Goat – Why The “Poor Man’s Cow” Is The Rich Man’s Crop Unseen

When I was a kid (pun intended) in the then-sleepy village of Sanchez in Asingan, Pangasinan, we had 2 or 3 goats tied to the posts underneath our half-wood-half-bamboo house, fed with grass and often leaves of the damortis (camachile, Manila tamarind) from branches that I cut and then hung underneath the house for them to reach and eat at will. We did not think of raising more goats to earn more. We were not poor by any means, but we did not think richer.

That is the problem I see with people raising goats, consciously or unconsciously fixating on the idea that “the goat is the poor man’s cow.” When you think poorly of the goat, that animal cannot make you richer!

I just saw under Goat Project Cordillera “DA-CAR-SAAD Press Release No Kalinga 15” on Facebook and it says (edited a little):

The Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) Program, in collaboration with the local governments of Kalinga (province) and Tanudan (town), turned over 263 head native goats (239 head does & 24 head bucks) to three farmer associations (FAs) in Tanudan on 26 March 2021. The goat production project, worth P1,052,000, is funded by the SAAD Program under FY 2020.

SAAD is under the Department of Agriculture (DA). Now, it may be asked: “Why is the DA raising goats and not cows, poor man’s and not rich man’s? Obviously, because of the project cost: P1 million for 263 goats for 3 farmer associations. If 263 calves were bought instead, at $200/head, the project would have cost P2,630,000. Double initial cost aside, cows are much more difficult to raise than goats.

“Goats are called poor man's cow, because they give you the same benefit(s) as the cow[1]” (toppr.com): i.e., milk, meat. Since a goat is much cheaper than a cow, poor people can afford raising it. Toppr says:

Goats can be raised by landless agricultural laborers, ladies and children because they can thrive well on variety of leaves, shrubs, bushes, kitchen waste etc. Goats are cheaper to maintain, easily available and have a friendly disposition. Goat hide is used for the manufacture of leather products. Goat hairs are used for the manufacture of rugs and ropes. Goat manure is 2.5 times richer in nitrogen and phosphoric acid than cow manure.

A goat is a poor man’s best friend!

For Goat Project Cordillera, each of the 239 beneficiaries received a head of doe: Bawak Darulog Allubaggan Pagugo (112), Pangol Farmers Improvement Organization (64), and Mabaca Bumaruan Farmers Association (63), while the 3 FAs in Tanudan received 12, 6, and 6 head bucks, respectively (the report does not name the specific FA).

Oh yes, I must not forget to mention that I really like goat’s meat. If the cook knows what he’s doing, there is no goat’s smell coming out of the eater’s body.

Especially kilawen, rarely done – I particularly like the goat’s flesh when at first the whole body is roasted over burning charcoal until it’s half-cooked, hair gone. It’s super delicious!@517

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[1]https://www.toppr.com/ask/question/which-of-the-following-is-termed-poor-mans-cow/