Ninh Thuan (VNS/VNA) - Ninh Thuan, the largest goat breedinglocality in Vietnam, is expanding its herds as they offer farmers high incomesand it has natural advantages in raising the animals.

Ngo Ty, who breeds goats in Thuan Nam district’s Phuoc Dinh commune,said he used to farm cows and sheep but finally decided to switch to goatsbecause this requires little investment and the animals require less care andget few diseases.

Ty let his goats graze on a hill near home, releasing them inthe morning and herding them back home in the late afternoon.

In the beginning he had 10 goats and the number had increasedto 60 now, he said.

Earlier this month he sold five goats for meat and earnednearly 20 million VND (860 USD), he said.

Traders buy goats at 100,000-130,000 VND (4-6 USD) akilogramme for meat and 140,000-160,000 VND (6-7 USD) for breeding purposes.

Females can give birth twice a year, each time delivering twoor three kids. Kids reach a weight of 25-30kg in six to eight months and canthen be sold, according to farmers.

Many farmers also raise goats exclusively in sheds withoutletting them out to graze, and this method reduces the period of raising themfor meat to between four and six months.

The south-central province has 138,000 head of goats,according to its Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Its dry and hot weather is suitable for raising bovids,especially goats.

They are mostly allowed to graze naturally on hills andpastures.

Goats are one of the province’s 12 ‘specific products’.

The National Office of Intellectual Property granted atrademark for Ninh Thuan goats in 2017.

In recent years provincial authorities have been teachingfarmers effective goat breeding models.

In Bac Ai district’s Phuoc Trung commune, for instance, thecommune farmers association has set up a group with 12 members who raisefemales for producing kids.

The association helps the members by teaching them breedingtechniques and providing market information.

Dao Van Nho, head of the group, said members have an interestin breeding goats and so exchange experiences and help each other with breedingtechniques and disease prevention efforts.

“So the group is very efficient.”

The members have 159 kids.

To improve the quality of goats, province authorities havetightened food safety management and use electronic stamps to trace the originof goat meat.  

The province will continue to help farmers expand efficientgoat farming models and teach them breeding techniques, according to thedepartment./.