At 29, two-time National Woman Goat Farmer of the Year Zabeen Rukshar Khan has turned a modest family hobby into a commercial operation, proving women can lead Fiji’s agricultural revival. Khan, who now runs Khan Farms on a hillside in Balata, Tavua, has expanded her herd from about 15–20 goats to roughly 150 animals and sells 40 to 60 goats each year at farm-gate prices of $250 to $350 apiece.
Khan’s route into farming was unexpected. Trained in hospitality and hotel management, she spent six years working at Hard Rock Café in Denarau before moving to Tavua after meeting her husband during the COVID period. What began as a small backyard herd became a business as she taught herself the technical and veterinary skills to manage goats well enough to win national recognition twice. “It took about a year to really understand goats,” she said. “You learn by observing them, checking their eyes, their gums, their behaviour. The smell of goats? That smell is money.”
Her gains did not come without setbacks. Khan recounts a traumatic night when stray and hunting dogs killed 12 of her goats, a loss she calls “heartbreaking.” Disease and parasites are an ever-present danger; Khan warns that without proper parasite management—lungworms, heartworms and intestinal worms—goat farmers can lose up to 80 percent of their stock. To protect her herd she has invested time learning from veterinarians and has developed monitoring routines across her property.
Khan manages 101 acres of land, with 30 acres fenced into paddocks and the remainder used for free-ranging grazing. She relies on a quad bike to move quickly over difficult terrain, check fences and respond to sick or threatened animals—an adaptation she says is particularly important for women managing large farms. “For women especially, moving around large farms can be difficult. The quad bike helps me check fences, monitor the herd and respond quickly if something is wrong,” she explained.
Her story is being highlighted this week as part of a wider focus on women in primary industries at the 2026 National Women in Agriculture Symposium, supported by the World Bank ENABLE Program. Chief Agricultural Economist Sainiana Kirisitiana from the Ministry of Agriculture, Waterways and Sugar Industry said Khan exemplifies the untapped potential of women farmers. “When women are given access to information, finance, land and markets, the impact is enormous,” Kirisitiana said. “Supporting women farmers strengthens food security and helps reduce poverty across communities.”
Khan’s experience underscores both the commercial viability and the technical demands of small ruminant farming in Fiji. Beyond sales and awards, her priorities are biosecurity and resilience—clearing grass to reduce fire risk during droughts, fencing paddocks and learning parasite control—measures that may serve as practical examples for other women transitioning into agriculture. For Khan, the shift from hospitality to herds has also brought lifestyle changes: greater autonomy, flexibility to raise her son and the satisfaction of building a business from the ground up.
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