With South Africa’s goat industry being largely based in the informal sector, stakeholders such as the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) are increasing efforts to commercialise the goat meat value chain and incorporate it into the mainstream economy.

The local goat industry is largely underdeveloped, with most of the goats being marketed through live animal sales. Only 0.5% of the country’s estimated seven-million flock is slaughtered through formal abattoirs and less than 0.5% is used for the rest of the value chain – for milk, cheese and hide products.

This while local demand for goat meat is often met through imports from Namibia.

ARC animals and biotechnology acting manager Dr Andrew Magadlela says it is paradoxical that the unmet demand of the formal sector is in part owing to the short supply from the commercial goat sector and the inability of the informal sector to fill in the market share of the demand despite large ownership of goats.

He cites some of the reasons for the undersupply of goat meat in the formal market as being reluctance by retail stores to stock goat meat citing inadequate and inconsistent supply of goats and the lucrative informal market that exists for live goats – which far exceeds prices for goat meat.

The goat market thrives in the informal sector owing to cultural practices at specific times in the year, but there is limited general consumer knowledge about goat products.

There are an estimated one-billion goats in the world, of which 51% are produced in Asia, 43% in Africa, 2% in South America and 4% in other countries.

Goat Agribusiness Project of KwaZulu-Natal head Rauri Alcock estimates South Africa has about seven-million meat goats, of which three-million are exported or sold locally every year. He explains that three-million goats are worth about R7.5-billion.

According to Statistics South Africa, South Africa has more than 514 000 goat farmers.

Alcock further estimates that 9 122 African farmers are actively commercialising their goat herds in Africa, which provides jobs and food security for many regions. Alcock adds that 90% of all agricultural production of goats is derived from smallholder farms on the continent.

National Agricultural Marketing Council agriculture economist Matobane Mpyana estimates there are 38-million goats in the Southern African Development Community, with Namibia, Lesotho and Botswana being leading producers.

He believes there to be 7.8-million goats in South Africa, of which seven-million are meat goats and 830 000 are farmed for mohair.

Typical goat breeds in South Africa are indigenous veld goats, boer goats, Kalahari reds and Tankwa goats; however, extensive instances of inbreeding at the moment lead to losses of genetic material.

Alcock says with goat meat being the leanest of the red meats and costing the same to produce as sheep meat, the industry holds massive opportunities for commercialisation and standardisation, as a formal contributor to the agriculture sector and the economy.

A herd of 220 goats can produce 200 kids a year, for example, which can sell for R300 000. However, free-range goats are often limited to 120 per herd owing to competition among the goats for foraging.

The ARC agrees, saying the industry is limited by its lack of animal recording, almost no formalised biosecurity measures, lack of knowledge about health and commercialisation, as well as limited production systems.

With more intervention from government, nonprofit organisations and the private sector, the national goad herd could increase in size and become more productive, which could lower the amount of live goat imports from Namibia – which is about 150 000 every year.

Moreover, if goats were increasingly sourced locally, the goat price could decrease down to R900 a goat. 

KEY BENEFITS

The stakeholders agree that improved goat productivity through good quality breeding stock and an effective supply chain for goat meat and products can stimulate the economy and create many jobs, as well as contribute to food security in the country.

Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries animal improvement registrar Joel Mamabolo says farmers with existing goat flocks can unlock more economic value from this asset beyond live goat selling for cultural ceremonies, which is often where demand for goats stems from. 

He adds that goats typically have high tolerance to heat and stress, while they contribute to the preservation of ecosystems by improving soil health and consuming undesirable weed vegetation.

Mpyana agrees that goats provide multiple products for consumption, serve as a source of income for rural households, have high productivity rates even under harsh environmental conditions and have short reproductive cycles. He adds that goats are relatively less expensive to feed than most other livestock.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Some of research and development institution Ekim Wildlife CEO Mike Gcabo’s proposed interventions to improve commercialisation in the goat industry are to establish a goat breeding centre in Irene as an experimental station to supply good genetics to farmers, as well as to identify pilot goat production sites in different communities in KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and Limpopo.

The council also deems it necessary to develop standard operating procedures for breeding and production in accordance with market specification.

In terms of aggregation, the ARC and Gcabo suggest the establishment of new formal aggregation centres for the sorting and health inspection of goats destined for slaughter, with standard operating procedures also needing to be developed for sorting and health inspection.

Given the small percentage of goats that are slaughtered, the ARC recommends that fixed and mobile slaughter and processing centres be set up to aid farmers, as well as that a goat meat classification and grading system be developed.

Ultimately, the ARC says greater promotion of goat meat and dairy in partnership with retailers and restaurants will be necessary to stimulate demand and awareness.

Mamabolo believes a good starting point to be more accurate information regarding animal identification, phenotypic classification, performance recording and breed characteristics, before more reproductive biotechnologies and genomics can be improved.

He adds that any programmes targeting the goat sector must bear practical breeding programmes and area-specific challenges in mind, since villages with goat flocks are often under-resourced and unable to undertake data recording.

Mpyana suggests more State support in the form of goat-specific aids such as dip tanks and the roll-out of veterinary services in remote areas.

He also suggests that government allocate more grants and subsidies to assist goat farmers in the acquisition of quality breeding stock and infrastructure, as well as that financial institutions provide low interest credit and insurance options tailored to the needs of goat farmers.

Mpyana says a national traceability system should help solve for the lacking information on the national herd and early warnings of disease outbreaks.