7 Shelanderkumar
7 Shelanderkumar
7 Shelanderkumar
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Agricultural Economics Research Review
Vol. 20 (Conference Issue) 2007 pp 503-520
Abstract
Introduction
Goats are among the main meat-producing animals in India, whose meat
(chevon) is one of the choicest meats and has huge domestic demand.
Besides meat, goats provide other products like milk, skin, fibre and manure.
Goats are important part of rural economy, particularly in the arid, semi-arid
and mountainous regions of the country. With more than 124 million population,
1
Senior Scientist (Agricultural Economics), Central Institute for Research on Goats,
Makhdoom, Mathura.
The author is grateful to the referee for his useful comments and suggestions on
the earlier draft of the paper.
The financial assistance from ICAR for its Ad-hoc research scheme ‘Commercializa-
tion of goat farming and marketing of goats in India ’ on which the paper is based,
is gratefully acknowledged.
504 Agricultural Economics Research Review Vol. 20 (Conf. Issue) 2007
goats account for more than 25 per cent of the total livestock in the country
and contribute Rs 1,06,335 million annually to the national economy. They
provide food and nutritional security to the millions of marginal and small
farmers and agricultural labourers. However, the productivity of goats under
the prevailing traditional production system is very low (Singh and Kumar,
2007). It is because they are maintained under the extensive system on
natural vegetation on degraded common grazing lands and tree lopping.
Even these degraded grazing resources are shrinking continuously. Moreover,
adoption of improved production technologies/ management practices in the
farmers’ flock is very low. Therefore, rearing of goats under intensive and
semi-intensive system using improved technologies for commercial production
has become imperative not only for realizing their full potential but also to
meet the increasing demand of chevon (goat meat) in the domestic as well
as international markets.
Of the total meat production, more than 70 per cent comes from cattle,
buffalo and pig and for that preference is limited due to socio-religious factors.
Therefore, burden lies on goat and sheep meats. Rising per capita income,
growing urbanization and unfolding globalization are boosting the demand
for high-value commodities including meat (Birthal and Joshi, 2006). Due to
these fast socio-economic changes in the recent past, a rapid shift has taken
place in the dietary habits in favour of non-vegetarian diet. As a result, the
demand for goat and sheep meats has swiftly increased and the domestic
market price for chevon/mutton has risen from Rs 60 per kg to Rs 130-160
per kg over a decade. Moreover, huge expected increase in the demand for
meat in developing countries (by 100%), especially in the East and South-
East Asia in the next 20 years presents an excellent opportunity for enhancing
export of live goat/sheep and their meat from India (Dalgado et al., 1999).
Responding to the market signals, the goat production system in India
has been slowly moving from extensive to intensive system of management
for commercial production. However, in the absence of any systematic
study, there have been questions from the entrepreneurs, progressive farmers
and even researchers on the economic viability and sustainability of
commercial goat farming under intensive system. No information was
available on the socio-economic aspects of commercial goat farming under
semi-intensive and intensive systems of production in the country. This study,
probably for the first time, was planned to address issues related to
commercialization of goat farming in the country and to evolve a suitable
policy framework for this otherwise neglected sector of the livestock
economy. The present paper has thus analyzed the status, economics and
prospects of commercialization of goat production in the country.
Kumar: Commercial Goat Farming in India 505
Methodology
The goat rearing using improved management practices undertaken for
maximization of returns from the enterprise was considered as ‘commercial
goat farming’ in the present context. This paper has used primary data
collected from the commercial goat farms spread in different states of the
country. No information was available on the commercial goat farms
operating in different parts of the country; however during the past one
decade, a number of such commercial farms have come into existence.
Therefore, initially, the efforts were made to identify commercial goat farms
operating in different states and develop rapport with them. Information on
the extent and process of commercialization, marketing and constraints was
solicited from all the identified farms through questionnaire mode. The
questionnaire responses could be collected from 61 commercial goat farmers
in 11 states of the country. Based on the preliminary analysis of data of
these 61 farms, an initial view on commercial goat farming in the country
was formed. Finally, 18 commercial goat farms from different states were
selected randomly for an in-depth study (Table 1).
operating in the past six years. All these commercial farmers were well
educated and had a good access to technical and market information. The
size of operational landholding of commercial farmers in all the categories
was found large, from 26.0 acres to 78.5 acres. The entry of large farmers,
who have better access to knowledge, resources and market, into this activity
would help in realizing the potential of goat enterprise. Interestingly, the
people having major income from business and salaried jobs (33 % of the
total farmers) had taken up commercial goat farming as their subsidiary
occupation. These people might be able to better arrange the required capital
and skills for semi-intensive and intensive systems of goat production.
The popular belief is that goats can be economically maintained only
under semi-intensive and extensive systems with a provision of grazing in
commons. However contrary to that, the goats were being successfully
reared under intensive system of management on 46 per cent of the
commercial goat farms. In the large category, all the farms were maintaining
their goats under intensive system. This finding would encourage the aspirant
commercial goat farmers who do not have access to grazing resources.
Traditionally rural people of higher social and economic status have shown
inhibitions in undertaking the goat keeping activity due to social stigma (Kumar,
2007). However, it was observed that caste was not a barrier in commercial
farming of goats now. Seventy-one per cent of the commercial goat farmers
belonged to the general caste. All the commercial goat farmers were
educated, with 50 per cent of them as postgraduates.
Osmanabadi
due to lower capacity utilization and in category III, it was due to heavy
investment on huge sheds and structures. An efficient unit of commercial
goat farming should not make very heavy investments on sheds and
structures. The total investment at current prices should be around Rs 3,500
per breeding goat.
Unlike traditional flocks, the expenditure on feed and fodder was the
major component of the cost of goat rearing on commercial farms and it
accounted for 59 per cent of the total variable cost. The concentrate feed
and dry fodder accounted for 58 per cent and 25 per cent of the total feed
cost, respectively (Table 5). Therefore, it was prudent on the part of farmers
to economize on the feed cost to enhance profitability.
Feed was observed highly scarce in Rajasthan, particularly during the
summer seasons it became very costly (Rs 4-5 per kg of dry fodder), making
the goat production under intensive system unsustainable. Therefore, under
such situations, it will be imperative to follow these steps; (i) Efforts to
Table 4. Pattern of capital investment on commercial goat farming unit
Category Capital investment (in lakh Rs) Investment
Value of Sheds and Equipments Total per adult got
animals structure investment Rs
I 0.649 0.967 0.229 1.845 5083
II 2.800 2.542 0.197 5.539 3419
III 21.000 21.000 1.250 43.250 6015
Pooled 3.630 3.720 0.33 7.68 4632
510 Agricultural Economics Research Review Vol. 20 (Conf. Issue) 2007
acquire low cost feed through efficient purchases, and (ii) Reduction in the
number of animals through pre-summer bulk sale of meat animals on Eid
and Holi festivals. The flock size may be further increased during the rainy
season. (iii) As the Sirohi breed of Rajasthan is in high demand in different
states for breeding purpose, the sale of pure breed animals at the age of 6-
7 months to the breeders (farmers) would be a way out to reduce the cost
of feeding in feed-scare regions like Rajasthan. The commercial goat farmers
had to make some expenditure on electricity, insurance, prophylaxis and
treatment of animals (Table 6). The expenditure on electricity on large farms
was quite high and needed to be economized. The average expenditure on
the above heads was estimated to be Rs 28,237 per farm and Rs 183 per
doe per annum.
