Introduction
The poultry sector is growing faster in the areas of consumption and trade than any of the other major agricultural sectors in the world. There is growing evidence to demonstrate the role of small and medium scale poultry production systems in enhancing the food and nutrition security of households and in promoting gender equality (Ahuja, Reference AHUJA2004; Dolberg, Reference DOLBERG2004). Poultry production in most tropical countries is dependent on scavenging production systems. Ethiopia has around 34.2 million chickens (CSA, 2007) and 98% of them are indigenous chickens (CSA, 2005), making up approximately 60% of the total population of East Africa (Mekonnen et al., Reference MEKONNEN, TEKETEL, ALEMU, DAGNATCHEW and ANTENEH1991). In Ethiopia poultry populations and per capita consumption of egg and meat has been low and is still declining (USAID, Reference USAID2006; FAO, 2008). However, Conroy et al. (Reference CONROY, SPARKS, CHANDRASEKHARAN, ANSHU SHARMA, DINESH SHINDEY, SINGH, NATARAJAN and ANITHA2005) stated that, due to improvements in infrastructure and access to markets, the opportunities for small scale poultry enterprises in developing countries have increased. Branckaert (Reference BRANCKAERT2000) reported that, although commercial poultry production has made substantial progress in some countries, the development is constrained in developing countries that are not self-sufficient in cereal production.
Although there is a high demand for the products of poultry production (domestic as well as abroad) (Bush, 2006; FAO, 2008; Gezahegn, Reference GEZAHEGN2009), the sector in Ethiopia is characterised by poor performance, insufficient levels of industry co-ordination, specialisation, vertical-integration and efficiency. As a result, there has not been any increased market orientation, even among poultry enterprises. These changes have brought large and small production systems into competition, which has created both challenges and opportunities. These changes have raised concerns about the sustainability of small and medium scale poultry production systems.
The roles of small and medium-scale commercial poultry production were recognised as having the potential to impact positively upon local involvements. However in practice there are often problems with competition from larger scale producers. There are no agencies or professionals that are actively involved in community poultry production projects in Ethiopia. Therefore, reviewing the chicken production scenarios, headway options and experiences for improved poultry production in this country is a vital research area. The objectives of this paper were to review the scenarios, headway options and prominent experiences of chicken production, identify constraints and opportunities of chicken production in the country and deliver intervention options for the improved production of chickens in the country
Research and information pertaining to various chicken production scenarios, both within and outside of the country were reviewed. Opportunities and constraints, including various findings of appropriate technical options and experiences for improved chicken production are included.
Description of chicken production in Ethiopia
Ethiopia has a diverse chicken population. Although indigenous chickens constitute approximately 97% of the national poultry population (FAO, 2008), these diversified groups of chickens are not extensively described breeds. Typically, they have distinguished morphological differences, are closely related to the jungle fowl and are found in every corner of the country.
Poultry in Ethiopia comprises indigenous birds and the poultry sector is dominated by small-scale and scavenging production systems (CSA, 2005; Alemu et al., Reference ALEMU, DEGEFE, FEREDE, NZIETCHEUNG and ROY2008). In these systems, local chickens are best suited to the environment. The average flock size is 7.5 birds per household (Mammo, Reference MENGESHA2006). These birds are mostly managed by women with low production inputs (Mammo, Reference MENGESHA2006; Aklilu, Reference AKLILU2007; FAO, 2008). Indigenous chickens are characterised by low production performances including slow growth, late maturity and high mortality. The mean annual egg production of indigenous chickens is estimated at approximately 60 small eggs with thick shells and a deep yellow yolk colour (Yami and Dessie, Reference YAMI and DESSIE1997). Moreover, the average live weight of a mature male is around 1.5 kg (Teketel, Reference TEKETEL1986). Despite such poor productivity, 99% of the annual poultry meat and egg production of this country comes from indigenous chickens kept under the traditional/ scavenging management systems (FAO, 2008).
The remaining annual percentage of poultry meat and egg production comes from intensive (industrial and commercial) production systems mostly found around and east of Addis Ababa (Ducum, Debre Zeit and Nazereth cities). These types of production systems use specific exotic (hybrid) breeds for both egg and meat production. They also use modern production management approaches with balanced chicken feeds in their farms.
