Farmers milk goats for profit as cost of keeping cows rises

Breeders are turning to goat keeping in large numbers attracted by manageable costs, better milk prices, and the growing market from the health-conscious.

Keeping grade cows has lost lustre due to the stagnating milk prices, delayed payments, high cost of feeds and veterinary services.
Goat milk fetches Sh70 per litre at the farm-gate compared to an average Sh25 for cow milk.

Supermarkets, homes for the elderly, orphanages, and hospitals offering specialised treatment provide market for goat milk.

While cows require special feeds and supplements, a grade goat can survive on local foliage, creating room for the small operators to enter the business.

“Given that the value of a dairy goat averages Sh4,000 and a dairy cow Sh80,000, farmers are opting for the easier option guaranteeing immediate returns at low costs,” said Simon Mwangi, the chairman of Summer-land Goat Milk Processing Project in Kiambu County.

Dairy goat breeders, he says, are benefiting from the health consciousness of Kenyans who, in the face of disease threats, have become more aware of “safe diet lifestyles.”

These consumers prefer goat milk because it has more calcium than cow milk and it takes 20 minutes to digest as opposed to two-to-three hours for cow milk.

“Further, goat milk has smaller fat globules than cow milk, which makes it ideal for people with milk-related allergies.

“Got milk has capric and caprylic acids that minimise the accumulation of cholesterol in the arteries and is recommended for gallstones patients,” Mr Mwangi said.

The Central Province chief Cooperatives officer, Mr Stephen Mwenje, dairy goats are gaining popularity “because goat milk is attracting good market prices.”

He said many farmers were seeking refuge in the sector emerging “the most growing cottage industry within the dairy sector.”

MPs are organising constituents to run projects to help in poverty alleviation. In Maragua, area MP Elias Mbau said 10 projects he initiated had enabled poor families to be self-reliant.

“What is drawing them back is lack of solid market structures. The only goat processing plant is situated in Ngewa region of Kiambu County and it is yet to establish collection points in Maragua,” he said.

“Dairy goats give birth to twins. The cost of veterinary services as well as feeding is minimal and farmers are making at least Sh50,000 with one grade breed within five months.”

The experienced train farmer groups and individuals at Sh200 per member of a team and Sh500 for a person.

Goats’ fertility cycle is between 18 and 21 days while a gestation period is 145 days. “We are liaising with farmers’ groups in Nyeri County who have since established marketing channels as well as pooling resources to establish a processing plant,” Mr Mbau says.

Laikipia East MP Mwangi Kiunjuri says the groups that have embraced the venture are returning profits but urged them to establish market structures and add value to gain more.

Limited market

“It is for the government to empower farmers to access certifications like the diamond mark of quality by Kenya Bureau of Standards, bar code and development of dairy goat policy,” he said.

The emerging sector will benefit fully once county governments are established, the MP said.

Dairy Goat Association of Kenya has in the past two years rotated 155 breeding bucks to parts of the country to avoid in-breeding in the last six months.

The association’s Nyeri County branch chairman, Mr Warui Mwangi, said the dairy goat project is gaining traction in the area.

“We are now straining to market goat milk since production is increasing daily. We have a ready market of 1,000 litres per day but farmers have the capacity to produce more than 5,000 litres daily,” he said.

The Nyeri organisation has over 16,000 members while the Meru Goat Breeders Association (MGBA) with a membership of 430 has a daily production capacity of 750 litres, but its ready market is for 75 litres only.

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