© 2012 -
Masaka is home to JOY Youth Training Centre, from which the JOY Goat Development
Programme grew. The current goat breeding project has grown out of a collaboration
with Vi Agroforestry (now Vi-
• Builds on the existing Vi-
• Other organisations such as World Vision, Send-
• The intervention of Vi in this hilly district means that there is already an understanding of integrating fodder supply with environmental protection.
• Local government in Masaka District have been keen on improving goat productivity within the district
• A large number of Boer goats have been introduced into the district, which in many cases has distracted farmers and led to confused breeding goals,
• Because Masaka has become known throughout Uganda as a source of breeding stock, this has diverted farmers from seeing goats as production animals, and thereby inhibited the selection process
• The introduction of dairy and Boer goats has been done with scant record keeping, so in many places the blood levels of the current goats are uncertain.
• Vi transferred the focus of their operations from Masaka to other districts before the Goat Development Programme was launched, so some fledging breeders groups floundered in the meantime.
• Proximity to the ‘cattle corridor’ has led to some cultural aversion to goats milk.