The goat has traditionally been the saviour for many rural communities in India. Now, it is increasingly coming to the centre stage because of the many benefits goats milk is said to have. 

In many countries, if the mother of a newborn baby is unable to nurse her child, she is advised to feed the baby goat’s milk for its sustenance. Goats milk, which is cheap and easily available, is also said to have medicinal value.  

There is a considerable interest in goat rearing not just in rural areas but also in cities and towns, and it could well become an emerging and viable business option. Rearing goats is low maintenance, inexpensive and not that labour intensive. 

In the ever changing physical environment the world is witnessing, the goat could well be the animal of the future. 

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Gradually, separate outlets for goats’ milk are coming up in the country. Until recently, these units were not there and usually the goat’s milk was mixed with the cow or buffalo milk and sold. 

Having separate outlets for the goat milk has enabled goat rearers to get a better price for the milk, and has helped those who need the milk for health reasons to access it more easily. Because of the medicinal value of the goats milk, the demand to sell and buy the milk has gone up too. 

In some districts of Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Gujarat, goat milk is being bought and sold in significant quantities. Several private organisations, corporates, nonprofits and farmers’ producer organisations (FPOs) are engaged in the buying and selling of goats milk. They buy the milk from the goat herders and after processing it and packaging it, sell it. The businesses are still in their nascent stage, but it could take off in a big way. 

Madhya Pradesh has made progress in buying and selling goat’s milk. In the milk cooperatives of Indore and Jabalpur, the milk is sourced from rural and tribal communities who rear goats at anything upto Rs 70 a litre. The milk is processed, packed into 200 millilitre bottles and sold at Rs 30 a bottle. Ideally, other states should follow suit too. 

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Big brands such as Amul can make a huge change if they promote goat’s milk. And, if it became a profitable venture, this would lead to more people taking up goat breeding. 

So far, the goats were used only for their meat, skin and wool. With the sale of their milk, the breeders would earn considerable profits.  

Goat milk has calcium, iron and other vitamins and minerals. It also contains caproic, caprylic and capric and it has been proven that these aid in the treatment of ailments related to the heart, kidneys, gallbladder, and leucorrhoea in women. 

Goat milk is supposed to be good for the nervous system, regulates blood pressure, and strengthens the heart. It is claimed to be useful in increasing blood platelette count, aiding in digestion and making good magnesium-deficiency in the body.

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Increasing awareness about lifestyle diseases has also led to the increase in demand for goats milk because of its many benefits. It is said to be suitable for even those who are lactose-intolerant. 

The demand for pasteurised goats milk has gone up on account of the COVID-19 pandemic. Products such as milk powder, paneer, yoghurt, etc, are now appearing in the markets. There are also many skin care products that use goats milk as one of the ingredients in their manufacture. 

In many ways goat milk has proved to be more beneficial than cow’s milk. 

Satyendra Pal Singh is principal scientist at the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Shivpuri,Madhya Pradesh. Views are personal.  

Read the story in Hindi.