Surinder Sud: Promise for the poor man's cow

FARM VIEW

The much-maligned goat is again attracting the attention of livestock farmers and animal scientists. With the controversy over its role in vegetation destruction having been resolved in the goat's favour, livestock entrepreneurs are evincing interest in setting up commercial goat farms.

Scientists, on the other hand, are trying to decipher the goat genome to arm themselves with a powerful technology to improve the commercial traits of this multi-utility animal.

The objective of the research on the goat genome is to not only improve the goat's commercial potential, but also make gene-based technology useful for people who depend on goats for their livelihood and nutrition.

Over half of India's rural households are either landless or marginal landholders who have not benefited much from the Green Revolution. Livestock rearing is the mainstay of their livelihood. The poorest among them depend more on smaller animals, like the goat, which is within their means to own and maintain.

Indian scientists' progress on mapping the goat genome was reviewed recently at a seminar at the Makhdoom (Mathura)-based Central Institute for Research on Goats (CIRG).

Although India lags many other developing countries in this field, it has some major projects underway to study the genetic structure of important Indian goat breeds.

Once the desired genes are identified, it will be possible for scientists to create made-to-order goats giving the desired quality and quantity of milk, meat, fur, skin or other items of commercial importance.

Besides, it will enable them to improve the goat's capacity to thrive under harsh conditions and grow faster with less feed intake. Some successes have already been achieved in evolving goat-based vaccines. The CIRG is also going ahead in this direction.

It was in the 1970s and 1980s that environmentalists began campaigning against goats, describing them as enemies of green cover. Their main target of the attack was the eating habit of goats. Unlike other livestock species, goats nibble at the growing tips of plants. This was presumed to destroy vegetation.

However, it was only after stout defence from goat lovers and, more so, the report of the Hanumantha Rao committee (1986) that exonerated the goat of this charge. And then slowly the attitude of the environmentalists towards this poor man's cow began to change.

Subsequent research has shown that instead of stunting the plant growth by eating the growing tips, goats actually boost plant growth. The saliva of goats left on plant shoots facilitates quicker and greater resurgence of new leaves.

Besides, the seeds of grasses, shrubs and other vegetation eaten by goats do not generally lose their ability to germinate on being excreted in the droppings. As a result, goats actually end up dispersing these seeds widely, and spreading the green cover.

However, some disquieting trends in the population dynamics of goat persist. Globally, the goat population has increased by some 40 per cent in the past 20 years. But it is not so in India.

The annual growth in goat population, which was over 3 per cent between 1950 and the early 1980s, has dropped to below 1 per cent in the second half of the 1990s. Indeed, some established Indian goat breeds are now facing extinction. The shortage of grazing lands and loss of habitat has made the matters worse.

The list of endangered breeds, include Jamunapari, Beetal, Barbri, Suriti, Jakhrana and some others. The loss of such breeds would constitute a serious blow to the available genetic diversity among goats. This has made the use of biotechnology all the more important for both the improvement and preservation of goats. Fortunately, scientists have realised this and are working in this direction.

Significantly, the growing entrepreneurial interest in commercial goat farming is also viewed as a positive trend. The CIRG, which conducts two 10-day practical courses on commercial goat rearing every year, receives 300 to 400 queries annually for these courses. Besides, over 500 people actually engaged in goat farming visit the institute every year to seek knowledge on various aspects of goat production.

In recent years, over 100 new commercial goat farms have been set up in different states by the entrepreneurs trained by this institute.

According to CIRG experts, a 1000-square metre commercial goat farm with 100 animals can provide a net income (after deducting the costs, including insurance premium and interest on fixed costs) of Rs 1.5 lakh a year.

Considering that the investment required for such a venture is only between Rs 2.3 lakh and Rs 3 lakh, the returns work out to nearly 50 per cent of investment, making it a lucrative business proposition.