NAADS gave me better knowledge
Kato Everest has been a farmer in NAADS since 2005 when the programme started
in Ibanda District. He belongs to Rugaaga II goat farmers group which was registered
with NAADS in Janaury 2005. Following a training session on goat rearing in
Mbarara in 2002, Kato started goat rearing at his home in Rugaaga II village.
To begin with, he purchased four local goats which he supplemented with a pure
Boer Billy goat that was supplied by Ibanda Goat Rearing Association.
“Currently my stock has risen to 40 cross breed goats” says a visibly
satisfied Kato. “The number would be much bigger if I were not limited
by land. I have sold some of the offspring goats and used some of the money
to clear school dues for my children” he adds.
According to Kato, all you need to get started is construct an appropriate
house for the goats to offer protection from harsh weather, predation and theft.
A good goats housing has adequate ventilation and a raised floor that is easy
to clean and allows wastes to drop through to the ground so that goats are separated
from their excreta. It is easy to pick the goats droppings from the ground underneath
the shade and the goats urine is easily channeled to a collecting pit. Goats’
droppings and urine on Kato’s farm are prepared into manure for boosting
crop production especially banana and vegetables.
Mr. Kato cleans the goats’ house daily. Some goats are housed only at
night and have spacing of one square metre per goat. Other goats especially
the pure Boer goats are housed full time and have two square metres to each
goat.
In accordance with the training he received from NAADS, Kato feeds his goats
4 hours a day in the bush and later takes them to the house where he offers
supplementary feeds mainly in form of banana peelings, banana stems, Desmodium
shoots, maize trash and comb husks. Water and mineral lick salt are ever present
at the feeding trough, something that Kato never practiced before. Kato explains
that from the salt goats derive minerals for good bones and teeth, appetite
and weight gain.
Kato is thankful to the NAADS programme for knowledge on goat health and hygiene.
Unlike before, he can now tell a goat that is on heat, or a goat that is unhealthy
because he has learned all the signs and symptoms. “Rapid wagging of the
tail, a swollen vulva, mucous discharge at the goat’s vagina and tendency
to mount other goats indicate a goat on heat. It must be taken to a billy (he
goat) at once for service” explains Mr. Kato. “A goat with hairs
falling off is very sick” he adds.
Every morning Kato personally visits the goats’ housing to look out for
any signs of ill-health. He sprays his goats weekly with an acaricide to kill
ticks and other parasites. He does not, however, hesitate to bring in a veterinary
doctor to handle cases that he cannot handle. He is quite conversant with such
practices as drug dose cal¬culation
during disease treatment, goat branding for ease of identification, hoof treaming,
de-horning of very young goats, castration of the goats that are not required
for breeding purposes, and goat weight estimation as a means for growth rate
analysis.
Mr. Kato rears goats as a business, so he does some form of ‘book-keeping’.
In 2007 he spent 927,000/= to raise 20 goats. These goats multiplied raising
his stock to 43 mature animals. He sold the 23 offspring at a sum of 2,300,00/=.
According to his calculation, Kato realized a net profit of sh. 1,373,000/=
in just one year.
“Thanks to NAADS, I had never had a more successful agricultural project
before” he brags. Mr. Kato is currently the NAADS Chairman for the District
Farmers Forum, Ibanda. When advising fellow farmers on the dangers of poverty
he quotes the Bible (Prov.14:20; 6:9-11; 10:4; 14:1; 20:13; and 24:30-34) to
emphasize the importance of hard work, time management and involvement of both
men and women in the fight against household poverty.
