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Goat Farming In India
Goat farming is an age-old practice but its integration with fish culture has not
been explored. Goats not only provide meat and milk but also a good amount of manure.
Annual production of manure from a goat is around 1.5 - 2 tonnes per year. If animal
manure is not properly used, it causes pollution of water and environment. It has
been observed that 40-50 kg of animal manure produce 1 kg of fish. Animal manure
and green fodder can totally replace the commercial feed for fish farming achieving
a similar fish production. The goat is a versatile animal. It is known as the poor
man’s cow. Goats can be kept with little expense on undulating lands with an inexpensive
shelter. India has 1/4th of the worlds total goat population. (FAO, 1990).There
are about 13 well-known India breeds of goats apart from local non-descripts scattered
throughout the country. The breeds are described in 5 regions
1. Himalayan region:
Chamba, Gaddi, Kashmiri, Pashmina, Chegu
2. Northern region:
Jamnapari, Beetal, Barbari
3. Central Region:
Marwari, Mehsana, Zelwadi, Berri, Kathiwari, Sirohi, Jhakrana
4. Southern region:
Surti, Deccani, Osmanabadi, Malabari
5. Eastern region:
Bengal, Assam hilly breed, Ganjam
The role of goats in the economy of the rural resource poor in India and economic
losses due to mortality and morbidity at micro and macro level is important. Goats
contribute more than 52% of households’ total income towards nutrition and food
security of the family of goat keepers. The mortality and morbidity losses due to
diseases in goats were estimated at field level in Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh
State, India. The mortality rates for small, medium and large categories of goat
keeping were 32.8, 32.1 and 15.8% in kids and 31.2, 19.9 and 14.9% in adult goats,
respectively. The losses due to diseases in goats scaled at national level were
estimated at Rs. 11,720 million per annum. The adoption of prophylactic and preventive
measures in goats could result in a net savings of Rs. 5144 million per annum to
the economy of the country. The study demonstrates a need to use available technology
to prevent diseases in goats
GOAT MILK
Goat milk and its products of yoghurt, cheese and powder have three-fold significance
in human nutrition:
(1) feeding more starving and malnourished people in the developing world than from
cow milk;
(2) treating people afflicted with cow milk allergies and gastro-intestinal disorders,
which is a significant segment in many populations of developed countries;
(3) filling the gastronomic needs of connoisseur consumers, which is a growing market
share in many developed countries.
Concerning
(1), very much improvement in milk yield and lactation length of dairy goats, especially
in developing countries must be accomplished through better education/extension,
feeding and genetics.
Concerning
(2), little unbiased medical research to provide evidence and promotional facts
has been conducted, but is very much needed to reduce discrimination against goats
and substantiate the many anecdotal experiences about the medical benefits from
goat milk consumption, which abound in trade publications and the popular press.
Goats have many unique differences in anatomy, physiology and product biochemistry
from sheep and cattle, which supports the contention of many unique qualities of
dairy goat products for human nutrition.
Concerning
(3), a few countries like France have pioneered a very well-organized industry of
goat milk production, processing, marketing, promotion and research, which has created
a strong consumer clientele like in no other country, but deserves very much to
be copied for the general benefit to human nutrition and goat milk producers. The
physiological and biochemical facts of the unique qualities of goat milk are just
barely known and little exploited, especially not the high levels in goat milk of
short and medium chain fatty acids, which have recognized medical values for many
disorders and diseases of people. The new concept of tailor making foods to better
fit human needs has not been applied to goat milk and its products so far, otherwise
the enrichment of short and medium chain fatty acids in goat butter, and their greater
concentration compared to cow butter, could have become a valued consumer item.
Also revisions to human dietary recommendations towards admitting the health benefits
of some essential fats supports the idea of promoting goat butter. While goat yoghurt,
goat cheeses and goat milk powder are widely appreciated around the world, goat
butter is not produced anywhere commercially in significant volume.
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