Who we are Goats for sale Partner with us Target breeds

© 2023 JOY Goat Development Programme

Main
pages

General Partnership Goat Purchase

Contact us

Related
pages

Breed KCG Breed KSG Breed KMG Where we are active Partnership request

Kabulya Smallholders’ Goat

The perfect goat for subsistence farmers

The target

Currently the ideal goats for smallholder farmers are 50% crosses. However, the typical milk production is only ½ litre (1 Tampeko, 500 ml) for household use. Our target is goats that can produce 1½ litres (3 Tampeko, 1500 ml) for household use .

Similarly, the 50% crosses are not as resistant to disease as local goats. In particular, they need to be dewormed and may be affected by heartwater. Our approach to selective breeding is designed to steadily improve the disease resistance of the breeding population.

At household level the breed needs to fulfil multiple requirements. One of those is to provide offspring for selling. So fast growth rate and a meaty conformation is important, especially in the males.

… more

Potential partners

We are looking for the following types of partner:

• Groups of smallholder farmers
  The Kabulya Smallholders’ Goat is aimed at subsistence arable farmers. (I.e. they mainly grow crops, but may keep one or two goats as well.) It would be ideal for the breed development to be carried out by those very farmers. However, it is too complicated for us to deal with individual farmers, and so we are looking for groups of farmers as our partners. In our core areas we can help you to get organised, but in other areas, we are looking for groups that already have a good level of organisation.
• CBOs and NGOs
  Especially in places outside our core areas, it is helpful if there is an organisation in place who can oversee the programme.
• Medium to large-scale farmers (ranchers)
  The Kabulya Smallholders’ goat does not require zero-grazing. That makes it useful for people who want to produce goats milk using a free-grazing system. It is also helpful for the purposes of selective breeding to have groups of animals managed under identical conditions - which is only possible if they are all kept on the same farm. We would therefore welcome partnership from individuals with large farms, or small groups of medium-scale farmers. The size of operation that would make partnership feasible depends where the farm is. There is more information on our Where we are active page.

Getting started

The foundation stock for developing the Kabulya Smallholders’ goat are low-grade crosses between dairy goats and local goats. But the chosen starting point will depend on the needs of the people involved. For instance, someone who is keeping goats on a ranch and wants to produce milk for selling may start with at least 50% crosses, and might push it up to 62% dairy ancestry. (The limit allowed in the breed rules.) Peri-urban smallholders with a good market for the milk might also favour 50% to 62% crosses.

Conversely, high in the Rwenzori Mountains, where it is difficult for veterinary officers or extension staff to reach, the main priority is disease resistance. In that case crosses of just 25% or 37% are the favoured starting point.

Choosing the most appropriate breeding plan is part of the advice that we are able to give to our partners.