Constraints in Sustainable Goat Production: Market, Fodder, and Land Issues in Maharashtra and Farmer-driven Solutions

Introduction

Goat farming plays a critical role in sustaining rural livelihoods and ensuring food security, particularly among smallholder and marginal farmers in semi-arid regions (Miller & Lu, 2019; Devendra, 2013) [11,5] . Indigenous goat breeds are well-adapted to local environments and offer dualpurpose utility for meat and milk production, contributing economically, socially, and environmentally to farming systems (Sah & Dixit, 2021; Caroprese et al., 2015) [15, 3] . Small ruminants, particularly goats, play an important role in the food and nutritional security of millions of rural people, especially the landless, marginal and small farmers in arid and semiarid rainfed regions (Kumar & Roy, 2013) [7] . The socio-economic value of goat rearing as compared to other livestock species for poor farmers is immense, providing stable income and nutrition for large numbers of rural people in regions suffering from low agricultural productivity. India possesses one of the world's most extensive goat genetic resources, with 41 recognized indigenous breeds distributed across diverse agro-ecological zones (Sah & Dixit, 2021) [15] . These breeds have evolved through natural selection and selective breeding practices by farmers to adapt to specific environmental conditions, demonstrating remarkable variation in productivity, feed utilization, disease resistance, and adaptability (Sharma et al., 2013; Singh et al., 2025) [17,20] . However, several indigenous goat breeds face significant threats due to inadequate breeding policies, insufficient numbers of quality breeding bucks, indiscriminate crossbreeding, and intermixing with local animals (Sah & Dixit, 2021) [15] . Among these breeds, the Sangamneri goat represents a dual-purpose breed indigenous to Maharashtra, primarily distributed in Ahmednagar, Nashik, and Pune districts (Kuralkar et al., 2018) [8] . Despite its low population and threatened status in its breeding tract, Sangamneri goats have demonstrated remarkable adaptability to semi-arid conditions and perform well under poor-quality range conditions (Shirke et al., 2024) [18] . Sustainable livestock systems should be environmentally friendly, economically viable for farmers, and socially acceptable, particularly regarding animal welfare (Caroprese et al., 2015) [3] . The sustainability of goat production systems encompasses multiple dimensions including environmental impact mitigation, economic resilience, and social acceptability. However, achieving sustainability in goat farming requires addressing various systemic challenges that constrain productivity and threaten longterm viability of the enterprise. Contemporary goat farming faces numerous constraints that limit productivity and sustainability, encompassing genetic, health, nutritional, management, and socioeconomic dimensions (Gunaseelan & Singh, 2021; Mohammed, 2025) [6,12] . Disease prevalence constitutes a major constraint, with goats being susceptible to parasitic infections, pneumonia, and contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP), while limited veterinary services exacerbate these health challenges (Mohammed, 2025; Armson et al., 2020) [12,1] . Nutritional constraints represent critical limitations, as feed and fodder scarcity, particularly during dry seasons, adversely affects growth, reproduction, and overall animal health (Kumar & Roy, 2013; Sime et al., 2022) [7,19] . The degradation and reduction of grazing land further exacerbate feed shortages, compromising sustainable management practices (Mijena & Getiso, 2022) [10] . Marketrelated constraints present substantial barriers to profitable goat farming, with smallholder farmers facing challenges in accessing markets due to inadequate transportation, price fluctuations, and lack of market information (Armson et al., 2020) [1] . The dominance of middlemen in marketing chains reduces farmers' share of consumer prices, limiting economic returns, while financial constraints restrict farmers' ability to invest in improved breeding stock, feed, and infrastructure (Meemken & Bellemare, 2020) [9] . Several studies have characterized goat farming constraints and proposed solutions. Documented feed resource shortages and recommended community silage units to ensure year-round fodder supply. Identified marketing inefficiencies and advocated direct sales through producer cooperatives to bypass middlemen. Gunaseelan and Singh (2021) [6] reported nutritional and health management gaps among Tamil Nadu farmers and suggested mobile veterinary clinics and local feed supplement production. Kumar and Roy (2013) [7] emphasized the importance of institutional support, recommending the formation of farmer producer organizations (FPOs) to improve input procurement and product marketing reviewed ecological constraints, advocating integrated fodder tree-shrub plantations on communal grazing lands to restore pasture productivity. These studies underline the need for research that not only catalogs constraints but also systematically aligns farmer driven solutions. This study addresses the identified research gap by examining critical constraints affecting sustainable goat production in Maharashtra, focusing specifically on marketrelated barriers, fodder scarcity, and grazing land degradation among Sangamneri goat farmers. The research scope encompasses systematic constraint identification and ranking based on farmer experiences, documentation of community-driven solutions, and analysis of the alignment between major challenges and preferred interventions

