides
Though there are no milch goat breeds in India, Jamnapari and Jakhrana are found to be good milk yielders. Of these, Jakhrana performs better considering adaptability. The exotic breed ‘Saanen’ is also found to be extensively reared (in Maharashtra) for milk production as they are high milk yielders and their care and management is very easy. It is also noticed that cheese has become an item in the food basket of people in the Indian metros and some urban cities across India. Amul sells cheeses in India for the last 15 years and their market is reported to be growing. Some entrepreneurs in India are also found producing cheese from goat milk. Considering the increasing awareness among consumers, there is substantial scope to develop goat milk based value added products. This niche area is worth exploring for the benefit of smallholder farmers and the sector as a whole.
Supporting infrastructure for sanitary and hygienic meat production—————
As far as meat processing is concerned, in rural areas and small towns, existing butchers can be supported (by public
or private agencies) to set up or upgrade small slaughtering facilities (one for 2–4 villages) to slaughter animals,
prepare meat and sell it fresh. These should have separate facilities for offal collection, blood collection, hide storage and storage of other products and a facility to dispose waste. Such a facility would be mandatorily (legislatively) used by the butchers for a small fee. This requires a complete ban on open slaughter of live animals through state or local panchayat legislation. The focus should be to upgrade butchery activities with financial support and training. The live animals aggregated for slaughter should be certified and issued health certificates by competent authorities. In urban centers, either existing slaughter houses owned by the government, if any, can be modernized or joint ventures by government (Municipal Corporation) may be initiated to set up slaughter houses that can handle not less than 1000 goats/sheep per day under Build Own and Transfer (BoT) mode.
Since most customers are not alerted about meat quality, awareness should be created among consumers about clean meat (by competent agencies such as the Food Safety Standards Authority of India /FSSAI with the support of the federations). They will be taught on the local, systemic and parasitic diseases in animals and the effect on their health if meat from a diseased or affected animal is consumed. If the consumers are also empowered with this information and knowledge, they will readily accept the common facility by butchers which stands on equal benefit both for the butchers and consumers
Promoting entrepreneurs for fodder production—-
To improve productivity and transform goat rearing from subsistence to a market oriented systems, the feed issue should be addressed in different ways in different contexts:
In irrigated areas or in areas where land and water are available, medium to large farmers or entrepreneurs can be selected and incentivized to cultivate and produce quality fodder with balanced proportion of grasses (Napier,
Cenchrus) legumes (Stylosanthes, Lablab) and cereals (maize, sorghum) in mash/baled form for sale in the lean season
(in the other seasons when there is good vegetation, farmers may continue grazing animals in the open or forest land). These entrepreneurs should be supported with technology (chopping, grinding, drying, mixing, baling) and
credit (purchase of machinery). The goat federations can support these fodder producers in selling their product
to commercial goat producers and other members through credit facilities. Calculations show that such fodder
producers can earn a better income from the fodder business than with food grain crops during the same season. The same fodder entrepreneurs can double their income if they also rear goats (commercial goat producers) and use the
fodder produced to feed their animals.
In dryland areas or areas where crop residues (straw/stover) are available, selected farmers and entrepreneurs can be incentivized to make complete feed by mixing crop residues (after manual/machine chopping) with concentrates in defined proportions (50:50) to sell in the market or to commercial goat producers in mash/baled form. ILRI
experiences in India show that feeding residue based complete feeds in mash form increases daily weight gain by at least 30%. As in the former case, the same farmers and fodder entrepreneurs can act as commercial goat producers
and increase their profit by using the complete feed they produce, apart from selling in the market or through the
goat federations.
In grazing areas, where landless and smallholders depend on CPR/forest land for grazing, pasture and silvipastural activities can be promoted through collective action. Here, Innovation Platforms (IP) can be formed with the line department (AHD), forest department, Gramasabha, MNREGA, DRDA, goat federations and other key stakeholders
with a view to promote solutions for improving fodder availability and quality and its sustainable use. Controlled or
stratified grazing in CPR through community controlled customary rationing mechanism is a must for sustainable use
of the resource base generated. Social norms and codes of conduct should be fixed by the communities for rotational grazing and controlled use. Since the poor do not have any financial or political capital to develop the CPR and the returns will be available only after 4–5 years, the initial investment required should be provided by external agencies.
