Background:

Worldwide, goats have always been linked to man, mainly due to the quality of their production of meat, milk, and wool. The aim of this paper is to present the general characteristics of household systems for goat production in the municipality of Camagüey, Cuba.

Methods:

A survey was applied to 46 household farmers in urban and suburban areas of the city of Camagüey, Cuba. Descriptive statistics was used in the study, along with hierarchical clustering for system classification.

Results:

All the farmers are over 20 years of age, predominantly males with secondary education, on average. Overall, 54.3% of them does not own or is leasing land, and 47.8% works independently from any organizations; the rest belongs to a few cooperatives. The farmers have access to little input and investment funds, and their labor is framed within their households, without salaries; their main way of sustenance is not goat breeding. The herds comprised between 1 and 54 goats, of which 27.5% are milking females. The systems were classified into three types, considering the total of goats, grazing hours, milking goats, years of experience, educational level, and family members engaged in the activity. The first group showed a higher educational level, longer grazing time, and a larger number of animals; the second averaged 5 hours of grazing and eighth grade of education. The indicators in these two groups were higher than in the third group.

Conclusions:

Household goat production systems were characterized in the municipality of Camagüey, which will contribute to more strategic work projects that promote local sustainable development.