Production of Kids
Kids born from the goats were the major output of the commercial goat
farms. There were mainly two kidding seasons: February-April and October-
November. However, some goats on few farms kidded in other months also
(Table 7). The kid mortality was estimated to range from 5.64 per cent in
category III to 12.28 per cent in category I. Thus, contrary to the popular
belief, the mortality rate in kids was negatively associated with the flock
size. This may be mainly due to better management, feeding and preventive
healthcare provided by the large farmers. The mortality rate in kids was
well under the permissible limits, except in three commercial farms, which
Table 6. Miscellaneous expenditure on commercial goat farms
(Rs/ annum)
Category Miscellaneous expenditure Total Expenditure,
Electricity Treatment Insurance Prophylaxis Rs/doe
I 960 1730 1250 744 4684 130
II 1983 3417 5500 5636 16536 102
III 100000 5000 50500 25600 181100 252
Pooled 12306 2656 8139 5136 28237 183
Table 7. Details of kids born and reared
Category Number of live kids Male kids for Value of kids at year end (Rs) Value of male Total value
February - October- Other fattening February - October- Other kids for Eid (Rs)
April Nov. months April Nov. months (Rs)
I 29.2 17.8 3.5 8.5 59620 13950 6200 29750 109520
II 107.8 47.1 10.8 0.00 269292 59983 21333 0.00 350608
III 215.5 333.0 78.5 100 646500 832500 170500 450000 2099500
Pooled 76.1 62.6 14.2 15.83 194719 120244 29500 66528 410992
Kumar: Commercial Goat Farming in India
511
512 Agricultural Economics Research Review Vol. 20 (Conf. Issue) 2007
were not able to spare sufficient time to look after their farms. Some
commercial farmers also reared male kids purchased from the market for
fattening and selling during the festival of Eid. Such special male goats
prepared for Eid fetched much higher price compared to the kids sold for
meat purpose. In inter-breed comparisons, the mortality rate was lower in
Sirohi and Osmanabadi than Barbari and Black Bengal. Based on empirical
evidences, it has been suggested that the medium and large sizes of goats
reared under intensive system for commercial production should attain more
than 25-kg body weight at the age of 6-7 months for achieving their full
economic potential (Singh, 2006). Therefore, the farmers need to make
efforts to further improve the weight gain of their animals through better
management and technological interventions.
for sale mainly to the goat farmers on live body basis. Those who were
raising meat goats, wanted to make available the weekly/fortnightly supply
of goats to the processors.
(Rs/ annum)
return/goat
Returns
Net
371
652
494
The gross returns from goat farming were
maximum from the sale of animals (90 per cent),
followed by manure and milk. The sale of milk,
which constituted about 25 per cent of the gross
returns/ farm
129540
260475
50155 returns on the traditional goat flocks, was only a
Net
117000
31400
Value
115460
383942
1888400
2354
2137
2527
1774925
Total
cost
50568
211552
1124332
cost
cost and disease losses per doe affected the net returns negatively. A
regression analysis was carried out to explain the relationship between the
annual net returns per doe and the factors affecting them (Table 11).
The annual losses due to diseases per doe and average price of goats
realized (Rs/kg live body weight) were the most important factors, which
influenced the annual net returns per doe on the commercial farms. The
relationship between losses due to diseases and the net returns from goats
was negative and highly significant, indicating the importance of disease
prevention for the sustainability of commercial goat production. This has
implications for improvement in the productivity and profitability of
commercial goat production, particularly in the short-run, through effective
adoption of disease prevention technologies. The average price of live goats
realized by the farmers influenced the net returns positively and significantly.
The reason for higher price realization by some farmers may be the effective
Kumar: Commercial Goat Farming in India 517
Table 11. Linear estimates of factors affecting the annual net returns per doe on
commercial farms
Explanatory variables Regression ‘t’ value
coefficient
Flock size (No. of does) -1.40 1.56
Annual losses due to diseases/ doe -2.04*** 5.15
Dummy for system of management -42.36 0.11
Dummy for training acquired 683.33 1.68
Average price of goats realized, Rs/kg live body weight 15.81* 1.78
Constant term -757.08
Coefficient of determination (R2) 0.79
*** Significant at 1 per cent level (< 0.01), * Significant at 10 per cent level (< 0.10)
marketing strategy and better quality of their animals (pure breed and good
health). The flock size was negatively associated with the net returns per
doe, indicating higher net returns on small farms. However, its regression
coefficient was not highly significant. The coefficient of dummy for system
of management was negative, but not significant. It demonstrated that the
system of management had no effect on net returns and the goats may be
profitably raised under both intensive as well as semi-intensive systems of
management. The regression coefficient of the dummy variable for training
acquired by the farmers, which reflected the level of technical knowledge
of the farmer, was positive. It indicated that those farmers who acquired
training on commercial goat farming could earn higher net returns per doe.
