Goat Milk is a Solution for the Socio-Economic Wellbeing of Rural Guatemala

By Young W. Park, Ph. D., F2F Volunteer

While sometimes overlooked, goat milk can be an important source of essential nutrients and animal-based proteins for the people of developing countries. During the last four decades, the reputation of the dairy goat has been changing and is now has become a vital member of the world dairy industry. The FAO statistics (2001) have shown that goat milk makes up 55% of all milk consumed in Bangladesh, 51% in Somalia, 24% in Iran, and 16% in Sudan, demonstrating the significance and nutritional value that goat milk has for emerging economies. The world statistics of goat milk production also shows a 62% increase from 1993 to 2013 or from 11 to 18 million metric tons, with France, Spain, Turkey and Greece leading in tonnage in that order. To my knowledge, there has been no comprehensive statistics on how much goat milk has been produced or how many small dairy goat producers are currently working in Guatemala.

Currently in Guatemala, there is a series of interlinking challenges facing the dairy goat industry. These obstacles include 1) an apparent gap of trained personnel for manufacturing dairy goat products, 2) lack of dairy goat production and management systems, 3) very limited processing facilities and equipment available as well as a 4) lack of financial support for communities engaged in dairy goat production. Then why produce goat milk in Guatemala? While dairy cows are still number one in terms of global milk production for human consumption, dairy cows can be difficult and expensive to rise in the topography of mountainous countries. Guatemala is a good example of a mostly mountainous country with a clear lack of feed resources and pastoral lands for raising dairy cows. Goat farming, on the other hand, has a distinct advantage in areas with harsher climates, steep mountainous terrain and high altitude. As such, Guatemala’s mountainous regions are much more adaptable for dairy goat production.

Moreover, as goat meat and goat milk have become more popularly consumed in the more affluent nations of the world, the global demand for goat farming has also increased substantially. This can prove to be a good opportunity for rural Guatemalans to engage in dairy goat production. After all, goats have a superior growth rate in numbers compared to other milk producing domestic animals, especially in the developing countries with large population increases and high rates of undernutrition and malnutrition. Not to mention that if the right set of intensive management systems are practiced, goat farming can be profitable in most countries.

In the case of Guatemala, there are three main reasons why more dairy goat operations should be considered: (1) Goats are more adaptable to the local climate conditions and terrain than any other domestic milk producing mammal, (2) Goats are easier and cheaper to be kept than any other domestic milk producing dairy species, and (3) Goats’ milk has superior nutritional and health advantages compared to the milk of other domestic milk producing mammals.

For my Farmer-to-Farmer assignment I was entrusted to develop and lead hands-on-trainings for smallholder dairy goat producers, university students and faculty, as well as professionals, staffs and technicians associated with the Save the Children/ Centro de Producción Caprina del Altiplano (CEPROCAL) program. In particular, my volunteer assignment focused on improving the capacity of these groups on how to 1) adequately process goat milk, 2) manufacture goat cheese, as well as 3) adapt basic dairy technology for smallholder dairy goat farmers. Overall, these trainings had two main goals in mind. The first would be to build a strong foundation for the community-based dairy goat industry that is taking root in Guatemala. The second objective would be to enhance a viable, profitable, sustainable and replicable dairy goat enterprise model in the country. Given the existing lack of a comprehensive dairy goat sector/industry in Guatemala, I am hopeful that this assignment will provide some of these communities and enterprises with the knowledge and skills they need to scale their current operations.

Overall, there were two key accomplishments that were achieved during this Farmer-to-Farmer assignment. The first achievement included leading a cheese-making seminar with smallholder dairy goat farmers at the CEPROCAL facility in Nebaj. While these farmers had no previous formal training in cheese-making, they are now they now able to produce various goat cheeses with little to no access to equipment and/or processing facilities. If organized effectively, the local dairy goat owners have the potential to start manufacturing goat cheese and selling their products across local and national markets. This process, in turn, will allow them the chance to boost/diversify their incomes and help improve the nutrition of local communities. The second of these accomplishments was related to the lectures and trainings I led on the economic and nutritional benefits of goat milk products. In total, 186 participants took part of these interactive lectures and trainings. While these trainings were especially valuable for the small dairy goat producers in Nebaj, they were also beneficial for the numerous Save the Children nutritional technicians, Guatemala government officials, USAID representatives as well as professors and students Universidad de San Carlos and Universidad del Valle de Guatemala who participated in these activities.

Upon completion of this USAID-funded Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) volunteer assignment, I found the F2F program at Partners of the Americas to be an outstanding initiative to strengthen rural enterprises in the developing countries of the Western Hemisphere. I was delighted to be able to use my experience and skillset as a dairy goat production specialist and Food Science Professor at Fort Valley State University with the dairy goat producing communities of Guatemala. I have been convinced and strongly feel that this F2F volunteer assignment has provided me with a unique opportunity to strengthen the foundation for the emerging dairy goat industry in Guatemala.