Importance of small scale and semi-commercial poultry production in developing countries
From Poultry Hub
Small scale and semi-commercial animal production is seen as a vital link in reducing poverty and hunger in developing countries. World wide there are different agencies involved in improving poultry production for communities in developing countries. Australian researchers are actively involved in projects that can assist poor communities and families by enhancing their poultry production capabilities.
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The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Poultry keeping is making an important contribution to the livelihoods of the most vulnerable rural households in developing countries. Chickens, ducks, geese, guinea fowl all provide a source of income, improve nutrition and help meet family and social obligations. Poultry raised on family farms also make a significant contribution, along with the commercial sector, to meeting the rapidly growing demand for poultry products in many developing countries. During the last decade, the consumption of poultry products in developing countries has grown by 5.8 percent per year, according to the FAO.
The FAO's Animal Production and Health Division (AGA) strives to assist Member countries to take full advantage of the contribution the rapidly growing and transforming livestock sector can make towards achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). MDG's goals is namely to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger and to ensure environmental sustainability. To this end, AGA endeavors to facilitate the participation of smallholder livestock farmers, particularly in developing countries, in the increasingly competitive market for livestock commodities, to safeguard animal and veterinary public health, to maintain animal genetic diversity, and to minimize the environmental impact of livestock production. More information can be found at FAO's Animal Production and Health Division
Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR)
ACIAR has developed a series of focus statements to give potential research providers an indication of our emphases and priorities for future research projects in particular areas. The 27 statements are grouped under four broad themes:
- Meeting rising demand for animal protein
- Improving the productivity and efficiency of food crop and forestry systems
- Better environments from better agriculture
- Linking farmers to markets
The individual statements are intended to encourage interdisciplinary thinking in project design, and do not generally have a commodity or specific disciplinary focus. In preparing the statements, ACIAR has considered information from key partner countries, their research priorities, and Australia's comparative research strengths. ACIAR focuses on consistent production of a reliable product. Reducing feed costs are important, either through better use of commercial feeds or, in some cases, by replacing costly components of commercial rations with locally available cheaper components. Integration of health management for pigs and poultry, together with appropiate housing and nutrition, is critical as smallholders move from producing livestock solely for household pourposes and start to enter the market. ACIAR's emphasis is on fostering such 'semi-commercial' systems rather than traditional village pig and poultry systems, unless there is clear evidence that there are institutional and incentive structures for uptake of technology at the village level, and/or that the village systems are linked into the market. In institutions where it is necessary to change the pig or poultry breed to meet a market demand, ACIAR may support the introduction of livestock with known adaption to those circumstances. The following ACIAR projects are only examples of work that is being conducted or completed in this area.
Feed
With the availability of cheap feed processing equipment from China, it is now economically viable for small communities to purchase mixers, hammer mills and pelletizers and prepare their own poultry food. ACIAR has four feeding strategy's with regards to semi-intensive and small scale poultry production:
- Development of a concentrated diet that can be blended with local feed ingredients
- Dilution of a commercial diet with locally available food products
- Complete ration formulation using a mix of local and imported ingredients
- Self selection of feed ingredients by birds
Improving the profitability of village broiler production in PNG (LPS/2001/077)
The village broiler farming sector in PNG imports most feed ingredients, despite a doubling in production costs due to massive devaluation of the Kina and transportation cost rises. Suitable local alternatives, such as copra meal, fishmeal and palm kernel meal are available. Project LPS/2001/077 developed a supplement of fishmeal and copra meal (plus minerals and vitamins) which when combined with 50-80% of local ingredients (e.g. sweet potato) makes up a whole ration. This project builds on this work to improve broiler production and profitability, developing on-station a range of best-bet feeding options, evaluating on-farm feeding options incorporating local feeds, and promoting their wide-spread adoption. Improving the profitability of village broiler farming through the use of locally available feedstuffs is a high priority in the PNG livestock sector. Lowland provinces close to the feed mills account for 60% of broiler production with 40% in highland provinces. The village broiler Industry is valued at $67m. The viability of village broiler farms in both geographical regions is threatened by the rising costs of imported ingredients used in commercial feeds. More information and progress report for LPS/2001/077
Feeding village poultry in the Solomon Islands (LPS/2003/054)
