Strategies for enhancing goat improvement in India

Abstract

Goat production in India has huge impact on socio-economic factors, especially in disadvantageous regions and presents a complex tapestry of challenges and opportunities. There are 39 registered indigenous goat breeds which have immense production potential in given climate provided they get congenial environment. Their optimum potential has not yet expressed due to subsistence production systems and low inputs. While framing breeding strategy for goat improvement traits of local importance should not be ignored. Integrated efforts are required in terms of breeding/genetic improvement, management, health care, marketing and value addition infrastructure particularly to enhance small-scale goat production. Improvement objectives of a breed(s) in different region should be well defined along with breed based package of practices. Management interventions for different farming systems in different regions should be popularized among stakeholders to shift goat farming from extensive to semi-intensive system. Formation of goat breeder’s cooperative/ societies/ buck mother farm/multiplier flocks should be encouraged. Up gradation of non-descript goats should be implemented in big way. At least 2,000 goats of all threatened breeds should be properly tagged and be made part of in-situ conservation programme. Large number of farmers flocks should be involved in Selective breeding and grading up programs. Selective breeding may be implemented through nucleus schemes. State level milk federation may be involved in goat milk procurement along with forward and backward linkages. The involvement of educated and resourceful people in commercial goat farming would encourage to drive better adoption of technology, establishing quality germ-plasm centers and in creating marketing structure and processing unit through appropriate policy support and incentives. Farmer’s active participation right from data recording to policy making is very important for sustained genetic improvement and conservation of caprine resources.