Potential for using locally available meat goat breeds for milk production in Mauritius

摘要

This paper is the outcome of a long struggle to initiate a small herd of dairy goats in Mauritiusrnfor milk production to promote the health benefits of goat milk consumption and valuernaddition for goat cheese. This is view of diversifying current goat farming activities tornpromote smallholder backyard entrepreneurship, with focus on women farmers, to increasernrevenue and livelihood of farmers. Goat rearing for milk is a new concept in Mauritius andrnthere is increasing interests from farmers to embark in this activity. However, attempts tornintroduce dairy breeds have not been successful due to financial constraints as these breedsrnneed to be imported from Australia or Europe and are very expensive. This paper discussesrnthe avenues for the utilization of locally available meat breeds and crossbreeding usingrnartificial insemination (AI) for milk production to provide a new orientation to the goatrnfarming in view of further boosting the sector in Mauritius.