Improved household income

Commercialisation

To make the income more reliable, more organised marketing is required.

For milk, around 500 small-scale farmers must cooperate to pool their milk via a dairy, as has been done through FARM-Africa in Kenya.

Cooperation can also help in marketing goats for meat.

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Meat

Once there are sufficient improved breeds available, the majority of kids born will be destined for the meat market.

Dairy goats are fast-growing, thin. However, if the females are mated to meat males, the kids are excellent for meat production. This lump-sum income for school fees, medical bills etc., and is an important part of the economics of goat keeping.

Breeding stock

Breeding stock, can be sold well above the market rate of goats for slaughter. This is giving many keepers of Boer or dairy goats a good income.

As the numbers of improved goats in Uganda increases, it will be necessary for breeders to improve their record keeping in order keep up with an increasingly sophisticated market.

Milk

Even if only fed on greenstuff, a good dairy goat can produce 2 litres of milk a day. Even for goats producing only 1 litre a day, it is common for the farmers to keep half for household consumption and sell half to a neighbour - often for feeding a baby. This provides a valuable regular income.