The state together with many private institutions and even individuals have been jolted to the realization that Mauritius needs to build its milk industry, in the context of the escalating prices of imported milk powder. When are we going to stop relying on the import of milk powder and create our own milk industry?

Some speak of the foreign milk cow, others of the heavy milking Indian buffalo. In the climate of indecision, is it not wise to pause and ponder, and not hastily rush in and probably burn oneself?

For extensive dairying, the country will require land. Land is also extensively required for vegetable and fruit crops. Today sugar cane is one of our major crops that has taken up land and is not that productive on the international market.

We need to build up a milk industry more thoughtful in so far as our general health is concerned. We tend to concentrate more on cow?s milk than goat?s. The neglected village farmer will require land if he is to expand. Milk cattle will require a considerable acreage .

Stall-feeding will afford an opportunity for employment to the village unemployed youth, provided the present day youth do not think it infra dig. With good quality grass, which the cow responds to, the land requirement will be less than that required by the grazing animal. The grazing cow will take up land, which will otherwise be taken by the farmer to grow vegetables.

It has been estimated that a cow and its calf require as much as 30 acres of land. On that extent the goat will be prodigiously productive. Many foreign companies are seeing vistas opening for intrusion into agriculture, both plant and animal.

It is advisable to assess the relative importance of the cow compared to the goat in the context of our milk industry and its importance to our economy.

The cow, which is a temperate zone animal will do well in the colder region of the upcountry hills, but land is taken up predominantly by sugarcane. In the gullies and ravines grows luscious grass, which allow the rearing of animals, chiefly cows though goats too have been given a corner.

The goat, however, is found in large numbers in lower altitudes where soil is more gravelly, harbouring hardier thorny plants often used for hedges. The goat is reputed to have the toughest mouth amongst ruminants and readily takes up coarse fodder even with low nutrient content, making it very productive in a country like Mauritius where much of the vegetation is relatively succulent.

Those entrusted with the onerous task of nurturing animal husbandry in a predominantly agricultural country must investigate and make use of all knowledge relating to cows and goats. The milk of the cow contains a high percentage of the amino acid histamine, which tends to bring on rashes. Sudden unexplained deaths of new-born babies up to the age of six months has been traced to the consumption of cow?s milk. Mothers in their hurry to wean babies either due to ill-health or lack of time, rush for the cheaper milk of the cow, only to unexpectedly lose the child and believe it is fate, though it is anaphylactic shock, the body?s refusal to accept foreign protein.

The allergies that are brought on by the milk of the cow are legion. Neurotic indignation, constipation, insomnia, peptic ulcer, air passage complications like runny nose, sneezing, watering eyes, vomiting, colic, diarrhea and migraine headaches, nettle-rash, eczema, dermatitis, and even asthma are aggravated by cow milk.

With all these known drawbacks caused by cow?s milk, the sensible alternative is the presently costly goat?s milk, which is known to be next to the human mother?s milk.

Goat milk, though expensive, is very nourishing for humans. There will be a time when the goat will be crowned queen of the best hygienic milk. According to medical experts, the only known permanent remedy for asthma, which is known to affect 300 million people around the world is goat?s milk.

Western doctors who treat patients symptomatically offer drugs, which are temporary palliatives. The permanent cure is goat?s milk, which should be essential in our daily lives. The great secret is that, unlike the cow that is confined to grass, known for its low nutritive properties, the goat nibbles on a great variety of herbs.