Army pensioner’s livestock venture turns lucrative

BACHOK: What had started as just a matter of interest has turned into a lucrative business for Malaysian Armed Forces pensioner Mohd Yusoff Mohamad.

The 45-year-old said he began with investing about RM1,800 to raise eight Boer hybrid goats over the past three years.

His first attempt netted a profit of more than RM1,200 to RM1,500 per goat sold.

“Seeing how this venture turned out, it has encouraged me to pursue goat rearing more seriously. I then decided to breed seven Jamnapari goats, aged around four months.

“However, my second attempt was not as successful as the first one as the Jamnapari goats were not much in demand from customers in Kelantan.

This is probably due to their look – long ears that make them less attractive,” Mohd Yusoff said when met by Bernama at his goat pen in Kampung Telaga Ara Gunong, here recently.

He said that when the Jamnapari goats did not receive the desired reception from his customers in the state, he decided to promote them on his Facebook page.

“Thankfully, this paid off and after only two days (of promoting them on Facebook), there was a customer from Terengganu who agreed to buy the whole consignment of goats for RM26,000,” said Mohd Yusoff, who had earlier secured a loan of RM10,000 from Agrobank.

He now has 17 Boer and Kalahari goats sourced locally and from Australia.

These goats can fetch about RM4,000 to RM20,000 per head depending on their age, which is around three months to one year and, on average, they can produce two to three kids.

‘’These goats are in big demand including from customers out of Kelantan for breeding purposes.

However, there are also customers who ‘book’ unborn kids but I do not entertain these requests as anything can happen in the process.

“I am also in the process of importing 10 purebred Boer goats from Australia by the end of this month. I have not encountered any problems importing from any country as I have a valid permit for this,’’ he said.

Mohd Yusoff, who retired in October last year, said the livestock sector was profitable if one is systematic and works hard.

But there are risks involved in animal husbandry especially if goats catch diseases and one does not possess sufficient experience in this field, he added.

“I have not encountered major issues but if the goats are unhealthy, I seek expert advice.

‘’For feed, I use bran that horses are fed on. This variety of bran is expensive compared to regular bran. I make oncea-month purchases from a supplier in Ipoh. It costs about RM50 to RM75 for a pack,” he said.