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Lumbidzani Dima, Chronicle Reporter

VILLAGERS in Matobo have ventured into a goat breeding project to help increase goat production and breed variety in the district.

The goat breeding practice was introduced to them by the Zimbabwe Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Services (ZAKIS), Agritex and veterinary services in May last year.

Matobo Agricultural Centre of Excellence, which seeks to equip farmers with practical knowledge, allocated the villagers a place to keep their goats.

The villagers’ representative Ms Zibonele Ncube told directors from the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement during a tour of the centre last Thursday that they started the project in May last year.

They are currently rearing the Boer and Kalahari breeds, which have good traits suitable for the Matabeleland South climate.

“Currently, we have two breeds, the Kalahari and the Boer goat.

These two breeds have given us a reason to continue trying by all means to increase their numbers because they have good traits,” said Ms Ncube.

“The Kalahari goats are very active.

They can survive in the harshest conditions and easily adapt to any given environment.

The Kalahari goats are usually resistant to diseases and parasites, and require less care than other goat breeds.

Whereas the Boer goats are good for both meat and milk production.

They also have high fertility rates compared to other breeds and grow fast,” she said.

According to experts, a mature Boer buck (male) weighs between 110kgs to 135kgs, while a mature Boer doe (female) weighs about 90kgs to 100kgs. 

Ms Ncube said they bought the goats and started the breeding process which helped increase their flock.

They also allow villagers to bring their goats for mating at an affordable cost.

“People from around the villages or anywhere bring their goats here and we charge R80 per goat for mating, whereas our members pay R50.

We use this money to buy feed and pay the caretaker we hired,” she said.

A goat brought for mating stays for 42-45 days and Ms Ncube emphasised that a healthy goat would not fail to fall pregnant during this period.

“As long as the goat is healthy it will get pregnant.

We started on May 13, 2021 by taking in eight goats for the 42-45 days of mating and a total of 23 goats so far have gotten pregnant right here.”

Ms Ncube said they also keep chickens, which they will sell to generate income which they use to buy more goats and feed.

She said they grow fodder at the centre, but sometimes use commercial feed, while Agritex helps them by donating feed to them. 

She appreciated the lessons they got from the Matobo Agricultural Centre of Excellence through ZAKIS and the Veterinary services.

“Farmers and the vet services taught us how we can manage this whole project, how we can deal with the mating, the mating seasons and how to increase sustainability,” said Ms Ncube.

The centre offered them goat dipping services which are used by all villagers at R10 per kraal.

Ms Ncube said they now wanted to breed the Matabele goat breed at the centre to help preserve the indigenous breed.

ZAKIS head of projects, Mr Kumbirai Nhongo, said they fully support the goat-mating project, which they believe will become popular and generate more income for rural farmers.