There is not enough goat meat to satisfy the local market.

THE Zimbabwe goat sub-sector requires an investment of at least $1,2 billion in the next five years to satisfy the local market and export.
Goat Breeders Association of Zimbabwe president, Crispen Kadiramwando, told The Financial Gazette there was a serious shortage of goat meat in Zimbabwe and the association was embarking on a drive to promote commercial goat farming and the improvement of existing breeds.
“There is not enough goat meat to satisfy the local market,” Kadiramwando said in an interview.
“The three main supermarket chains —TM, OK and Spar — require at least 1 200 goats every week, not to mention all the other abattoirs and private butcheries in the country,” he said, adding that the bulk of the three million goats in Zimbabwe were owned by communal farmers, who did not keep them for commercial purposes. 
He said for the goat industry to produce enough meat for the country, an investment of $1,2 billion would be required over the next five years.
“Our target is for the goat industry to double in population by 2022 and for the size and the quality of the goats to improve,” Kadiramwando said.
“To meet this target, the industry needs an investment of at least $1,2 billion over the next five years which is spread into capital (goat injection through breeding stock and semen imports), infrastructure (pens, deep tanks, fencing paddocks etc), production management (dipping, tagging, castration, de-worming etc).”
He said he hoped this would be achieved through a multi-sectoral approach to resource mobilisation involving government, the private sector and non-governmental organisations that are involved in empowerment programmes for rural communities.
The government has already embarked on a command livestock programme, which also targets increased goat production.
Kadiramwando said if the goat population could be doubled while at the same time breeds improved, that could see a jump in terms of tonnage delivered to the market as some breeds yield more meat. He said while carcasses of most local goat breeds average 12 kg, other breeds weighed up to three times more.
“To reduce slaughter figures, we are promoting introduction of Boer and Kalahari Red goats for faster growth and bigger carcasses. 
“We would want to put the goat industry on top, but it does not just jump to the top… it has to follow certain steps. That is why we need to invest in the industry,” he said.
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