Smallholder farmer community-based breeding program of indigenous chickens key to in-situ genetic resource conservation and enhancing rural livelihoods in Zambia

Abstract

Agriculture is the primary livelihood for many nations. Most rural communities in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) depend on agriculture for their livelihood but are also custodians of essential animal genetic resources in the region. Nearly 80% of smallholder farmers rear small livestock, including indigenous chickens (IC) (Gallus domesticus) for household income, food and nutritional security. However, populations of IC genetic resources over the past decade have experienced erosion and extinction and thus have the potential to affect future production and biodiversity negatively. Among the avian species, many chicken varieties are in danger with 62% of chicken strains being of unknown status, 33% at risk of extinction and 3.5% extinct. These negative changes can adversely affect rural communities in SSA. Therefore, genetic resource conservation focused on in-situ selection, development, multiplication and utilisation of Indigenous chickens in rural communities should be considered. In SSA, Zambia has also experienced poor performance, including loss of breeds of IC attributed to disease and weak markets dominated by intensive broiler and egg chicken production. Therefore, this research project will focus on a community-based breeding program in Zambia to formulate solutions for local smallholder farmers to mitigate the losses of IC genetic resources. The three main objectives are to; i) strengthen sustainable selection, multiplication, utilisation and conservation of IC, (ii), improve efficiency in production and disease control of IC (iii), and explore potential market value chains of IC. The methodology will involve undertaking a survey, focus group discussion, and interviews for 50 households to collect social-economic data throughout 2021. This data will include breeds reared, production systems used, common poultry diseases, and marketing systems practised. Identification of challenges faced by farmers involved in IC production will be through the engagements and consensus of the research team. A bio-economic model will then be used to evaluate the profitability and economic contributions of the essential biological traits concerning consumer-market demands (Okeno et al., 2012). The model will describe the production system used and the effects of biological characteristics on costs due to labour, veterinary, brooding, feeding requirements and revenue from the sale of eggs, growers, and culled breeding stock. This research aims to facilitate future benefits for both smallholder farmers through improved livelihoods, and consumers are having access to healthy IC eggs and meat from the market.