Forum pushes for a competitive goat marketing system

Picking up from a renewed interest in goats, PCARRD and the Livestock Development Council (LDC) of the Department of Agriculture (DA) recently held a forum on the “Competitiveness of goat marketing system in the Philippines.”

With backyard farms keeping 99.30% of the total goat population in the country, support from all sectors was seen as the key to improving the goat industry’s marketability.

The forum also identified the need for the marketing system to be “forward-looking, employing up-to-date strategies such as e-marketing through the Internet.”

Moreover, to standardize the marketing system, some proponents spoke of putting in place a breed registry to curb the lack of accredited breeder farms.

Participants also saw the need for good goat genetics, which government could help smallholders acquire at affordable prices.

The need to establish centralized halal slaughterhouses and processing centers as well as triple-A slaughterhouses was put forward to address export market requirements.

In the end, even with problems such as seasonality of demand, low price of goats at the farm level, high cost of feeds, unavailable veterinary services, lack of capital and high interest rates on loans, and minimal profit due to high taxes and business permits, the forum highlighted the goat industry’s economic potential. (Maria Estela H. Facundo and Edwin C. Villar, S&T Media Service)