Improving village chicken production to elevate the livelihoods of poor people in Ethiopia
Tadelle Dessie (ILRI)EIAR Workshop, Debre Zeit, April 11, 2013
Poultry production in Ethiopia• Village system responsible for majority of poultry
production (more than 90% meat and egg)
Poultry offers poor people pathway out of poverty (by and for the poor!!!!!! –real opportunity)
Let us go for a walk
2011
Koepon
Funding
-Egg production-Growth (wt at 16 wks)
-Age at first egg
2006-2010
Breeding
Objective
Set up breed improvement
program
- 2nd generation
- Promising results
Diagnostics
High mortality
Facility
Man power
2010
DFID
Funding
2009 to dateEgg production
34-75 at 45 wks of age
Age at first egg223-148 days
Growth550-788 g
2000-2003
High within
variability
Characterisation
Livability50%-97%
Way
forward
-10th generation
-Color fixation
-Divergent selection for Disease resistance
-Crossbreeding and supply
-Composite breed development and test
-Develop and test different scenarios of dissemination
SELECTION STRATEGY . . .
G E N E T I C I M P R O V E M E N T O F L O C A L C H I C K E N S
G_9 Population
G_5 Population
G_6 Population
G_10 Population
20 Sires200
Dams
G_7 Population
G_8 Population
20 Sires
20 Sires
20 Sires
20 Sires
200 Dams
200 Dams
200 Dams
200 Dams
The simplest and lowest cost intervention is to disseminate improved indigenous chickens, with some improved
management
Model breeders
Breeding Units
Farmers
Community/Farmers
Eggs
Key elements
Establish a supply of chickens with improved growth, egg production feed conversion and disease-resistance traits Potentially within-breed
selection Multiplier flocks established and
scaled-up via mini-hatcheries When target scale is reached,
hatcheries begin sale of day-old improved chicks to farmers
Chicks vaccinated by poultry workers in the mini-hatcheries
Mini Hatcheries
Day-old chicks
Community/ Market
EggsLive chickens
VaccinesMedicines
Genetically improved hens and cocks
(Improved Horro)
Selection / development
Dissemination / multiplication
Supply to smallholders
• Research project identifying and testing different sources of indigenous chickens.
• Could involve within-breed selection or cross-breeding
• Might take 2 to 3 years (we have it).
• Establishment of multiplier flock.• Starts with initial flock of female
birds (and suitable number of cocks) selected or developed in Phase 1
• Rapid multiplication over period of 24-30 months to achieve scale
• Ongoing supply of chicks from the multiplier flock
• Some chicks retained as replacements to sustain multiplier flock
• Male and female chicks vaccinated and sold to farmersKe
y ac
tiviti
esO
utco
mes
• Create initial flock:– 100 hens– Appropriate # of cocks
• Grow multiplier flock (hens)– Start: 100– 12 months: 1,970– 18 months: 38,800– 24 months: 765,000– 30 months: 15 million
• Supply vaccinated chicks to farmers, while sustaining flock– 10 male, 10 female per year– Benefit: $???? per smallholder
– millions smallholders– More million smallholders
Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 32 years Ongoing
Scale can be achieved quickly through multiplier flocks in village-based mini-hatcheries
Poultry’s high rate of reproduction enables rapidscale; Distribution could begin after 18 months
6 12Phase 2 Months 18 24 30
Size of multiplierflock 100* 1,970 38,800 765,000 Millions100
Number of smallholdersbenefited
7,300 145,000 millions More millions
No chick distribution Limited distribution (5-10%)
Full dissemination
This model can be implemented simultaneously in multiple geographies.
Some people who contributed to the success!!!!!
• Continue animal health investment to determine if lifelong disease resistance can be conferred by either a single vaccination to the chick, or through breeding (Newcastle, Marek’s disease)• Opportunity to breed for disease resistance, or
for synergy between breed and vaccine
Additional Recommendations
Thank you