Goat rearing has emerged as a vital livelihood option in the tribal and rural regions of Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj districts of Odisha, offering women a pathway to financial security, resilience, and leadership. What once began as a small household activity has evolved into a transformative movement, enabling thousands of women farmers to support their families, educate their children, and engage confidently with markets beyond their villages.
For Pana Naik, a woman farmer from Keonjhar, goat rearing brought relief from years of hardship. The income earned from selling goats helped her construct a ring well in her backyard, ending the daily struggle to fetch drinking water. “Earlier, I had to walk long distances to collect water. With the income from goat farming, we now have drinking water at home,” she said. The additional earnings have also enabled her to support her children’s education.
In Mayurbhanj, Gauri Biswal’s journey reflects how goat rearing strengthens family stability and nurtures aspirations. When her younger daughter enrolled in nursing studies, daily commuting became difficult. By selling goats, the family managed to purchase a motorbike, making travel safer and easier. Over time, income from goat rearing and vegetable cultivation also helped her marry off two daughters. Today, Gauri continues to support her youngest daughter’s dream of becoming a nurse.
Goat rearing has also encouraged women to diversify their livelihoods. Salu Tudu from Mayurbhanj invested her earnings from goat farming in two tailoring machines and a mini huller to produce rice powder for the local market. These combined activities now generate an annual income of around Rs 2.5 lakh. With this income, she has built her own house, secured insurance for her family, and is educating her two children—one pursuing B.Tech and the other B.Sc. “Earlier, we struggled to manage basic expenses. Now we can plan confidently for the future,” she said.
Although goat rearing is not entirely new to rural Odisha, many women initially lacked technical knowledge. “We did not know about proper goat shelters, breeding practices, vaccination, or nutrition. All the goats stayed in one room, and we simply sent them out for grazing,” recalled Labanglata Mohanta, goat farmer from Koenjhar.
This began to change after women received training in scientific goat management. “We learned that goats also need proper care, shelter, vaccination, and balanced nutrition. Now we vaccinate them every three months and grow fodder crops like Napier grass, azolla, moringa, and jackfruit in our backyards. This has improved animal health, reduced mortality, and increased their weight, allowing us to get better prices,” Labanglata added.
Across Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj, women farmers have gradually strengthened their skills in animal husbandry—adopting better feeding practices, improved housing, regular vaccination, hygiene measures, and fodder cultivation. These improvements have led to healthier animals and steadily expanding herds. While earlier most families owned just one or two goats, many now manage herds of 20 or more, turning goat rearing into a primary livelihood rather than a supplementary activity.
Women are also moving beyond household-level production by engaging collectively through self-help groups (SHGs) and farmer producer organisations (FPOs). As herd sizes increased, reliance on local markets alone became limiting. Through collective planning and marketing, women farmers have begun accessing buyers beyond their villages, securing better prices and reducing distress sales.
Over the years, this transition has been supported through training and technical guidance facilitated by development organisations such as Heifer International and Passing Gifts, along with government schemes. Their role has focused on strengthening skills, improving animal health practices, and enabling women to organise collectively—allowing farmers to take ownership of their livelihoods.
Akshaya Biswal, Program Director at Passing Gifts Odisha, noted that the most visible transformation has been among the women themselves. “We have seen remarkable improvements not only in income but also in knowledge, confidence, and decision-making. Earlier, households typically owned just one or two goats. Today, many families manage herds of over 20. Going forward, expanding access to larger markets and promoting value addition will be crucial, along with scaling this model to more districts,” he said.
This empowerment extends beyond goat rearing. Women farmers have formed SHGs and FPOs to collectively market a wide range of farm produce. Kunimani Singh, Board Director of Maa Durga Producer Company in Mayurbhanj, shared, “Training helped us increase our herd and flock sizes, but local markets were limited. We learned how to expand our business and access larger markets. Today, our products reach Bhubaneswar, Mumbai, Delhi, and other major cities, strengthening incomes and confidence among women farmers.”