Materials and Methods Study Area and Sampling

The study was conducted in the operational area of the All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on Sangamneri Goat across five clusters: Sangamner, Shrirampur, Rahuri, Belha, and Sinnar, covering three districts (Ahmednagar, Nashik, and Pune) in Maharashtra, India. A total of 240 respondents were selected through stratified random sampling, from 24 villages across the five clusters.

Data Collection

Open ended questionnaire was used for primary data collection through personal interviews. The schedule was designed to capture information and specifically focused on constraints faced by farmers and their suggested solutions for overcoming these challenges.

Constraint Assessment Methodology

Constraint Identification: Farmers were asked to identify major constraints affecting their goat farming operations through open-ended questions during personal interviews. The constraints were recorded in farmers' own words and subsequently categorized into thematic groups. Constraint Ranking: The frequency of each constraint mentioned by farmers was calculated, and constraints were ranked based on the percentage of farmers (N=240) reporting each specific issue. The ranking system helped identify the most prevalent challenges across the study population. Constraint Categorization: Identified constraints were systematically classified into major categories including market-related issues, feed and fodder availability, grazing land access, infrastructure, and management challenges.

Solution Documentation Process

Farmer-Suggested Solutions: Following constraint identification, farmers were asked to provide their recommendations and solutions for addressing each major constraint category. These suggestions were captured through structured questions about practical approaches they believed would be effective. Solution Prioritization: The frequency of each suggested solution was calculated based on the number of farmers (N=240) recommending each approach. Solutions were ranked in order of preference according to farmer responses. Solution Validation: The suggested solutions were crossverified across different farmer groups and clusters to ensure representativeness and practical applicability across the study region.

Data Analysis

Descriptive statistics including frequencies and percentages were used to analyze constraint prevalence and solution preferences. Constraints and solutions were ranked based on the percentage of farmers reporting each item. The data were organized and presented in tabular format to clearly show the hierarchy of problems and farmer-preferred solutions.

Statistical Framework

The analysis focused on frequency distribution and ranking methodology rather than inferential statistics, as the objective was to document and prioritize farmer-identified constraints and solutions rather than test hypotheses about group differences in this specific component of the study.

Results and Discussion

This section presents an analysis of the constraints faced by Sangamneri goat rearing farmers and their suggestions for addressing these challenges. The study examined to identify key barriers to sustainable goat farming and develop actionable recommendations for improvement.

Constraints Faced by Goat Farmers

The analysis revealed that several systemic constraints significantly impact the effectiveness of goat farming enterprises. These constraints span across marketing, feed management, infrastructure, and resource availability domains. The findings reveal that middlemen dominance emerged as the most critical constraint, affecting 78.67% of farmers and ranking first in severity. This aligns with research by Kumar and Roy (2013) [7] who observed that poor marketing systems deprive farmers of real benefits in most marketing channels. The exploitation by intermediaries results in farmers receiving lower prices while consumers pay higher costs, creating a lose-lose situation for both producers and end-users. Fodder scarcity during dry seasons was identified as the second most significant constraint (74.67%), consistent with studies showing that 87% of livestock farmers face fodder shortages during lean periods. This seasonal feed gap significantly impacts animal health, growth rates, and overall productivity, directly affecting farmers' economic returns.

The inability to sell goats at the doorstep (68.00%) reflects inadequate rural infrastructure and limited market accessibility. This constraint forces farmers to depend on middlemen, further exacerbating the pricing challenges identified in the primary constraint.

Reducing grazing land (57.33%) represents a long-term sustainability challenge, with urbanization and land-use changes diminishing traditional common property resources. This aligns with findings from Maharashtra where goat keepers reported shrinkage of grazing land as a major concern.

Unavailability of feed supplements (53.33%) in nearby areas creates logistical challenges, particularly during critical periods such as pregnancy and lactation when nutritional requirements are highest.

Suggestions for Overcoming Constraints

Based on farmer experiences and successful models documented in literature, the study identified five key strategies to address the identified constraints.

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