Invest In Goat Farming

Looking for a farming venture that is not only environment friendly but profitable as well? PCARRD suggests raising goats

Goats are very popular among Filipinos because they require low initial capital investment, fit the small hold farm conditions, and multiply fast,” explained the Laguna-based Philippine Council for Agriculture Forestry and Natural Resources Research Farming and Development (PCARRD) in its investment briefer. “Culturally, goats are integral to every special occasion such as birthdays, baptisms, weddings, and fiestas. Hence, they command a higher price compared with other meats in the market.”

Goats require low maintenance because they eat tree leaves, grasses, weeds, and agricultural by-products. “Goats require less feed than cows and carabaos,” said Rowe Celeste, the livestock supervisor of the Mindanao Baptist Rural Life Center (MBRLC) Foundation, Inc. in Kinuskusan, Bansalan, Davao del Sur.

About 10 native goats can be fed on the feedstuffs sufficient for one cattle. And about 6-7 purebred dairy goats can be fed on the feedstuffs adequate for one dairy cow. “Although a goat is small, it can produce as much as four liters of milk a day if it is purebred and is given a ration to meet all of her nutritional requirements,” Celeste informed.

In a study conducted by a government agency, it was found that goats are multi-purpose ruminants producing 58.4% milk, 35.6% meat, and 4.3% hide, and 1.7% fiber. According to them, these small ruminants can provide the answer to improve nutritional requirements of the predominantly rural farm families scattered all over the archipelago.

As goat production requires low initial investment and small risks compared to other livestock, it is therefore an attractive undertaking among resource-poor families. In addition, women and children can raise the animals, making it a sound option to augment the country’s programs on livelihood. Goats provide livelihood to about 15 million Filipinos across the country, according to PCARRD.

Despite this, goat farming is still not very popular among Filipinos and no one exactly knows how many goats are there in the country. PCARRD claims that the total goat inventory is “steadily increasing” at 2% per year. This supply is still not enough to meet the current demands. “We expect that the increased demand will last to 2020 when the project supply can meet the demand of the consumers,” PCARRD said.

The optimum potential of goat as one of the main sources of milk and meat has not been fully tapped in the country. The Bureau of Agricultural Statistics of the Department of Agriculture reported that the total number of goats in the country is about 3,355,574. Most of the goat farms are concentrated in Southern Luzon and various parts of Mindanao.

In Mindanao, goat farming is considered a “sunshine industry.” The country’s second largest island has a large Muslim population and goat meat is considered Halal food. There is also a big demand in the international market, particularly the Middle East.

In Davao, more and more people are raising goats in their farms. Take the case of Darwin Tinasas, a young marine engineering graduate who decided to raise goats as his main business. lie does not only raise goats in his own farm, he also disperses breeders to farmers who would like to raise the ruminants.

Aside from providing him a steady income from the milk and sales of breeding stocks, he discovered one thing about the animals. “Their manure is a good source of fertilizer,” he said. His stock of about 300 goats provides organic fertilizer for his four farms in Davao City. He plants rice, and grows pummelo, coconuts, durian and other fruits on 30 hectares. The 34-year-old Tinasas noticed that more and more farmers - particularly fruit growers - started raising goats, not only in Davao City but also in their provinces. “Since fertilizer costs have gone up, more and more farmers are turning to goatraising,” he said.

Antonio Partoza, who had raised chickens and mixed chicken manure with commercial fertilizer, said raising goats is becoming more profitable. He has 85 goats on his 15-hectare and 10hectare farms in Davao City where he grows durian, passion and mangosteen fruits. “I must be saving about 30% of what I would spend if I used pure commercial fertilizer,” he said.

There are at least 12 known goat species but only a relatively small number of breeds are used economically. The Philippine or common goat is small but hardy. It weighs about 25 kilograms at maturity. Its average daily milk production is about 35o grams, with a butterfat content of around 4.6 percent. Its color range is either red or black or a combination of these colors.

The Dadiangas goat is common in Dadiangas (now known as General Santos City), South Cotabato. The breed is a mixture of native, Nubian and Jamnapari goats and some animals may even have some Alpine or Saanen blood. The milk production and butterfat content are marginally higher than native goats and they do best in the drier areas of the country.

Of the introduced breeds in the country, Anglo Nubian performs the best along with the newer introduced Boer goats. The dairy breeds such as the Saanen, Toggenburg and French Alpine perform relatively poorly.

“If you cannot secure purebred stock, you can start with the best female goats available in your area,” Celeste suggested. “Breed them with purebreds or upgraded stock. Then, select only their offspring and discard the undesirable ones (you can either sell them or butcher them for meat). Continue this procedure each year, and you will soon have desirable goat stocks.”

To start a profitable goat venture for backyard operation, you need the following production inputs: investment (goat house and breeding stocks), operating expenses (veterinary medicines, vaccines, concentrates and additional feed supplements).

For commercial or large-scale operation, the production inputs are aplenty. Fixed investment includes land, goat house, fences, pasture area, water pump, feeding trough, spade, wheelbarrow, and ropes. You have to buy breeding does and breeding bucks. Operating expenses include veterinary medicines, drugs, and vaccines; feed supplements and goat rations; and repair and maintenance of goat house, fences, equipment, and pasture. Fixed and seasonal labor is also required.

Goat is highly profitable, PCARRD said. With minimal initial capital investment of Php67,250 for 25-doe level; Php174,500 for 60-doe level; or PhP349,000 for 100-doe level, positive net income and return-on-investment (ROI) are realized, even as early as the first year. The ROI for five years is 67% from a 25-doe level operation under semi-confinement scheme and 60% from 50- and 100-doe level operations under pure confinement system. Payback period is two years.