Promoting semi-stall feeding in these areas with supplementary feeds as an incentive to reduce grazing hours can also be tried. It will also help the landless and poor in preparing them to face the future challenges in respect of the shrinking feed resource base. The goat federations can be adequately supported to lead these activities with the
Marketing live animals through goat federations——–
The goat federations can play the role of aggregators. Federation members can be asked to sell their animals to the butchers and traders through their federation based on mutually-agreed transparent mechanisms (live weight, body
condition score etc.) of selling and buying. The federation can retain a small margin while selling goats to help run the federation and if a surplus is generated it can be paid back to members as a bonus. The federations can use electronic platforms to sell goats in festivals and to cater to the requirement of other high value customers in urban areas. They can also access information on market prices, margins, cost of operations, market dynamics, standards, quality, preferences etc. of local and distant markets, inform their member farmers and negotiate with market agents
Technical challenges—
Selective breeding:
Genetic selection in breed improvement is a long term process and expensive. It takes six to seven generations to move the population mean (of mature body weight) by 5–6%. So before starting a breed
improvement program, long term funding and strong institutional support should be committed. Since genetically improved animals require improved environment (feeding, management) to express their potential, the attempt is
more appropriate in stallfed and semi-stallfed situations and not in low input system.
Generally, breed improvement efforts are centered on mature body size. But from a commercial point of view it will
be efficient if we do the selection also for feed conversion efficiency (sometimes mature size can be less but FCR will be high), disease resistance (e.g. against PPR) and reproductive efficiency (e.g. prolificacy in large sized breeds). This also requires long term funding commitment.
Artificial insemination:
Generally, the use of bucks is the best method for breeding. But if the herd size is small
(for selection), to avoid inbreeding and promote outbreeding, artificial insemination (AI) can be used. This bypasses the buck which normally deposits about 2–3 billion sperm in the doe while AI usually has 100–200 million sperm per dose. Though AI has been tried in India, it is not extensively used due to low conception rates. But considering the difficulties to produce sufficient numbers of quality bucks, AI can be promoted with intensive training of technicians to perform AI efficiently (by depositing semen in mid cervix at the right time /end of oestrus, coinciding with ovulation) for increased conception
Policy challenges————
Minor veterinary services:
As per the Veterinary Council of India Act, each state is required to have a definition of the “Minor Veterinary Services” along with the skills and qualifications required for persons to deliver the services.
According to this, the standards of the jobs and tasks involved in performing the notified Minor Veterinary Services
(under the supervision of a registered veterinary practitioner) have to be described, which would form the basis for appropriate skill development. The basic (entry level) educational background, requisite to undergo the required
skill training and competency development also have to be specified and notified. It may be further inferred that the individuals permitted to perform such notified Minor Veterinary Services shall be provided with an appropriate
knowledge, skills and attitudes through a systematic teaching learning process before he/she is conferred the certificate.
Definition of minor veterinary services will help in promoting private animal health care service providers (Pashu Sakhis) under a legal framework .Apart from defining the Minor Veterinary Services, the
government should also play an active role in training, certification, technical backstopping and monitoring of Pashu Sakhis for effective delivery of services. This should also form part of the policy.
Thermo-stabilization of goat vaccines: ———
Policy decisions are required to start producing thermo-stabilized vaccines
against small ruminant diseases by working with private institutes under Public-Private-Partnership mode. Necessary allocation of funds would also be required to initiate the work.
Privatization of breeding services: ———–
Currently the production of breeding bucks is confined to government farms and research institutes. The number of quality bucks produced is totally disproportionate to the requirement. To address this issue, the government may take a policy decision to engage private actors to produce bucks following scientific selection procedure stipulated by the government. The selected bucks would be finally certified by the government.
The private farmers may be provided with incentives to produce bucks of desired quality and assure market through abuy back arrangement.
Grazing policies:————-
At present, feed improvement for goats and sheep is not part of the activities of the Animal
Husbandry Department. Government should take a policy decision to delegate to the Animal Husbandry
Department the responsibility of taking the lead role to facilitate with relevant departments (Forest Department,
Panchayat and Gramasabhas, NGOs, Farmer Organizations, watershed associations etc.) for developing the CPRs
through planting of valuable traditional fodder tree species in the forests, common lands, around tanks etc. with community participation by using various funds available such as MNREGA, DRDA. The facilitation will also help in ensuring customary rights of small ruminant producers to graze in CPRs and for sustainably using the CPRs with a long term perspective.
Food safety and meat quality: ———–
Though chevon/mutton has a high nutritional value, it can also be among the most
important causes of food-borne diseases. Studies elsewhere show that poor slaughtering practices and hygiene can contribute to cross contamination of carcasses with harmful microbes. Inadequate facilities for processing and storage and clean water for washing of equipment and facilities are not often available at the slaughter places.
Therefore government may take a policy decision to: 1) ban the slaughter of animals in open spaces; 2) certify slaughter facilities based on amenities and adherence of dos and don’ts of slaughtering practices, storage and sale of goat/sheep meat and 3) make budgetary provision to support butchers to upgrade their facilities and for their training.
Commercial farms:
it is important to develop financial and support instruments to attract interested investors to invest in commercial goat farms. These farmers should be provided with basic infrastructure support, low cost credit and initial investment towards housing, breeding stock, fencing, feed store etc.
Reference:On request.
