Sebel P J, McCrindle C M E, Webb E C
Department of Paraclinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X04, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa.
J S Afr Vet Assoc. 2004 Mar;75(1):19-23. doi: 10.4102/jsava.v75i1.443.
The economic impact of different extension messages used was calculated using enterprise budgeting (gross margin analysis). Input data were gleaned from the literature, from participatory appraisals, as well as a field study, spanning 12 months, of small-scale communal goat farming systems in Jericho in the Odi District of North West Province. The number of offspring weaned per annum, as a proportion of does owned, was selected as the desired output for analysis. This study has shown that small-scale communal goat farmers are not adopting or implementing extension messages to improve production capacity. In South Africa the majority of goats are slaughtered in the informal sector. If the informal sector is to be persuaded to market goats commercially through formal channels, then knowledge of the economics of goat farming on communal lands should be provided. The economic aspects of extension messages are probably an important factor in determining acceptance and sustainability yet appear to be seldom investigated. The probable reason for lack of adoption of standard extension messages, which promote improved nutrition, parasite control, vaccination and treatment of goats, was economic. In other words, the so-called 'poor management practices' used by communal farmers appeared to be economically more profitable than the 'good management practices' suggested to increase production. The price of communal goats was not related to their mass. A higher level of inputs would probably have resulted in a heavier kid, however it was established that this would not have influenced the price received as a majority of the goats were slaughtered for ritual purposes where age, colour and sex were more important to the purchaser than body mass. It is standard practice in commercial farming systems to evaluate the economic benefits of all management practices before they are implemented. Production animal veterinarians use veterinary economics to compare different scenarios to control diseases or select management practices in commercial herds. It is suggested that the inputs and outputs of small-scale farming systems should be carefully analysed and that veterinary economics should also be used to evaluate the probable impact of extension messages formulated by veterinarians and animal health technicians.
使用企业预算编制（毛利率分析）来计算所采用的不同推广信息的经济影响。输入数据来自文献、参与式评估以及一项为期12个月的实地研究，该研究针对西北省奥迪区杰里科的小规模社区山羊养殖系统。每年断奶后代的数量占拥有母羊数量的比例被选为分析的期望产出。这项研究表明，小规模社区山羊养殖户并未采用或实施推广信息来提高生产能力。在南非，大多数山羊在非正规部门被屠宰。如果要劝说非正规部门通过正规渠道进行山羊商业销售，那么就应该提供关于社区土地上山羊养殖经济学的知识。推广信息的经济方面可能是决定接受度和可持续性的一个重要因素，但似乎很少有人对此进行调查。社区养殖户未采用促进改善山羊营养、寄生虫控制、疫苗接种和治疗的标准推广信息，其可能原因是经济方面的。换句话说，社区养殖户所采用的所谓“不良管理做法”在经济上似乎比为提高产量而建议的“良好管理做法”更有利可图。社区山羊的价格与其体重无关。更高水平的投入可能会使羔羊更重，然而已经确定这不会影响所获得的价格，因为大多数山羊是为仪式目的而屠宰的，对于购买者来说，年龄、颜色和性别比体重更重要。在商业养殖系统中，在实施所有管理措施之前评估其经济效益是标准做法。生产动物兽医利用兽医经济学来比较不同方案以控制疾病或在商业畜群中选择管理措施。建议应仔细分析小规模养殖系统的投入和产出，并且兽医经济学也应用于评估兽医和动物健康技术人员制定的推广信息可能产生的影响。
