Sustainable intensification of Zambian goat production in a changing world

Goats have a unique potential to alleviate poverty and ensure food security under harsh climatic conditions but are seldom prioritized for large scale interventions. However, the Zambian government wants to increase the export of goats and therefore cooperatives will be supported to intensify the goat production and link farmers to markets, especially targeting women and youth farmers. Healthy goats are key to increased productivity and essential for sustainable and resilient development of goat production, but climate-sensitive diseases may be increasing with climate change. In this 3-year project, we will study how interventions for intensification of the goat production system affects goat keeping and goat health, as well as trading behaviors. The project brings together expertise in various fields of veterinary sciences, including participatory epidemiology, needed to achieve the project objectives. We will investigate goat-keeping and trading by smallholders, cooperatives and large-scale farmers, and assess if it changes after interventions, using participatory methods. We will explore how goat health, with focus on climate-sensitive and infectious diseases, is affected by trainings and an intensified production, through serology, field necropsies and molecular diagnostics. The results will provide a better understanding on how we can get healthier and more productive goats, resilient to future climate change, which is important for poverty alleviation and food security.