Strategies for the advancement of goat production in rural Mexico
Goats in Mexico have special importance for the economy of small farmers in regions in which brush vegetation is prevalent. Its main products are milk for cheese making, kids for slaughter and pelts. For these reasons, goat numbers have been increasing. The main production systems are: 1. Large flocks that travel to market, foraging on their way. 2. Medium size flocks which thrive with other species along roads, crop fields, or small ranges. 3. Flocks maintained in confinement on costly rations. The majority of goat owners are farmers which depend on the goat's ability to live on natural vegetation and do not follow specific improvement programs. Past efforts to improve goat production have been mostly oriented towards confinement systems, with little results since production costs are higher. The challenge is to improve the efficiency of goat production in a practical, low-cost approach oriented to the small farmers. In this work, the following procedure was used: analysis of environment, vegetation, types of animals, and producer resources. The purpose was to design practical measures for better utilization of available resources by the producers themselves. The approach was tested at Ejido Yerbabuena, Guanajuato, Mexico, with participation of Central de Servicios Campesinos, to organize groups of farmers, find their most important needs and to promote development by their own efforts. The first step was to characterize the actual production systems and to detect advantages and shortcomings. Available resources and productive activities were described such as corn, beans, alfalfa, wheat and vegetables under dry and irrigated land on 8 hectares per person for agriculture and 5 hectares of range for goat production
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Texto biblioteca |
| Language: | eng |
| Published: |
Scottsdale, AZ (EUA)
1982
|
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|