Previously, ILCA (1993) reported that the chicken population in Ethiopia was around 56.5 million; however, this number has declined to 34.2 million (CSA, 2007). Similarly, FAO (2008) reported that the Ethiopian poultry population has declined by 64% over the last 50 years, while the average number of chickens per household has also declined by 37% over the last 20 years. Relative to this, there has been an increase in the number of exotic breeds of chickens, constituting about 2% of the national poultry population (CSA, 2005). Although estimated egg and poultry meat per capita consumption (in the mid 1990s) was 57 eggs and 2.85 kg (Yami and Dessie, Reference YAMI and DESSIE1997), respectively, in Ethiopia, the current per capita egg and poultry meat consumption has been declining by a rate of 0.12 for poultry meat and 0.14 for eggs (USAID, Reference USAID2006) in the face of population growth. Based on these discrepancies, it is apparent there are opportunities for improved chicken production in this country.
Opportunities for improved chicken production in Ethiopia
Ethiopia has a large human population, with a high population of young people in particular. This segment of the society constantly requires quality protein from animal products (meat, egg and milk). Due to various reasons, grazing and hay harvesting land areas in Ethiopia have been gradually reduced. As a consequence, ruminant animal production has become difficult and poultry production is becoming vital to supply animal protein source foods. This can be an income generating activity for the progressively growing populations. Moreover, in addition to the favoured exportation of chicken products, the income of local people may improve and a number of institutions have been established in the country, and this has created a good market opportunity for chicken products.
Due to local chickens constituting approximately 98% of the total national poultry population (FAO, 2008), the dependency on exotic breed importation is minimum, which may be considered as an opportunity. The broodiness behaviour of indigenous chickens is another natural opportunity, as they perpetuate generations for years without artificial incubation. It is simple to establish or re-establish the flocks of these birds in households. The presence of deep yellow coloured yolks, good flavoured meat and eggs, and the fact that chicken products are harvested from backyard rearing system, which are generally organic in nature, are of additional benefit.
Low or no input systems of village chicken production appears to be an appropriate scheme for the poor people in the rural areas of the country. The indigenous birds are immuno-competitive, adaptive and hardy enough to adapt to the environments of scavenging production systems. Most households have chickens rather than other animals at hand as they require low initial capital to establish and provide a good food source. Establishing chicken productivity improvement programs can enable a change in the quality of rural people's life. Moreover, indigenous chickens have special importance in satisfying the cultural-beliefs of the local community and provide a good gene pool to enable genetic improvement. Furthermore, chicken meat is relatively cheap and is therefore an affordable source of animal protein for small-holder farmers.
Poultry has not only economic functions in terms of income or food but also importance for socio-cultural advantages in the society of Ethiopia, as chickens have special value during holidays in the preparation of the famous Ethiopian traditional dishes. Moreover, the spiritual belief of the sacrifice of indigenous chickens has an important place in the cultural, social and religious functions of the Ethiopian society. Despite these opportunities, there are also constraints that hinder the productivity of chickens in Ethiopia.
Constraints of chicken production in Ethiopia
The types and extent of constraints affecting chicken rearing can vary depending on the specific practical production systems employed. High mortality of chickens is the main problem in village chicken production systems. Wilson et al. (Reference WILSON, TRAORE, KUIT and SLINGERLAND1991) reported that mortality rates of chickens in traditional production systems may be as high as 80–90% within the first year after hatching. Farmers are not provided with comprehensive information about all aspects of different chicken husbandry systems, and types of flock management. Feed scarcity (both quality and quantity) is a problem for village and intensive chicken production systems. Due to a reduction in the size and availability of useable land and forests, feed scarcity is becoming a serious problem for scavenging birds that has resulted from a shortage in the feed sources to be scavenged. This may result in a reduction in flock-size and the productivity of birds.
There has been no systematic approach in the selection strategy for indigenous chicken that covers all ecotypes / native chicken populations in the country. Furthermore, there has been no exclusive study on the socio-economical aspects of village chicken production systems. Biological research should always stem from real facts regarding the socio-economic interests of people.
