The Sunday News
Mhlupheki Dube
THIS week I was discussing with other players in the livestock value chain and one of the critical issues that we discussed is that of the goat value chain which appears not to be fully exploited.
This week’s article therefore seeks to raise some pertinent points about areas which need to be seriously looked into if the intention is to improve the performance of the goat value chain.
There seems to be conflicting opinions about the value chain especially with regards to the marketing side.
Some players feel there is not enough market for goat producers while others feel there are not enough goat suppliers.
My experience, however, is that the formal markets for goat producers are so inadequate to a point of not existing in most areas. It is a generally agreed fact that most smallholder farmers even the resource constrained ones, own goats though the numbers may vary significantly. This means if these are aggregated they can meet most of the market demands in terms of numbers but because farmers are individuals with individual needs at different times this is not always easy.
On the other hand, it does not make business sense for any buyer, be they abattoir operators or butchery owner, to be going around buying goats one by one. It is therefore in the interest of goat producers to make sure they have a mechanism which allows them to aggregate their product.
Another important aspect which goat producers need to work on is the quality of the goats with particular reference to the sizes of the goats. One abattoir owner complained that some goats are so small that they produce carcasses of around six kilogrammes. Now when you produce goats that give carcasses of similar weight with three broilers is it fair to expect buyers to take you seriously as a farmer? A good goat should give carcasses of around 19 kilogrammes and that can encourage buyers.
At times there are talks about export markets for goats in different countries and can we really export a six-kilogramme carcass? The question therefore becomes, what really should be done to improve the sizes of our goats? The obvious answer which many of us can easily pick is that we need to improve our breeds by introducing new genetics.
This is true and I will not belabour this point because most farmers and readers are aware of this need. However, we also need to realise that at times goat sizes are affected by management practices even if we have the right breeds.
One such practice is uncontrolled breeding in our flock. The does (female goats) are always running with the bucks (male ones) and this means anytime is mating time and the result is that anytime is kidding time!
Also if your goats are always running with bucks some young does are mounted at very early ages and this has a net effect of reducing the growth potential of that goat if it starts breeding at a young age. I know that to the uninitiated this can be mistaken for fertility and the farmer will be boasting that his goats start kidding at very tender ages, without realising the overarching effect of his ultimate product.
So goat farmers need to be wary of young does that are mounted too early because this will result in small goats in your flock in the long run. Also uncontrolled breeding makes it difficult; avoid inbreeding which also has the same effect with the situation described above.
Uncontrolled breeding also results in kids being dropped throughout the year and this produces a logistical nightmare in terms of management. Even when it comes to marketing it is difficult to have a uniform crop in terms of size and marketing becomes a challenge as well.
I know that for most smallholder farmers goat production is just a side show activity and not much effort and investment is put into it. However, if the market is to take goat producers seriously they also need to approach the value chain with a serious mind. Farmers simply have to have the right numbers and the right quality and the rest will sort itself out. Uyabonga umntakaMaKhumalo.
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