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Meat goats

Introduction

The unimpressive goat is, in reality, one of nature’s most useful animals. It can be used for meat, fibre, milk, skins and manure. Owing to its great adaptability it can survive almost anywhere in South Africa.

  • Goat milk is highly prized for its quality of being less prone to cause allergies in humans than cow’s milk.
  • Mohair is one of the rare noble fibres of the world.
  • The Boer goat’s meat contains less fat, fewer calories and higher levels of protein and iron than meat from beef, pork, lamb and chicken. It is often called “chevon”, and from young animals, “cabrito”.

This page looks at the meat aspect and the information that is common to all goat enterprises, whether they be meat, mohair or milk. See the separate pages that are more specific to mohair and goat milk.

International business environment

South Africa is a relatively minor role player when it comes to goats, possessing approximately 3% of Africa’s goat population and less than 1% of the world’s. China, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are the major goat producing countries. In Africa, Nigeria, Sudan and Kenya are where you will find most of the continent’s goats.

The developing world accounts for some 96% of the world’s goats. Developed countries are the dominant market for goat products though. Were production systems to be improved, this has the potential to become a major earner of foreign exchange for developing countries.

Further reference:

South Africa: exports and imports

Goats were included in a study undertaken by the Trade Research Advisory on the opportunities for various industries to grow and/or diversify their exports. Refer to article “Study highlights potential export markets for South African, SADC products” (May 2022) under the last heading.

TradeProbe 86 (August 2021) included the feature “South Africa’s goat industry and its prospects to supply local and international markets”.

In the 26 February 2019 briefing, Mr Mike Mlengana, then Director-General (DG) of the Department, said that Saudi Arabia wished to source one million goats per year from South Africa. DALRRD was working hard to ensure that this demand was met, was fully supporting the black commercialisation programme, and the black farmers involved had been identified. Find the Parliamentary Committee briefing at https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/27958/.

Find the “Marketing”, “International / Export” menu options on www.kalaharikid.co.za.

Local business environment

The Goat Market Value Chain Profile provides information on the local business environment. Find it on the Directorate Marketing web pages under the “Old website” option at www.dalrrd.gov.za.

The Eastern Cape (39%), Limpopo (17%) and KwaZulu-Natal (13%) are the largest goat producers, with nearly 70% of the total production (DALRRD, 2023).

Commercial farming is done with Boer goats and Angora goats. Small-scale producers mainly work with indigenous goats in a communal farming system.

The Boer goat, Savanna and Kalahari Red are currently recognised as commercial goat breeds for the production of meat and skins and small quantities of cashmere. Mohair is produced from Angora goats. Saanen, Toggenburg and Alpine goats are mainly kept for milk production. Gorno Altai goats produce cashmere. The several indigenous breeds are very well adapted to South African conditions, and seldom get foot rot. Some types are also resistant to Heartwater.

Almost all goats are marketed live. The marketing channels for live goats in South Africa are

  • Live animal auctions
  • Carcass auctions
  • Out-of-hand sales (buyers buy directly from producers)
  • Transactions by means of Liaison Services (agents who connect people but do not handle money in the process)
  • speculators

Goat’s meat has traditionally been consumed mainly by the Muslim and rural African sectors of the population.

Slaughtering of goats at abattoirs is recorded with sheep, so figures are difficult to gauge. Most goats are slaughtered on an informal basis and/or for traditional purposes (weddings and funerals). The commercial sector is responsible for less than one percent of the goats slaughtered in the country. The informal market of goats thus drives the South African goat industry.

It has long been a hope that Boer goat farming and exporting will attract thousands of black emerging and small-scale farmers. Local herds and breeding material have been too small to meet overseas demands.

Farming with goats

Find the Boer Goat Management option at www.boergoats.co.za and other useful resources under the “Websites and publications” heading.

National strategy and government contact

Goats have featured in various national and provincial government initiatives, be it national strategies like the old Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA) or provincial ones by bodies such as the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development or the Ntinga OR Tambo Development Agency. Watch the video of the uMsinga Goat Project in KwaZulu-Natal at www.kzndard.gov.za/umsinga-goat-project

Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) Directorate: Animal Production. Goat statistics can be found on www.dalrrd.gov.za.

 

Role players

 Companies

Note: Click to expand the headings below. To get a free listing on our website like the ones below, visit here for more information or place your order here. Disclaimer: The role player listings are not vetted by this website.

