Goat Farming is Profitable
Posted by Unknown in Goat Farming, Philippines on Monday 13 May 2013
By Henrylito D. Tacio
Sun Star
GOAT farming is gaining ground in the Philippines.
"Goats are
very popular among Filipinos because they require low initial capital
investment, fit the smallhold farm conditions, and multiply fast,"
explained the Laguna-based Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry
and Natural Resources Research and Development (Pcarrd) in its
investment briefer.
"Culturally,
goats are integral to every special occasion such as birthdays,
baptisms, weddings, and fiestas," Pcarrd added. "Hence, they command a
higher price compared with other meats in the market."
Bryan Regencia
and his brother Harold think so, too. That was the reason why after
buying a 3.6-hectare land in Mati City in Davao Oriental, they decided
to raise goats in what they called as Sagana Farm.
Actually, it
all started as a hobby. When they were still young, the two of them love
having animals in their backyard. Bryan grew up and became an
information management graduate working in a prestigious company in
Cebu. Harold, who is two years younger than his brother, finished
nursing and worked in a government hospital.
Both were at
the peak of their careers when they decided to raise goats with support
from their parents, Fe and their late father Cyrus.
"It was the
passion for animals that drove us to go into farming," the two said. "It
was our utmost dream to have our yard full of farm animals like goats,
pigs, turkeys and chickens."
They started
with five native does and an upgraded buck of Nubian. "We intended to
raise goats for meat as there was a great demand at that time," Bryan
recalled.
Since the farm
they bought had already mangoes and coconuts, they adapted an integrated
farming system and plant more fruits like durian, lanzones, mangosteen,
and banana.
But farming is
easier said than done. Neophyte as they were in farming, the number of
goats dwindled to three. Based from that sad experience, both realized
they could do it on their own. So, they decided to seek help from
experts and experienced livestock farmers.
From them, the
two learned what the problems were why two of their goats died. For one,
it was due to poor nutrition as the animals were only fed with banana
leaves, cogon, and other indigenous grasses. For another, the goats were
tethered believing that was how meat goats are raised.
But despite
this setback, it didn't deter the two to stop what they had started. The
brothers bought more goats. They also improved their method of
management. They shifted to cut and carry method of feeding their goats;
they planted different varieties of legumes and grasses like flemingia,
indigofera, ipil-ipil, kakawate, tricanthera, malunggay and napier as
forage for their goats. They also dewormed their animals periodically
and provided them with supplemental vitamins and minerals.
Despite this,
the income they would realize didn't happen. In January 2011, the
brothers sold all their meat-type goats. They used the money as their
initial capital for their dairy goat project. They started with 10
purebred American Nubian does and one purebred buck.
While waiting
for the goats to arrive, Bryan sent his brother and farm helper to the
Mindanao Baptist Rural Life Center (MBRLC) in Barangay Kinuskusan in
Bansalan, Davao del Sur to undergo training in dairy goat management.
"I wanted them
to equip themselves with proper knowledge on how to handle and
management a dairy goat farm operation," Bryan said.
After a few
more months, they acquired an additional 10 heads, bringing their stock
to 20 females and one male. Offspring were produced and the stocks grew
to 47 heads, which they branded as the "Black Delight."
"With dairy
goats, you don't need a very big area and a large herd for it to be
sustainable," Bryan now realized. "You will not earn only from milk but
also from manure, culled meat and breeders."
