The Agriculture Ministry will distribute 70,000 goats among unemployed youth in the rural sector and for those who are interested in goat farming, Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said.
“At present goat farming is not done on a wide scale in our country, so goat meat and goat milk are imported from foreign countries. A high income can be obtained from goat skin and producing goat manure,”the Minister said. The amount proposed to be spent by the Agriculture Ministry for this project is Rs. 150 million this year.
In a discussion held with a group of officials including the Minister of State for Rural Development Kader Mastan under the Ministry of Agriculture, the Minister expressed his views regarding goat farming in our country.
There are many unemployed youth in the rural sector and to implement this programme in order to get additional sources of income, to provide them with high quality goats and technology required for goat management as well as to buy back products related to goat farming (Buy Back). Private sector support is also to be provided. Accordingly, by the end of this year, 70,000 goats will be provided, and the aim is to further increase the amount in 2024.
Also, a few districts with space for goat management will be selected first and this programme will be implemented among the youth in those districts first.
Goat farming can be done very easily in any district of our country. Several suitable goat breeds have been identified for this purpose. They are Jamanpari, Kottukachchi, Boer and Sanan. Agriculture sector officials point out that these species of goats can generate more income.
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