 
Kalahari Kid Corporation – www.kalaharikid.co.za It works with co-operatives and emerging farmers. Kalahari Kid Corporation also offers a training programme for emerging farmers wishing to specialise in goat production through the Kalahari Kid Training Programme, which is a SETAaccredited training programme in the Northern Cape.
North West Development Corporation – https://nwdc.co.za
Goats Unlimited – https://goatsunlimited.co.za
Embryo Plus – www.embryoplus.com Read about the Boer Goat and Kalahari Red under “Info” and then “Other” on the website.
 
 Representative Bodies
 Training, Consulting & Research Service Providers
 Community, NGO and NPO Service Providers
 

Further reference:

Agricultural Colleges, working closely with the Provincial Departments of Agriculture, offer courses on goat production. Examples include Cedara, Fort Cox and Glen College. Find contact details of all Agricultural Colleges on the “Agricultural education and training” page.

Websites and publications

Visit the websites listed earlier on this page e.g. www.boerboksa.co.za and www.boergoats.co.za.

  • Find the Indigenous Goat Production Handbook (Revised Edition) produced by Mdukatshani, Heifer International SA and the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development at www.iga-goatworld.com/uploads/6/1/6/2/6162024/indigenous_goat_handbook__revised_.pdf.
  • Smart, M. 2010. Goat Production Manual: A Practical Guide. Indiana: iUniverse. Available at www.researchgate.net/publication/308438829_Goat_Production_Manual_A_Practical_Guide
  • The latest annual Goat Market Value Chain Profile, compiled by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD), provides an excellent overview of goats in South Africa. Find this document under the Directorate Marketing web pages under the “Old website” option at www.dalrrd.gov.za.
  • The ARC and the National Department of Agriculture compiled a series of very informative Info Paks (booklets) that covers various aspects of sheep/smallstock: (i) “Breeding in sheep and goats” (ii) “Common & Important diseases of sheep and goats” (iii) “Feeding reproductive sheep and goats” (iv) “Feeding of sheep and goats” (v) “Goats vaccination programme” (vi) “How to estimate the age of goats and sheep“, and (vii) “Reproduction management of a sheep and goat farming enterprise”. Most of the Info Paks can be accessed at www.dalrrd.gov.za.
  • Goat Info Packs can also be accessed at the Grootfontein Agricultural Development Institute (GADI) website https://gadi.dalrrd.gov.za. The following breeds are covered: (i) Angora goat (ii) Boer goat (iii) British Alpine (iv) Indigenous veld goat combined (v) Kalahari Red (iv) Saanen (vii) Savannah and (viii) Toggenburg.
  • The Shepherd Manual by Dr JJ Olivier is part of a computer recording programme for sheep and goats. Read more at https://gadi.dalrrd.gov.za/software/shepherd/shepherd.php.
  • Call the ARC-AP – 012 672 9111 – for the following publications: (1) Commercialisation of indigenous goat production and products in South Africa (2) Goat management manual.
  • The Goatkeepers’ Animal Health Care Manual (ISBN-13 978-1-86849-352-4), edited by AF Vatta, MA Abbott, JF de Villiers, SA Gumede, LJS Harrison, RC Krecek, BA Letty, N Mapeyi, RA Pearson, is available in English, Afrikaans, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu and Tsonga. Contact the ARC-OVR at 012 529 9111 or the KZNDARD at 033 355 9100.
  • Ekarius, C. 1999. Small-scale Livestock Farming – a grass-based approach for health sustainability and profit. North Adams, USA: Storey Publishing.
  • Visit www.kejafa.com for the following: (1) Natural Goat Care (2) Raising Meat Goats (a comprehensive manual for profitable meat goat production) (3) Small stock management (4) A DVD on successful meat goat production.
  • A number of resources are available from Boergoats SA, which include: (1) Farming with Boer Goats – A practical guide for Southern African conditions by Johan Steyn. ISBN 978-0-620-46942-5. (2) A 30-minute DVD covering the management aspects of boer goat farming, detailing dipping, tagging, deworming, inoculating and the like (3) The Boergoat Production Management planner, record cards and handling facility layout plan (4) The website www.boergoats.co.za, which is very informative.
  • International Goat Association, www.iga-goatworld.com.
  • Livestock Research for Rural Development runs articles on goats frequently. See www.lrrd.org.
  • Monau P., Raphaka K., Zvinorova-Chimboza P. & Gondwe T. 2020. “Sustainable Utilization of Indigenous Goats in Southern Africa”. Diversity. Available at https://mdpi-res.com/d_attachment/diversity/diversity-12-00020/article_deploy/diversity-12-00020.pdf
  • Find the “Goats” option at https://wikifarmer.com.

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