Minister of Agriculture Mandla Tshawuka
BY NOSIPHO MKHIZE | JOURNALIST
MANZINI – Eswatini has launched a five-year, E51.5 million project aimed at transforming the country’s goat sector from a traditional smallholder activity into a structured commercial meat production industry, with Taiwan and the European Union backing the initiative.
The Goat Industry Enhancement Project, officially launched at The George Hotel in Manzini, will be implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture in partnership with the Republic of China (Taiwan) through the International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF) and will run from 2026 to 2030.
Taiwan has committed E51.5 million in technical and financial support, while the EU will contribute towards the procurement of equipment for a proposed Goat Artificial Insemination Centre to be established under the project.
Minister of Agriculture Mandla Tshawuka said the project was a product of the enduring relationship between Eswatini and Taiwan.
“The Republic of China (Taiwan) has provided both technical and financial support amounting to E51.5 million towards the Goat Project being launched today,” Tshawuka said.
The project will focus on three areas: goat productivity enhancement, the establishment of a sustainable genetic improvement system, and the development of a robust value chain with strengthened marketing of goats and their products.
A Sector With Room to Grow
Goat farming is among Eswatini’s most widespread rural livestock activities, with the national goat population estimated at approximately 525,000. Despite its scale, the sector remains dominated by smallholder and traditional production systems, and the country faces a growing shortage of goat meat, compounded by restrictions on imports from South Africa.
Project Manager Thulasizwe Dlamini, who presented the Eswatini Goat Industry Overview at the launch, said development of the industry would be anchored on four pillars: breeding, health, nutrition, and marketing.
Dlamini noted that Eswatini’s goat population is overwhelmingly made up of indigenous Swazi/Nguni cross goats, estimated at around 520,000, while commercial breeds such as Boer and Kalahari goats number between just 3,000 and 5,000.
Among the sector’s key constraints are slow growth rates and low carcass weights. Goats currently take between 18 and 24 months to reach market size, with average carcass weights of just 12 to 16 kilogrammes.
Breeding Centres and Demonstration Farms
To address these challenges, the project will introduce improved breeds suited to Eswatini’s environment, including Boer goats, known for rapid growth and high meat yield, and Kalahari Red goats, which are drought-tolerant and disease-resistant.
A National Goat Breeding Centre will be established at Mpisi Farm, supported by 200 breeding goats. The project will also set up 20 Core Demonstration Farms to act as satellite operations supplying improved kids to surrounding smallholder farmers. Purebred breeding bucks will be distributed to core farmers to improve herd genetics and reduce the effects of inbreeding.
Farmers will receive support across nutrition, animal husbandry, health management, breeding techniques, forage production, and digital herd tracking.
By the end of the project, the intervention aims to fill 50 percent of the country’s goat meat market deficit, increase average carcass weight by 43 percent, and raise annual meat yield by more than 220 metric tonnes.
Partners and Farmers Weigh In
Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Sydney Simelane, said the sector held significant potential.
“Goat meat in the country is easy to handle. Goats grow at a very fast rate, and in a short time, we will be sufficient in supplying goat meat to the country,” Simelane said.
EU Political Counsellor Jose Becerra said the bloc and Taiwan were aligned in their development objectives.
“As development partners, the EU and Taiwan are not in competition, but both seek to contribute to the development and welfare of Emaswati,” Becerra said.
Goat farmer Nokuthula Matsabula offered a ground-level perspective on the sector’s commercial promise. “I was able to provide 80 Boer goats to Inyatsi Construction,” she said. “I have invested in these goats.”
Minister Tshawuka closed the launch with a pointed message for those tasked with implementing the project, warning against spending that does not reach farmers directly.
“We need to ensure that the bulk of the money penetrates to the ground and touches the lives of the people,” he said. “Let us stop teaching people a lot of theory, some of which they have had over and over, in the name of capacity building. Let us take people’s hands and do work to produce tangible products and outcomes.”
