Benchmarking smallholder goat enterprises and practices in central Lao PDR and farmer response to a research and development program

Context In Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Laos), goat numbers are rapidly growing and have the potential to improve rural and economic development through income generation. Aims To implement a goat research and development program and benchmark and evaluate smallholder practices. Methods In the first year (2020), forage growing was facilitated through formal and on-the-job monthly training. In Year 2 (2021), local staff were trained in inexpensive and locally available veterinary treatments of goats. Mineral blocks were introduced with a 50% subsidy, following a 2-month trial period. In Year 3 (2022), metal roofing material was provided to households that constructed new goat houses with elevated and slatted flooring. Annualised farmer benchmarking surveys (BMS) and monthly household surveys (MHS) monitored farmer practice change between 2020–2023 and 2021–2022 respectively. Key results The BMS and the MHS confirmed significant rises in the proportion of farmers using mineral blocks between 2020 and 2023 at 303% (P < 0.001) and between 2021 and 2022 at 53% respectively. The BMS and MHS also reflected an increase in the proportion of farmers growing forages between 2020 and 2023 (204%) and between 2021 and 2022 (9%), a decrease in the proportion of households treating sick goats with drugs between 2020 and 2023 (47%) and between 2021 and 2022 (53%), and an increase in the proportion of farmers providing concentrate feed between 2020 and 2023 (34%) and between 2021 and 2022 (increased from 0 to 4.2%) respectively. Conclusions Mineral blocks have a high potential for adoption with a trial and subsidisation period. It is recommended to increase daily grazing duration from 6–8 h to be as long as practical to reduce the impacts of late dry-season feed shortages (April–May), which coincided with a natural peak in kidding. Average goat herd size increased by three goats over the course of the project, which may reflect improved financial security as livestock are a form of asset storage. Implications These trends show short-term practice change; however, further research is needed to verify whether these changes increase goat growth rate, health and kid survival.