Year of publication 2012

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Pages 241

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Author Animal Production and Health Division

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Product type Book (stand-alone)

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Edition 1

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Synopsis (short abstract) The goat was the first animal to be domesticated by humankind. The global goat population currently stands at 921 million, of which over 90% are found in developing countries. Asia is home to about 60% of the total world goat population and has the largest goat breed share of 26%. Goats play a vital socio-economic role in Asian agriculture, particularly for resource-poor people living in harsh environments. Non-cattle milk accounts for approximately 15% of the total milk consumption by humans wo rldwide. Asia contributes approximately 59% to world goat milk production and Asia‟s demand for animal products, fueled by increasing populations and growing disposable incomes, is increasing at a high rate. Despite their socio-economic importance, goat rearing has not attracted much attention of development practitioners, science managers and researchers or policy makers in Asia. However, lately, due to the emerging challenges of climate change and increasing pressure on natural resources and the high value of goat meat and milk across a number of Asian countries, the potential of goats with their high adaptability to a wide array of environmental conditions and „low quality‟ feed resources is being increasingly appreciated. Goats use poor quality roughages with high cell wall and low protein contents more efficiently than other domesticated animals. In Asia concerted efforts are needed to address issues facing goat farmers and the goat milk processing industry to fully exploit th e potential of goats. FAO joined with the Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Department of Veterinary Science, Malaysia and the International Dairy Federation (IDF) in organizing the First Asia Dairy Goat Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 9 to 12 April 2012. The conference provided a platform to share technical information and experiences and to network for the promotion of dairy goat farming.

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Language English

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