The culling of mature birds from flocks is not knowledge based. Generally, Ethiopia hasn't yet implemented a holistic intervention method to improve village chicken productions.
Interventions for improved village chicken production
Intervention and improvement programs should be designed to take advantage of the natural competitiveness of village chicken production. Any interventions requiring more than minimal purchased inputs or other cash outlays should be avoided (Ahlers et al., Reference AHLERS, ALDERS, BAGNOL, CAMBAZA, HARUN, MGOMEZULU, MSAMI, PYM, WEGENER, WETHLI E. and YOUNG2009) as this may increase poverty and food insecurity. Simple changes in the management of village chicken production can significantly improve production and the living conditions of many rural families. This in turn enhances nutrition and income generation through the sale of surplus chickens or eggs.
By adapting proper systems of culling extra male birds, old layers and poorly laying birds from village flocks, it is possible to reduce competition for scavenging feed sources. The products of a culling program should be sold or be used for home consumption. Such a program then improves the performance of the remaining birds, leading to an improved livelihood of households.
While planning to improve the production of chickens, acknowledging who is responsible from the family, and how to communicate good practices for raising village chickens is of utmost importance. Significant improvements in local chicken production can be achieved through well-designed and implemented information dissemination programs. Depending on the types of constraints and opportunities within chicken production, transforming the poultry sector for improved performance should be a long-term aim of the country. However, the transformation of such traditional farming needs facilitation and incentives from the government and non-government organisations to make the producers competitive.
Despite the fact that intensive poultry production (small and medium scale) constitutes a very low percentage in the Ethiopian market, they have not yet achieved specialisation and vertical co-ordination. These constitutional and structural arrangements should be supported by policy and regulation of the country that enables them to be better secured and guaranteed, in terms of business. Ways of intervening to improve chicken production can be effective when appropriate experiences with alternative approaches are available for chicken producers.
Practical experiences and options for improved chicken production
According to Dwinger and Unger (Reference DWINGER and UNGER2006), due to the intervention of vaccination against ND in some countries in Africa, the mortality of village chickens was reduced by up to 80%. Improving chicken management has a significant influence on the general performance of village chickens. Consequently, the profit from using a single intervention (ND vaccination) ranged from $0.18 to $2323.00, while the return on a multiple approach intervention has a mean profit of around $6.32 (Klos et al., Reference KLOS, EISELE, BENNETT, FRANK and GOODGER2006). Permin et al. (Reference PERMIN, RIISE J.C., KRYGER, ASSOUMANE and SCHOU2006) reported that, to improve the productivity of chickens, a strategy needs to be developed which involves not only disease control or the introduction of improved breeds, but a holistic approach taking social, cultural, marketing, credit and general management aspects into consideration. Generally, it has been concluded that farmyard production of poultry is beneficial for poor farmers as well as local entrepreneurs.
According to the Branckaert (Reference BRANCKAERT2000) reports, commercial poultry production has made substantial progress during the last fifty years; however development is constrained in developing countries that are not self-sufficient in cereal production. Thus, technology transfer in family poultry production for such countries is a good model for food security. Theerachai et al. (Reference THEERACHAI, EZZAT and MICHAEL2003) from Thailand suggested that native chicken production could be an option for alternative income generation and for the diversification of the agricultural production of the individual farmers. The same author added that a promising approach is to create a strategic model to develop local networks of farmers who share their best breeding stock in order to produce a regular flow of fertilized eggs for hatching and re-distribution within the network.
Conclusions
Over the years, flock sizes of indigenous chickens have declined and exotic chicken breeds constitute less than 2% of the chickens in Ethiopia. Moreover, the initial per capita egg and poultry meat consumption is low and declining in the face of human population growth in Ethiopia. On the other hand, chickens are the only species that are expected to be found in every poor household as they serve as a source of nutrition and an income for the country. The transformation of traditional chicken production is lagging behind. Therefore, emphasis should be given to balancing the chicken population dynamics and to improving the productivity of these chickens. The headway options and experiences should be synthesised and implemented to improve chicken production in Ethiopia. It is recommended that for improved productivity of chickens, a strategy of a holistic nature that takes social, cultural, marketing, credit and general management aspects into consideration must be developed.
