Our Indigenous Poultry Parent Stock Now Needs Grandparents!!
26 September 2010
The RIU Tanzania's work on indigenous poultry continues to experience new challenges: Challenges that are indeed business opportunities, if looked at from the right perspective. However, such challenges tend to give us RIU innovation brokers sleepless nights!
The RIU Tanzania's work on indigenous poultry continues to experience new challenges: Challenges that are indeed business opportunities, if looked at from the right perspective. However, such challenges tend to give us RIU innovation brokers sleepless nights!
Our program promotes commercialization of rural poultry enterprises. Through facilitated processes we seek and utilize innovative system-wide solutions which promote use of new knowledge. This includes building small farmers' capacity to raise and market a minimum of 100 birds using improved management systems. Whilst at the same time developing efficient systems to provide relevant services like extension, feeds, vet drugs, chicks etc.
About 2,000 households have been reached in our pilot Coast Region and more will be reached as the program is out scaled to two more regions. Participating farmers are introduced to buying chicks from hatcheries instead of relying on the slow household level breeding.
In order to respond to the new demand our program supported existed backyard mini-hatcheries to increase their production of day old chicks of indigenous breeds. When we started the average hatching capacity of these hatcheries was between 100 to 400 chicks per week as they were managed only as a hobby with few sales to friends and neighbours.
Our program is now working with 12 hatcheries which produce day old chicks of mixed local breeds. These hatcheries are slowly building their parents stocks to produce fertilized eggs enough to reach the planned target of producing 70,000 chicks per week. This capacity must triple if we are to meet the existing demand for chicks. The current capacity is between 400 to 4,000 chicks per week per hatchery.
Of late our program observed a sudden increase in chick mortalities specifically occurring within the first 14 days after hatching.
Investigations have zeroed to poor hatchery management flagging infected parent stocks and inbreeding as major causes. The existing parent stock is a carrier of major poultry diseases like:
necesitating complete replacement of the entire parent stock with a new one which is proven to be free from diseased. Else, the hatcheries will produce diseased and weak chicks which will increase farmer's expenditure on drugs, as well as lowering productivity, due to high mortality rates.
We wrote a letter to the Ministry of Livestock Development applying for a comprehensive laboratory screening of the parent stock. The results will inform our program and hatchery owners what to do. But, as we wait for the lab results, the following questions are spinning in our minds. If it happens that hatcheries have to replace or expand their existing parent stock:
We did ask the Ministry these and many more questions during a day meeting organized by the program on poultry diseases management and control.
The above questions are very important because the gene pool and genetic diversity of indigenous chickens in Tanzania is not known. Different studies have been conducted to characterize the breeds but it is still difficult to tell in confidence which breeds are available in Tanzania worse different poultry development programs have distributed unrecorded breeds of the so called "improved cocks" in rural villages as an attempt to encourage cross-breeding with local hens to improve the genetic stock.
Learning from the famous Bangladesh Poultry Model, it is clear to us that a grandparent farm is required. BRAC's over 20 years of working in the poultry sector proved that while most of the important functions could be carried out at village level, provided good organization and training is in place, the grandparent farm is better managed by the Government. Unfortunately, the history of Tanzania does not support the idea, since such public farms like Livestock Multiplication Units and Livestock Breeding Farms disintegrated because of poor management.
Maybe a Public-Private-Partnership model is needed here!
About 2,000 households have been reached in our pilot Coast Region and more will be reached as the program is out scaled to two more regions. Participating farmers are introduced to buying chicks from hatcheries instead of relying on the slow household level breeding.
In order to respond to the new demand our program supported existed backyard mini-hatcheries to increase their production of day old chicks of indigenous breeds. When we started the average hatching capacity of these hatcheries was between 100 to 400 chicks per week as they were managed only as a hobby with few sales to friends and neighbours.
