Gokhale, S.B.*, D.R. Sonawane & R.S. Sharma
BAIF Central Research Station, Uruli Knachan Pune 412202, India
*Email of corresponding author: suresh.gokhale@vsnl.net
Introduction
Goat-rearing is an important livelihood activity among rural artisans in India. Consistent steady increase in goat population of the country indicates its relevance and importance among low income rural society looking towards goats as a means for sustainable living.
Although there are many goat breeds in different regions of the country, planning either at national or village level will need to be more organised to improve the goat-rearing industry for economic purposes. Paucity of information on the likings of goat-rearing community becomes limitation in planning for goat improvement programmes. Discussions with goatkeepers indicated that besides specific purpose of rearing goats, they also have preference for goats of certain body coat colour. An investigation therefore was undertaken to understand farmer preference regarding the purpose of rearing goats and choice of body coat colour.
Materials and Methods
The study was undertaken during 2007 in selected areas in 4 districts (Arrah, Buxar, Siwan and Gopalganj) of the state of Bihar in North-Eastern part of India. The study involved 2,499 goats belonging to 800 goat-rearing families. The number of families and goats based on district is presented in Table 1.
Table 1. Village clusters, families and goats in 4 districts of Bihar State, North-eastern India
District Number
Village Clusters Goat- Keepers Goats
Female Male Total
Arrah 8 316 444 259 703
Buxar 7 153 305 160 465
Gopalganj 6 165 333 332 665
Siwan 8 166 363 303 666
Total 29 800 1445 1054 2499
Goats in the rural villages are of different body coat colour like black, white, black and white, red, brown, spotted. The information regarding farmer-preference on coat colour was obtained by interviewing the goat keepers. The purpose of rearing goats was classified into: rearing for milk, meat and both (milk and meat) and body coat colour was grouped into:
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black, white and other categories (because of smaller number of goats of different and mixed colour).
The goat management at village level was by extensive grazing either by individuals or by groups of goatkeepers. The goats were kept in the open or in thatched sheds as night shelters. After winter, short or long distance migration to grazing grounds is a common practice. Natural breeding was practiced; the kids suckled their mothers and weaned at between three to four months of age. Vaccinations were carried out and veterinarians were occasionally consulted for health problems. The data collected were compiled and analysed using standard statistical procedures.
Results and Discussion
The mean number of farmers per village cluster was found to be 28, with a minimum of 20 in Siwan to maximum of 40 in Arrah district and the average number of goats per village cluster was 86; ranging from 66 in Buxar to 110 in Gopalganj district. The average flock size per goat keeper was 3.1 across all districts, ranging from 2.22 in Arrah to 4.03 in Buxar and Siwan districts. To know the purpose of goat keeping, 800 goat keepers were contacted, of which 773 keepers responded to their choice regarding the economic purpose for rearing goats. The opinion of goat keepers on the purpose of rearing goats is presented in Table 2.
Nearly two-third (62.87%) of goat-rearing community indicated their purpose for rearing goats was for meat, followed by dual purpose (milk and meat) (33.12%). Only 4% of the goat keepers kept goats for milk.
Table 2. Purpose of rearing goats, presented district-wise in Bihar State, North-Eastern India District
Purpose of rearing goats
Total Families
Milk Meat Both milk and meat
No. % No. % No. % No. %
Arrah 8 2.7 181 61.2 107 36.2 296 38.3
Buxar 7 4.7 90 60.0 56 37.3 150 19.4
Gopalganj 3 1.8 123 74.1 38 22.9 166 21.5
Siwan 13 8.1 92 57.1 55 34.2 161 20.8
Total 31 4.0 486 62.9 256 33.1 773 100
Nearly half (48%) of the goat-rearing community appeared to favour goats with black coat colour, 33.4% preferred white coat colour and 18.6% preferred goats of other coat colours. The farmer preference for body coat colour of their goats appeared to be specific. It was noted that approximate 75 goatkeepers preferred black goats for meat, 20.6% for dual purpose while only 4.3% for milk. In the case of goatkeepers preferring white coloured goats, the proportion of farmers keeping goat for meat and dual purpose was nearly same (49.03%
for meat, 47.11% for milk). The trend in the group of farmers preferring other body coat coloured goats was similar to those who prefer white coloured goats, except that more (56.55%) kept goats for meat.
Analysis of variance was carried out to study the effect of area (district), body coat colour and sex of kid on chest girth, height at withers, body length and estimated body weight of kids between 4 to 6 months of age. The results indicated that the body measurements were significantly different between districts. The choice of goat colour and rate of growth of male and female kids also differed significantly between districts.
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Based on the study it was concluded that rationale for planning and building of infrastructure for goat improvement programme in India should include consideration of farmer preferences.
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Proceedings of the 1st Asia Dairy Goat Conference, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 9–12 April 2012
Paper 42