tools for technology transfer in the french caprine sector

The modernisation and the dairy specialization of the French goat sector have both been the result of an organized strategy at a national level for 50 years. Thanks to this strategy, called the ";;;;chain of progress";;;;, the French production of cheese from goat milk has increased three fold during the last 50 years production (around 100,000 tons in 2007). The chain of progress - which involves organizations of research and development and professional breeders organizations - is divided into 4 steps: 1) identification of technical, economic or social brakes to modernization and productivity, 2) development of research programmes, 3) tests of application methods with critical evaluation, 4) diffusion with various tools : training courses for technicians and breeders, technical days and systematic use of the review La Chèvre which celebrates 50 years of existence in 2008. The newspaper La Chèvre (French term for ";;;;goat";;;;) has always been a powerful tool which disseminates technical news quickly. It has shortened the time between the acquisition of research results and their dissemination to breeders. Nowadays, La Chèvre distributes 4,000 issues every two months. It is read by more than half of the French goat breeders (3,600 subscribers out of the 5,600 breeders who owned more than 10 goats in 2007 in France). The review, which is about 50 pages, gives a progress report on caprine news with a recurring article on current markets and milk prices. A complete file gives details about techniques for breeding: feeding, animal health, reproduction and selection, equipment and buildings, farm management, transformation and marketing of cheeses.