Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Amritsar, under the aegis of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) and ICAR–ATARI, Zone-I, Ludhiana, organized a seven-day vocational training programme on “Goat Farming” from 10.11.2025 to 18.11.2025. A total of 32 farmers, farm women, and rural youth from the districts of Amritsar, Tarn Taran, and Gurdaspur participated in the programme. The training was conducted under the able guidance of Dr. Bikramjit Singh, Associate Director (Training), KVK Amritsar.
On the inaugural day, Dr. Bikramjit Singh welcomed the participants and briefed them about the mandates and functioning of KVKs. He highlighted the increasing importance of goat farming as a profitable subsidiary enterprise and encouraged trainees to adopt it for income enhancement and livelihood diversification. He also urged participants to make maximum use of the services provided by the KVK.
Dr. Kanwarpal Singh Dhillon, Assistant Professor (Animal Science), served as the Course Coordinator and delivered comprehensive lectures on key aspects such as goat breeds, feeding and nutrition, housing management, marketing of goat milk products, vaccination schedules, and disease prevention. He also discussed the economics of goat farming and emphasized the importance of proper record keeping. Method demonstrations were conducted on age determination through dentition, diagnosis of sub-clinical mastitis using CMT and BTB cards, and detection of common milk adulterants.
Dr. Puneet Singh, Veterinary Officer, Amritsar shared information regarding facilities provided by animal husbandry department and available schemes like NLM and KCC for goat farmers.
Jorawar Singh, Ex-Trainee (Goat farming) shared his experience with the trainees about initial difficulties in goat farming business and cleared their doubts.
Two exposure visits were also organized for hands-on learning. The first visit was to the goat farm of progressive farmer S. Gurpreet Singh at village Jahangir, where participants gained practical tips through interactive discussions. The second visit was arranged to the Veterinary Clinical Complex (VCC) at Khalsa College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (KCVAS), Amritsar, where Dr. Sukhdev Singh Dhillon, Professor, guided the trainees. They interacted with experts from the departments of medicine, surgery, gynaecology, and diagnostics, and visited laboratory units to understand disease diagnosis through blood, milk, and faecal examinations.
During closing ceremony, Dr. Dhillon thanked all the participants and motivated them to take up this new venture at new heights in future. Literature on goat farming was also provided to the trainees.