CHARACTERIZATION OF CARCASS AND PREFERENCE OF CONSUMERS FOR MEAT FROM FOUR STRAINS OF THE TANZANIA SMALL EAST AFRICAN GOATS

Goats are an integral part of farming systems in rural communities of Tanzania and are second in importance after cattle in the provision of meat, milk, and income. It was estimated that there were 18 million goats in Tanzania in 2018 and the majority (about 98%) belonged to the Small East African (SEA) breed. The SEA goats are characterized by low productivity due to their inherently low genetic potential for meat and milk leading to low profitability. It is important to design sustainable programmes for increasing productivity of indigenous goats and the first step is to compile status with regard to productivity and to assess market-oriented characteristics for these animals. The aims of this study were: to evaluate carcass characteristics of meat from four strains of the SEA goats namely Gogo, Pare, Sonjo as well as Sukuma, and to assess the preference of consumers for goat meat and meat cuts. Forty eight goats (12 per strain) were involved in this study. The meat was dissected into lean, bone, subcutaneous fat as well as standard joints, and these parts were weighed or measured to obtain the lengths. Longissimus dorsi was sampled from the carcass to determine quality using proximate analysis. Also, a survey was conducted to determine the prices of meat cuts and preferences of consumers using a questionnaire. Averages were compared using the General Linear Model (GLM) procedure of the statistical analysis system. Survey data were coded and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Test of significance was based on 5%. The composition of meat was 65.2 to 67% lean, 23.5 to 25.7% bone and 8.4 to 10.7% fat. Gogo strain had heaviest carcasses (10.3±0.45kg). Dressing Percentage (DP) ranged from 42.1 to 43.5% and was not significant among strains. Carcass Length (CL), Chest Depth (CD), length of Hind Legs (HLL) and leg circumference were significant among strains and CD was associated with the weight of the carcass. Fore and hind parts as well as ribs comprised 60% lean. Crude protein and ash were significant among strains whereas dry matter and fat were not significant. The hind leg was most preferred (52.5% respondents) because of more meat although was the most priced part (9798±385 Tanzanian shillings about 4.3US$). In conclusion, the SEA strains evaluated in this study contained more meat and less bone and fat; there are variations in characteristics and quality of meat among the strains, and consumers prefer the more meaty parts.