Our program is now working with 12 hatcheries which produce day old chicks of mixed local breeds. These hatcheries are slowly building their parents stocks to produce fertilized eggs enough to reach the planned target of producing 70,000 chicks per week. This capacity must triple if we are to meet the existing demand for chicks. The current capacity is between 400 to 4,000 chicks per week per hatchery.
Of late our program observed a sudden increase in chick mortalities specifically occurring within the first 14 days after hatching.
Investigations have zeroed to poor hatchery management flagging infected parent stocks and inbreeding as major causes. The existing parent stock is a carrier of major poultry diseases like:
necesitating complete replacement of the entire parent stock with a new one which is proven to be free from diseased. Else, the hatcheries will produce diseased and weak chicks which will increase farmer's expenditure on drugs, as well as lowering productivity, due to high mortality rates.
We wrote a letter to the Ministry of Livestock Development applying for a comprehensive laboratory screening of the parent stock. The results will inform our program and hatchery owners what to do. But, as we wait for the lab results, the following questions are spinning in our minds. If it happens that hatcheries have to replace or expand their existing parent stock:
- Where will they source clean and genetically strong parents i.e. from which grandparents?
- Where are the grandparents now in Tanzania; and how to raise them without losing their genetic superiority?
- Given the diversity and lack of comprehensive data on the existing gene pool of the indigenous chickens in the country, which breed/type will be kept in the grandparent farm?
- Where will the first flock of disease free indigenous grandparents come from?
- Between Public and Private, who is better placed to manage such a farm?
- How to establish such a farm from the scratch?
We did ask the Ministry these and many more questions during a day meeting organized by the program on poultry diseases management and control.
The above questions are very important because the gene pool and genetic diversity of indigenous chickens in Tanzania is not known. Different studies have been conducted to characterize the breeds but it is still difficult to tell in confidence which breeds are available in Tanzania worse different poultry development programs have distributed unrecorded breeds of the so called "improved cocks" in rural villages as an attempt to encourage cross-breeding with local hens to improve the genetic stock.
Learning from the famous Bangladesh Poultry Model, it is clear to us that a grandparent farm is required. BRAC's over 20 years of working in the poultry sector proved that while most of the important functions could be carried out at village level, provided good organization and training is in place, the grandparent farm is better managed by the Government. Unfortunately, the history of Tanzania does not support the idea, since such public farms like Livestock Multiplication Units and Livestock Breeding Farms disintegrated because of poor management.
Maybe a Public-Private-Partnership model is needed here!
Interesting account, regarding mortality of the chicks may be apart from locating the cause in the parent material you may also need to look at the handling practices of the hatchery personnel themeselves in case they have certain practices that will contaminate even the new parent stock. An omnibus approach may be relevant (new parent stock+ review of handling practices+ a look at chain of disease transmission+ etc), including training on dealing with large numbers. i hope I am not turning it into a chicken and egg issue.
Elias Madzudzo, RIU Lilongwe
Posted by: Elias Madzudzo | 10/05/2010 at 11:10 AM
You are very right Elias. Hatchery Managemnt is part of the problem. We have therefore identified an actor who will train on Hatchery Management. Last week we had the Ministry staff visit the hatcheries and we got good comments. However, our main concern is also how to expand the existing parent stock i.e. Where will the hatcheries buy new parents? We are now facilitating the hatchery owners to buy matured hens from those kept by farmers and recycle them with improved cocks. Using our database which tells us exactly which farmer is keeping chicks from which hatchery, we are able to make sure that no hen returns to the the same hatchery. It is a breakthrough.
Posted by: Vera Mugittu | 10/15/2010 at 02:32 PM
Great! a problem-focussed and engaged attempt to promote innovation. Issues of hatchery management look technical but at the same time policy related - and I see a right balance of technical inquiry and policy linkage (even engaging the minister).
Good luck, Vera!
