Raise Rural (DESI) Poultry for Food Security and Poverty Alleviation

Erum Bughio

D.V.M, M.Sc. (SAU), (PhD-UVAS)
Lecturer
Department of Poultry Production
Faculty of Animal Production & Technology
Shaheed Benazir Bhutto

University of Veterinary and Animal Science (SBBUVAS) Sakrand.In Pakistan Poultry production sector has been playing a vital role in bridging the gap between supply and requirement of animal protein foods for its ever increasing human population at an annual rate of about 2.1 percent (Sahota et al., 2003). The Protein Committee of Pakistan has estimated per capita daily requirement of animal protein as 27.4gm against which about 17.4gm is available indicating a deficiency of 10gm animal protein per capita daily (Anonymous, 2002).

Due to an ever-increasing global human population, there is a dire need to produce good quality animal protein in a large amount to fulfill the daily requirements of these essential items of food. The protein malnutrition is more acute and wide spread than energy malnutrition. The deficiency of animal protein foods may pose a serious threat to human health by retarded growth rate, high rate of infant’s mortality, reduced resistance to infections, low vitality and less development of mental faculties. Pakistan, along with other developing countries, is also facing the problem of acute protein malnutrition. The human requirements for animal protein foods are increasing day by day. The deficiency of animal protein foods may pose a serious threat to human health by retarded growth rate, high rate of infant’s mortality, reduced resistance to infections, low vitality and less development of mental faculties (Akram et. al., 2008).

In the face of the present human population explosion and inability of conventional protein sources of production of animal protein to meet the demand of our people, exploitation of some efficient alternate and cheaper sources of production of animal protein foods seems necessary. The situation therefore calls for not only developing the existing resources of animal protein foods but also exploiting some suitable efficient alternate resources. Rural poultry production seems to be another efficient alternate source of production of animal protein foods, which may be helpful in off loading the pressure on existing meager resources of production of animal protein foods in the country (Sahota et al., 2003).

Rural poultry rearing at small-scale household level has still potential to open another avenue to provide an alternative efficient and cheaper source of animal protein food and may help in offloading the pressure on existing poor supply of animal protein foods in the country and also to offer the poor families as an income generation source by rearing a small unit of rural poultry (Ahmed, 2013).

Pakistan is basically agriculture country, more than 70% of its population lives in rural areas and is dependent to agriculture means; since beginning Pakistan have been involved in backyard farming, which contributes major portion of total poultry production in the country.

The problems with rural poultry farming are:

1. Lack of labor skills
2. Insufficient knowledge about poultry diseases
3. No facility of proper guidance and training
4. Far away from the market

Importance of Rural/ Indigenous Chicken

The indigenous chickens are a valuable asset to local populations as they contribute significantly to food security, poverty alleviation and the promotion of gender equality, especially in disadvantaged groups and less favored areas (Gueye, 2000; Moges and Dessie, 2010). Pakistan is not exception to this situation. Poultry production in most developing countries in the tropics is based mainly on scavenging systems, and it has been estimated that more than 80 % of the total poultry population is kept in traditional family-based production systems (Permin & Pedersen, 2000, Gueye, 2005).

Family poultry meaning traditional, low-input husbandry of domestic chickens, turkeys, ducks and geese, plus guinea fowl, pigeons, pheasants and quail, is vital to food security in much of the developing world. Rural poultry are kept under traditional management system, which is characterized by small flock sizes, low input and output and periodic devastation of the flock by disease. The low productivity of the indigenous chickens could be attributed to lack of genetic improvement, incidence of diseases and predation and management factors (Sonaiya, 2002; Molla, 2010). Besides, there is no planned feeding of chickens under the traditional village production system in Pakistan and scavenging is almost the only source of diet for the chickens, indicating that the size and productivity of the village flock ultimately depend on the household waste and the availability of scavenge able feed resources. There is still a good scope to strengthen countries economy by organizing and improving our rural poultry. In most of the developing countries, indigenous poultry genotypes constitute between 80 to 99 percent of the total poultry populations that are kept in villages (Sonaiya and Swan, 2004).

Family poultry production has been a traditional component of small farms throughout the developing world. Attempts are being made to raise the productivity of family chickens in developing countries, by improving housing, nutrition and health programs. Also research had been adopted in Sudan to increase egg production potentialities of local breeds (Eltayeb et al., 2010).

Like many countries in Africa and Asia; village chickens supports families in rural areas with eggs and poultry meat, where commercial poultry products are not attainable. However, village poultry or family poultry constitute an important component of the agricultural and household economy in the developing world. Its contribution goes beyond direct food production as well as employment and income generation for small farmers, especially women. They also serve as a mean of capital accumulation and as a barter product in societies where there is no circulation of currency. These birds which make up to 80% of poultry stocks in many developing countries (Gueye, 1998; 2000; Goodger et al., 2002; Pym et al., 2006), are also of value in the religious and socio-cultural lives of local communities. They need very little care and the cost of feeding them is little, because they rely on themselves and scavenge for food and, above all, they tolerate harsh climate and poor health conditions that prevail in the areas of breeding. In spite of this low-input by rural farmers on their production, free-range birds play many socio-economic roles.

According to recent estimates, backyard and free-range poultry accounts for as much as 70% of total egg and bird meat production in low-income, food-deficit countries. Rural people are generally characterized by being poor. As reported by Eneh (2011) poverty is a challenge to development. Its presence anywhere is a threat to development. It manifests in household lack and denial, unemployment, illiteracy, water and sanitation crises, inadequate medical services, poor child welfare and health and gender issues.

CONCLUSION

The role of poultry sector in the development of Human recourses is enormous country like Pakistan has great emergence to develop Human recourses into efficient and effective basis for the domestic market to meet the demand of protein. Skill human resources can be able to contribute the society in a significant way in various sectors. Government authority should take the overall responsibility to make effective human resources through co-ordination of various agencies. This agency should monitor the coordinator matter, effective HR planning and coordination is equally significant for the private and public sector in Pakistan. Especially education infrastructure should be updated based on need. In Pakistan, there is lack of poultry training institutions especially local chickens; it should be more than that otherwise unskilled labor will never be able to meet up the future demand of protein through poultry sector.

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