Goat Production in Central and Eastern Africa

Introduction Goats are a particularly valuable livestock species in developing countries because of their ability to utilize many types of forages and tolerate unfavorable climates. Goats play a vital role in the rural economy of many countries in central and eastern Africa (Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, DRC, Congo, Cameroon, CAR, Sudan, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Chad, Gabon, and Somalia). However, the contribution of goat to the people and economies of developing countries is obscured by several factors combining to give an underestimate of their true value. Most goats kept in developing countries are inaccurately estimated in number. Cattle are likely to be counted while goat number maybe most often approximated. Goat producers themselves are most often involved in informal market systems which lead to underestimation of goats’ contribution to the rural and national economy. Furthermore, goats are usually kept by poorer people that are accorded low status and low priority in national economy even if differences exist between countries. Lastly, their eating behavior (higher degree of feed selectivity and preference of young leaves versus old materials; shrubs and forbs versus grasses) attracted some people to wrongly accuse goat as environmental destructor and prejudice has been build up against them in some area of the world and little attention in terms of policy development and research has been paid to goats.