Village poultry in Solomon Islands is an important source of dietary protein, consumed as eggs and meat. Recent unrest has limited earning capacity, increasing the importance of poultry as an income source. It is estimated that the 22,000 families with birds produce a total of 220,000 birds and 2.64 million eggs a year. This is not enough, however, to meet local demand, which continues to rise. Increasing production of eggs and birds is an important goal for many families hoping to increase their income. With local breeds favored the main opportunity for increasing production is improving poorly formulated local feedstuffs. Improved feedstuffs will also help families improve their own dietary intake through better quality meat and eggs. More information and progress report for LPS/2003/054
Using local feeds to reduce the cost of pig and poultry production in Tonga (LPS/2006/149)
The major restraints for the development of a commercial pig and poultry sector in Tonga are the lack of a local feed manufacturing industry, the high cost of imported feed, and cheap meat and egg imports. This has resulted in a reduction in the number of pig and poultry producers over recent years, despite the adequate local supplies of cassava, sweet potato, fresh coconut and maize, which could form the basis of the feed industry. The project will provide training for Tongan government staff and key producers about profitable pig and poultry feeding systems developed in current ACIAR pig and poultry projects in Indonesia, PNG and the Solomon Islands. They will learn to operate mini mills and receive instruction on how to feed pig and poultry using concentrates, ration dilution and whole ration formulation using local feed resources. Feeding systems suitable for Tonga will be demonstrated on-station at the Livestock Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, Forests & Fisheries and Tupou College to farmers and students. The proposal was developed following a request from the Prime Minister of Tonga for assistance in developing a local feed industry for pigs and poultry. More information and progress report for LPS/2006/149
Biosecurity
Since small scale poultry is vital for well being of families in developing countries, any diseases that can compromise poultry production are a significant risk to peoples livelihoods. In particular, research is focused on highly pathogenic avian influenza and newcastle disease.
Cost-effective biosecurity for non-industrial commercial poultry operations in Indonesia (AH/2006/169)
The spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is responsible for significant economic loss in Indonesia, particularly in the non-industrial commercial poultry sector (NICPS) and the village poultry sector. High mortality rates, decreases in demand for poultry and poultry products in affected areas, continuing human deaths and the risk of a global pandemic, ensure that control of HPAI remains a priority for Indonesia. The Government of Indonesia and donor agencies have allocated considerable resources to control HPAI in the village poultry sector. But there is increasing realisation that more resources should be allocated to control of HPAI in the NICPS. Improving biosecurity in this sector will reduce the likelihood of flocks becoming infected and, therefore, reduce the risk of large numbers of infected birds being dumped into live bird markets. This project will identify appropriate, efficient and effective poultry biosecurity measures for NICPS farms. Resources will then be devoted to training of farmers and advisors and facilitating the introduction of these biosecurity systems within communities. More information for AH/2006/169
Vaccination of Malaysian village poultry with an avirulent Australian Newcastle disease virus (AS1/1983/034)
Newcastle disease can infect many bird species, and the domestic chicken is particularly susceptible. Highly virulent strains are endemic throughout Asia, where they cause greater economic loss than any other poultry disease. Vaccination can control such losses. However, most Newcastle disease vaccines contain living virus that retains some pathogenicity for chickens, making their production and application both complex and expensive.
In many parts of Asia poultry meat and eggs make a vital contribution to the diet, and in Malaysia only fish is a more important source of animal protein. The many large-scale poultry operations can, albeit at considerable expense, use conventional vaccination. But most domestic poultry in the region belong to small village flocks, and their owners had neither the finance nor the technology to practise vaccination against Newcastle disease using current methods. They needed a simple and cheap method of protecting village chickens. Such a method seemed possible using V4, a non-pathogenic strain of the virus present in Australian poultry. V4 is completely avirulent and causes no disease when it spreads naturally between chickens. In earlier collaborative tests scientists took Australian chickens to Malaysia and found that the antibodies provided substantial protection against challenge with virulent virus. The project aimed to develop methods for vaccinating village chickens simply and cheaply, with the V4 strain of the virus a suitable candidate for vaccine production. More information and progress report for AS1/1983/034
Completed ACIAR projects relating to biosecurity
- A scoping study investigating opportunities for improving biosecurity on commercial poultry farms in Indonesia
- Control of newcastle disease and duck plague in village poultry
See also
External links
- The International Network on Family Poultry Development (INFPD)
- Backyard poultry website
- International Poultry Breeders Association
- Chookyard - independently operated forum for poultry growers
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
- Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR)
- Poultry keeping: a life-saver for poor rural households
- Solomon Islands poultry