The analysis revealed that a majority of commercial goat farms were
operating with positive net returns with 39 per cent of them earning good
profit. Goat rearing as an enterprise was found equally rewarding under
both intensive and semi-intensive systems of management. Among the farms
under intensive system, 22 per cent were in loss, whereas among the farms
under semi-intensive system, 33 per cent were in loss. The commercial
goat farming under intensive and semi-intensive systems of management
may therefore be declared as profitable and promising enterprise. However,
the technological intervention, particularly prophylaxis, superior germ plasm,
low cost feeds and fodders and innovative marketing of the produce would
be the pre-conditions for successful commercial goat production.
sector and hence hardly any support system and the required infrastructure
are available for encouraging the commercial goat farming in the country.
There have been some efforts only by individual entrepreneurs to develop
this enterprise besides R&D efforts of Central Institute for Research on
Goats and a few NGOs. Of late, some state governments have started
making efforts towards promoting goat rearing. In this backdrop, the
commercial goat farmers do face a number of constraints, particularly during
the initial phases of the goat-farming project.
• In the absence of proper standards and specially-designed vehicles for
transporting the live goats, the officials in collision with police harass
the farmers under the pretence of welfare of the animals during
transportation of the breeding stock from long distances.
• High mortality in goats due to PPR, diarrhoea, pneumonia, tetanus, etc.
in the beginning of the project, was a major concern of the farmers. It
resulted even in closure of a number of farms in the beginning. High
mortality in goats in the initial phase was mainly due to lack of knowledge
about package of practices of improved goat farming, poor prophylaxis,
non-availability of vaccines, etc., poor preparedness of the farmers,
lack of personal attention of the entrepreneurs and poor access to
veterinary doctor with experience of small ruminants. High mortality
and poor growth in kids was a major constraints for 30 per cent farmers
in category I, and 50 per cent in category II.
• Due to lack of knowledge, 70 per cent farmers in category I had difficulty
in identifying pure breed animals. Difficulty in getting good quality
breeding animals was a major constraint. The best animals (particularly
males) from the traditional flocks were sold for slaughtering to traders/
butchers. That resulted in scarcity of good quality breeding animals.
The absence of organized efforts for breed improvement of goats has
been compounding this problem. Since large goat flocks of different
breeds under commercial production are only few, the entrepreneurs
had to select the breeding animals from the available traditional flocks
mostly through middlemen. Therefore it takes a long time to establish a
good flock.
• Non-availability of vaccines, especially PPR, was another major
constraint. Even the ET vaccine, which is being produced for decades,
was not available in time in many states, including U.P., Orissa,
Chhattisgarh and Bihar. Non-availability of veterinary doctor and limited
knowledge of available veterinarians about goats was a constraints in
categories I and II. However, large flock owners in category III could
hire a specialized veterinarian. The low cost complete feed was not
Kumar: Commercial Goat Farming in India 519
Implications
• Goat rearing, which was the economic activity of rural resource-poor
people has attracted large and progressive farmers, businessman and
industrialists due to its economic viability under intensive as well as
semi-intensive systems of management for commercial production. The
entry of resource-rich people, including poultry farmers, who have better
access to technical knowledge, resources and markets, into this activity
would help in realizing the potential of this enterprise. It would also
encourage the aspirant commercial goat farmers who do not have access
to grazing resources.
• The lack of good quality breeding stock being a major constraint in
commercialization of goat production, the farms managed on scientific
lines should be encouraged to become the centres of production of
superior quality breeding animals.
• Considering good economic potential in commercial goat production,
some large industrial houses such as Hind Agro Industries (a major
meat exporter of the country) are entering into goat farming business,
especially for the export market. The big poultry farmers from Haryana,
Punjab, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra have also successfully
started diversifying their business towards commercial goat farming.
However, for availing the benefits of lucrative export market, food
safety standards will have to be developed.
520 Agricultural Economics Research Review Vol. 20 (Conf. Issue) 2007
• The commercial goat farmers can earn best profit by producing and
marketing pure breed goats and festive sale during Eid. In the long-
run, vertical and horizontal integrations would have to be evolved for
achieving sustainability of commercial goat production and remaining
competitive in the global market. Service centres will have to be
established to provide technical knowledge, recommended inputs and
market information. Small size modern slaughterhouses need to be
established near the production centres (possibly in each development
block) to maintain commercialization of goat production. The private
sector may be encouraged to create such infrastructures through
appropriate policy support and incentives. This would enable the farmers
to enhance their productivity and reduce cost of their production
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