Posted by: Hemant Ojha | 10/28/2010 at 06:13 AM
I am leaving today Bangladesh after visiting for the second time PKSF/IFAD/ GoB funded project "Micro-Finance and Technical Support Project". One of the main success stories is the implementation and development of rural rice husk minihatcheries which function with Kerosene lamp or solar heating (check www.enrap.org/.../Paper%20-%20Mini-hatcheries%20poultry.doc). A new more efficient model named "sand model" has been succesfully tested. It is very simple to build and each owner build its own one. Hatchability rate is 85-90% and daily management doesn't require more than half an hour per day. A simple model can hatch 1500 eggs. We are preparing a video and a user friendly training manual. This material will be ready by April 2011. I would like to keep in touch with you for further correspondance on this subject. Do not hesitate in contacting me. Antonio Rota, IFAD STA Livestock and Farming systems
Posted by: Antonio Rota | 11/28/2010 at 06:58 AM
Hi Antonio
Thank you for taking the time to post a response – but I think I need to explain why I see what we are doing through the other end of the telescope.
The name of our programme is poultry – entrepreneurship. Within this programme we, at RIU Tanzania, are committed to reducing poverty in Africa and building sustainable businesses that increase the tax payer base.
I am weary of small, small things that probably sustain poverty in Africa.
You can’t have hatcheries in every house and call it a business model. No traceability, no volumes for export! I am working to create 10 big hatcheries that create jobs, pay taxes and can deliver (as RIU is required to) at scale. In this way we can regulate and control diseases etc and professionalize the sector. I stand to be corrected but this is what I believe is the way forward for the entrepreneurs on our programme.
Africa needs a revolution in terms of scale. So, having many small farmers linked to one big hatchery and one big processor means they contribute to the GDP and raise significantly household incomes! We are not trying to create small-scale enterprises of everything! Small-scale farmer, small-scale chick producer, small-scale meat processor, small-scale egg producer….. and on and on!
Experience has shown us that often programmes create interventions that are too small to be profitable …as a result they stay reliant on aid!! This approach has been supported for ages but without success. So why do so many organisations still do it?
We want and need bigger businesses in Africa and, over time, smaller and smaller NGOs.
Best wishes
Vera
Posted by: Vera Mugittu | 11/30/2010 at 04:47 PM
I Like your program. I am interested in rare breeds of chicken from all over the world for ornamental/dipslay purposes. I live in Nairobi Kenya, but I have a farm about 20km from the City.
Please quote your different breeds for sale. I don/t mind small quantities like a dozen chicks or hatching eggs per breed.
Thank you
Patrick Maina
Posted by: Patrick Maina | 09/01/2011 at 09:29 PM
Hello everybody! Check out these links an dlet me know what you think> Antonio
http://www.cop-ppld.net/cop_knowledge_base/detail/?uid=3031
http://www.cop-ppld.net/cop_knowledge_base/detail/?uid=3030
Posted by: Antonio Rota | 10/06/2011 at 04:45 PM
Hello Vera
I am very impressed by your arguments about the need to change the approach to pull poor farmers from their sinking ship of poverty. We share those common thoughts. I regret that I am going to divert you from your issue, as I seek information from you.
My wife and I are doing an ecotourism project in Machakos, about 60km S.E. of Nairobi Kenya. To involve the local communities [a component in REAL ecotourism], we have decided to embark on getting them to produce indigenous chicken which we will buy back from them, sell a few through our ecotourism facility, but add value to the rest and sell [slaughter & pack] to the market. This way, we will be able to not only include agro-tourism in our package, but also help the farmers generate income. To get the numbers that will be economical, we need to provide them with the DOCs, provide vet care [I am a veterinarian, and my wife has a bachelors degree in commerce]. I stumbled on your post as I was surfing the net for ideas on experiences with hatcheries. It looks like you are already there.
Kindly contact me on mwenda.mmbaka@gmail.com or +254722513373 or +254733949614 so that we can discuss further.
Mwenda Mbaka
Posted by: Dr. Mwenda Mbaka [Vet] | 10/31/2011 at 05:25 AM
I follow you VIA GFC and I love your blog!
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