© 2012 -
Indigenous goats are used primarily as meat animals. Where land is plentiful, large
herds are often kept, either on a ranch or open grazed on communal land. Where arable
farming predominates, the numbers of goats kept are lower, typically from 1 to 3
goats per household, and only 20 to 80% of households having any goats at all. In
this context the goats act as a savings bank -
In areas such as Mbarara where there are many cattle, the price of milk is low. In such areas, milk production and beef production give similar returns. Because milk is plentiful, most of the milk produced is sold to traders who take it to other areas, there is little opportunity for a farmer to sell it retail to neighbours.
The price of meat varies by no more than 20% across the whole of Uganda. This is because live animals can easily be transported from the areas where they are produced to areas where there are few. The retail price of fresh milk however, varies by at least a factor of 3. This is because the effective cost of transport is high due to the short shelf life of the product, and the risk of spoilage en route or the cost of refrigeration.
In areas where arable (crop) farming predominates or where cattle numbers have been
reduced by civil disturbance the price of milk is high -
Although the main focus in such areas should be on maximising milk production, it is possible to integrate milk and meat production to maximise profitability.
For certain uses, goats milk has an advantage over cows milk. In Kenya, where there
is more familiarity with goats milk, this means that both fresh and processed milk
can sell at a higher price than cows milk -