Strategy for goat farming in the 21st century

The objective of this paper is to contribute to progress in the choices of strategies for further development of goat farming in the 21st century. During the last 20 years, the number of goats around the world increased (by about 60%) not only in the countries with low income (75%) but also in those with high (20%) or intermediate (25%) income. This situation is due to the capacity for adaptation by goats to very different environments, to the development of goat farming in developing countries where subsistence farming, barter economy and community culture are important, and where the market economy is relatively limited, and to the ecological image of goat farming and products in developed countries. Goat farming is in a good position to pursue its development in the 21st century, if a satisfactory policy is applied tactfully. For that, the factors explaining goat farming success during the end of the 20th century must be maintained and developed as the social aspects of goat farming in developing and developed countries, particularly in land management and the sociological integration into an economically sustainable life. Moreover we have to improve or maintain the good image of goat products. The two main improvements to bring into goat farming in the 21st century concern research organisations, which must encounter the needs of goat farmers and be well adapted to different production systems in order to lower the research deficit in the goat sector, and investments for better supplies particularly to the poor goat farmers. © 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved