Goats were among the first farm animals to be domesticated. Goats disseminated all over the world because their great adaptability to varying environmental conditions and the different nutritional regimes under which they were evolved and subsequently maintained. The global goat population currently stands at 921 million, of which over 90% are found in developing countries. Asia is home to about 60% of the total world goat population and has the largest goat breed share of 26%. India is the second largest producer of the goats. Central Institute for Research on Goats (CIRG) in India is Asia’s only institute dedicated to Goat Research. Asia contributes approximately 59% to world goat milk production and India is largest producer of the goat milk. Rajasthan state of India is having second highest population of goats after Andhra Pradesh and has two renowned research institutes of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (Central Sheep & Wool Research Institute, Central Arid Zone Research Institute) are executing R & D beside promoting goat based animal husbandry in the country.

Goats play a vital socio-economic role in Asian agriculture, particularly for resource-poor people. In pastoral and agricultural subsistence societies in India, goats are source of additional income and acts as insurance against disaster. Goats are also used in ceremonial feastings and mobile bank / ATM for the payment of social dues by the rural poor specially women. There are many advantages of goat rearing including, low initial investment, cheap housing requirements, high fertility rate with twining, can thrive well on wide variety of crop residues, agricultural by-products, goat meat is lean (low cholesterol), Goat milk is easy to digest due to small fat globules and is naturally homogenized etc. With the exception of a few large-scale commercial enterprises, goats are often raised at the margins of communities. This is true in the physical sense that goats (and sheep) are well adapted to the harsh conditions and poor quality feed found at the interface between deserts, mountains and cultivable land, and on “waste” land within cropped areas where poor and landless people are also found. In a financial sense, goats and sheep husbandry represent the smallest investment needed for the poor to engage in livestock production as a new enterprise. Demand for goat production has been fueled by increasing populations and growing disposable incomes, is increasing at a high rate.

But the importance of this valuable genetic resource is underestimated and its extent of contribution to the livelihood of the poor is inadequately understood. Part of this attitude towards them can probably be due to recognition of their capability, rather any prejudice against them, as it is believed that goats are intelligent, independent, agile and tolerant to many diseases and parasites and can look after themselves much better than other livestock species.

Research investments are relatively low level of goats compared to their potential. Nevertheless, goats are going to be more important source of livelihood for many more people in coming years and, thus, they deserve greater attention at both the micro and macro levels.

At Amity University, Jaipur ARCG -2018 has been planned with support of International Goat Association (IGA), USA and in association with other renowned nationalt institutes (Central Institute for Research on Goats, Central Sheep & Wool Research Institute, Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Post Graduate Institute of Veterinary Education & Research- Jaipur, College of Veterinary Science & Animal Husbandry- Dantiwada, Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute, Genomix CARL Pvt. Ltd. etc) under the. The sole objective of the event is to promote the Goat Husbandry. The event has following technical sessions:

Theme: Current Challenges in Goat Industry and the Strategies to Combat in Asian Region