Brazil plans to increase goat milk production

Embrapa's (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation) Goat and Sheep Unit began using a food evaluation technology to measure goat products which may improve goat milk production.

Known as gaseous chromatography, the technology came from Syria and is used to measure fat in goat and sheep products, such as meat, milk and dairy, as well as skins.

According to Embrapa research head Marco Bomfim, the technology has been available at the unit for roughly one month.

Gaseous chromatography did not originate in Syria but the country has mastered the technology according to Bonfim. It was brought to Brazil after a four-month monitoring in Syria.

With the technology, it is possible to ascertain the quality of the fat contained in the products, as well as the amount of saturated fat, for instance. This was the purpose why Embrapa bought the machine and Bomfim trained some personnel to operate it.

The goal, according to Bomfim, is to open a market for goat and sheep products, taking into consideration that consumers are increasingly seeking healthier foods.

In practice, Bomfim taught Brazilians in monitoring the animals' metabolism when the food intake is reduced. Through the system, goats and sheep receive increasingly lower amounts of food in order to verify what their limit is, or the minimum amount of food with which they are able to grow and breed well, without using stored fat.

Syria has a herd of 17 million sheep and 1 million goats. The country is the world's fourth largest exporter of sheep, and sheep farming for milk production is an important agricultural activity.

Sheep milk and yoghurt, according to Bonfim, are widely produced and consumed. Most farmers run small businesses, says the nutritionist, and among them there are Bedouin nomads, who migrate depending to the availability of food for the animals.