Dairy Goat Production Systems in Cundinamarca, Colombia: Characterization, Practices and Prospects

In Colombia, goat production is constantly growing with a regional focus, where the largest population is found in the north of the country; but in other departments, such as Cundinamarca, dairy goat production has developed as an alternative system. The objective of this work was to characterize the goat production systems in the department of Cundinamarca in relation to their resources, management practices, and limitations. A semi-structured survey was carried out by personal visits to dairy goat producers during 2022. Most of the production systems (73%) were stationary, where the predominant goat breed was Alpine (90%) and only 9% used artificial insemination. In addition, 27% of the goat pens did not have good bio-security practices, such as washing facilities and quarantine zone. The main diseases were gastrointestinal nematodes, caseous lymphadenitis, and symptoms compatible with lentivirus of small ruminants. The average daily milk production of goats was 1.5 litres in a lactation period of 304 days. Most of the milk producers did not have a milking protocol, but 100% of them refrigerate the milk before sale. Goat production systems in Cundinamarca showed limited technological adoption; but there is an opportunity for enhancing income of dairy goat producers and contribution to food security.