There’s money in goats

Here’s good news for rural entrepreneurs: goat raising increases farm income while requiring low capital investment.

The farmers of Balungao, Pangasinan proved that they can earn more in goat raising using the technologies introduced to them during a six-month training on effective goat management initiated by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and natural Resources Research and Development-Department of Science and Technology (PCARRD-DOST), International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

The three agencies invited Dr. Emilio M. Cruz, director of the Small Ruminant Center in Central Luzon State University (CLSU), Muñoz, Nueva Ecija, to serve as a member of a project on the control of gastrointestinal parasites in small ruminants in South and Southeast Asia.

After analyzing the cost and return in goat raising, Cruz said that an estimated initial investment of P32,000 can mean an extra income of at least P14,8000 per sales of stock after two years. This is assuming that a goat raiser has five does and each cost P2,500.

An 8-month-old doe can give birth in five months and it can have up to three offsprings in two years. Within this span of time, the number of goats can triple.

Cruz stressed that goats adapt well to existing farming systems. Goats feed on forages and other farm by-products although goat raisers also use feed concentrates, which cost P8 per kilogram. Each goat consumes 150-gram feed concentrates per day.

While goats can survive in almost any environment provided that it’s dry and feed resource is available, a goat shed is necessary to minimize disease and parasite problems. Building a goat pen costs around P1,5000, but in most cases in villages, almost every material needed in goat pen construction is available. This lowers the amount involved.

PCARRD-DOST, ILRI, and IFAD believe that there’s an increasing demand for chevon (goat’s meat) and goat’s milk as alternative sources of milk and meat.

The three agencies conducted a six-month training in the Farmer Livestock School of Integrated Goat Management in Balungao, Pangasinan. Eleven farmers graduated from the training held recently. The project benefited not only the 11 farmers but also other goat raisers in the town by adapting the recommended technologies. – Arlene Obmerga, S&T Media Service