Zambia Agribusiness Society

For producers to benefit from the growing national and international demand for live goats and goat products, it is essential to have healthy flocks. Dr Alan Rowe, chief state veterinarian for the Harry Gwala District Municipality, shares tips on goat health management. The profitability of a goat enterprise depends largely on the animals’ health and productivity. It is crucial, therefore, that a goat farmer has the skills to identify an animal in poor health, diagnose the illness and treat it, or obtain assistance from other knowledgeable goat farmers, state animal health officials or private vets. The key is to act swiftly. “While the advice that follows can be helpful, the diagnoses and treatment policies are not carved in stone. They need to be tested and adapted where necessary because of the varying goat production conditions across the country,” cautions Dr Alan Rowe, chief state veterinarian for the Harry Gwala District Municipality. Prevention is always better than cure, and i

Technology has become a dominant part of our everyday lives and our food production system is no exception. Accordingly, since the turn of the 20 th century, the standard approach to production has shifted from extensive production to intensive production as businesses have opted to replace natural services with technology. In this respect, intensive livestock production systems  use higher amounts of labour and physical capital [e.g. machines] relative to the land area where production takes place. The physical capital and human labour aim to replace the need for free space, grazing area, and natural sources of water. To replace natural inputs with technological alternatives, it is necessary to rely on inputs produced thousands of kilometres/miles away – a factor that maintains agricultural dependency on fossil fuels. Animal feeding operations [AFOs] and concentrated animal feeding operations [CAFOs]   are the most notorious examples of intensive livestock production systems. W