Ugandan scientists develop resilient goat breed to meet farmers growing milk, meat demand
By Benson Ltamely
Goat farmers in Uganda are poised to benefit from a locally developed goat breed, Kasolwe Brown Goat, that will cut their dependence on costly imported goat breeds which they had been crossbreeding with indigenous goats with the hope of improving productivity but often with underwhelming results.
The new goat breed, developed by the National Animal Genetic Resources Centre and Data Bank (NAGRC&DB) in collaboration with private breeders and custodians in Kamuli and Buyende Districts, is the result of several years of systematic selective breeding at Kasolwe Stock Farm in Kamuli District.
For years, Ugandan farmers have grappled with the high costs of importing exotic breeds from countries like South Africa, the UK and Switzerland, often with disappointing results. Crossbreeding these imports with local goats has yielded limited benefits, as the resulting offspring demand expensive management systems beyond the reach of smallholder farmers
Kasolwe Brown Goat is characterised by excellent twinning rates, rapid growth of up to 127 grams per day, high weaning percentages and resilience to common goat diseases such as Haemonchosis and Heart Water that commonly affect goats in Uganda according to NAGRC&DB.
“This goat is going to be a game changer in Uganda’s livestock industry because of its twinning ability, quick growth and resilience,” Dr. Ssengoye Gordon, NAGRC’s Technical Manager of Production, said.
Its ability to thrive in marginal production environments, while remaining highly prolific, is what makes it a super breed of choice for smallholder farmers in Uganda and other parts of sub-Saharan Africa.
Kasolwe Brown Goat is also characterized by other special features that include a shiny dark brown hair coat (resilient to both endo and ecto parasites), black mane running from the face to the tail along the spine as well as sturdy, stout limbs suited for movement in challenging terrain.
Additionally, the breed has a large udder size able to breastfeed and sustain twins and triplets without supplementation and horns that vary from being straight in females and young males to curved in adult males.
A female Kasolwe Brown Goat breed weighs up to 65kg while males can grow up to 75kg at maturity. NAGRC scientists have so far conducted comparative analyses between the Kasolwe goat and other breeds available in Uganda, including the Savanah, Boer, Mubende, Kigezi and Kalahari.
The findings revealed that the Kasolwe goat performs remarkably well in most productivity parameters, especially in: twinning ability, disease resistance, weaning percentage and adaptability to diverse agro-ecological zones.
Dr. Katali Benda, the head of the goat breeding program at NAGRC, says the program is steadily building a national resource of immense value to farmers and the livestock industry.
“The Kasolwe goat is just one of the many locally developed goat breeds in the pipeline, poised to support the sustainable commercialisation of goat farming in Uganda,” he says.
The Kasolwe goat has already sparked excitement in Kamuli and Buyende Districts, where pilot farmers report significant gains. This prompted the NAGRC to deploy armed guards to protect prized male breeding stock from theft.
Internationally, the breed has caught the attention of Makerere University and the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute, which are studying its genetic adaptations for environmental tolerance and disease resistance to preserve them in gene banks.