Evaluation of the Socio-economic Status of Farmers and their Goat Breeding Practices in Different Districts of Bangladesh

Abstract

The study explored the socio-economic characteristics of goat farmers and their breeding practices across different districts of Bangladesh. A total of 417 farmers rearing Black Bengal goat were surveyed in eight goat-dense districts, including Chuadanga, Meherpur, Jashore, Kushtia, Rajshahi, Bhaluka, Muktagacha, and Naikhongchhari. Survey results indicated that majority of the farmers were middle-aged (47.96%), illiterate (53.48%) and depended mainly on agriculture (44.12%) for their livelihood. Most farmers in the surveyed regions maintained small (0–5 goats; 49.16%) or medium-sized (6–25 goats; 47%) flocks and predominantly practiced a semi-intensive management system. The combined data indicated an overall buck-to-doe ratio of 1:29. Natural breeding was predominantly practiced (99.04%), whereas artificial insemination was adopted by only 0.96% of farmers. Approximately 95.92% of farmers depended on breeding bucks from neighboring farms, and 61.39% responded to estrus within 24 hours. A larger proportion of farmers paid more than 100 BDT per breeding service. The average repeat heat rate was 38.37%. The most frequently reported categories for age of doe at first service, weight of doe at first service, kidding interval, litter size and birth weight of kid were found as 9-12 months, less than 10 kg, 6 months, 2 and 1.0-1.5 kg, respectively. These results demonstrate that goat husbandry is a crucial socio-economic asset across the surveyed areas. The productivity of goat remains constrained by traditional breeding practices and high repeat heat rates, highlighting a critical window for policy interventions aimed at improving scientific and structured breeding strategies for the future sustainability and development.

SAARC J. Agric., 24(1): 113-125 (2026)