IMPROVING SKILLS OF THE SMALL FARMERS IN POULTRY MANAGEMENT
	Quazi M Emdadul Huque
	Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute avar, Dhaka 1341, Bangladesh

This article discusses the present production systems of chicken and ducks in Bangladesh with their characteristic features (small scale farming, semi-scavenging model of rural poultry production with seven components). The skill improvement processes of small farmers in poultry management practiced in Bangladesh are described which is mostly based on the experiences gathered from the developing process of the model and in transferring technology to the existing production systems. Women's participation in small scale poultry farming uplifts the socio-economic status and generates income for the destitute and poor women. The action programmes of the model is an effective processes of skill improvement of the rural small farmers.

INTRODUCTION

Small-scale poultry farmers are the main producers of the poultry in many developing countries. Improving skills of the small farmers requires special strategies in order to move from “no-input” scavenging poultry keeping to profit oriented egg and meat production. Improving skills of these farmers has a great impact on production efficiency and to increase their market share and thus their income.

Poultry in Bangladesh includes chicken, duck, and a small number of pigeon, geese, guinea fowl and quail. About 89 per cent of the rural household keep poultry and the average number per household is 6.8. The number of poultry in the country is estimated to be about 129.94 million (chicken 116.47 million and ducks 13.47 million), which grew at an annual rate of 6.49 per cent over 1990–1994 (DLS, 1994). The share of poultry in the animal protein component of human diet is estimated to be 30 per cent in 1995. In the last few years, small commercial poultry farming is expanding in the country in the peri-urban areas as layer and broiler farming and cockerel raising. In the rural areas, small scale farming of poultry, duck and mini hatchery are developing by the support of institutional credit, NGO and public sector technical support. The number of poultry farms is 1,11,608 out of which 89,702 farms raise a maximum 50 birds per farm. The number of duck farms is 20223. Almost all farms are small enterprises except a few number of large farms.

The poultry production of Bangladesh is mostly under small farmers management systems. In an estimate on the production based on the year 1991, it was found that about 96 per cent of egg and 98 per cent of meat of chicken were produced by small farmers (Huque and Stem, 1993). This paper will provide a short overview of the production systems of chicken and duck of Bangladesh and a semi-scavenging small farming model of rural poultry production and describes the skill improvement process of the farmers which are mostly based on the experiences gathered from the developing process of the model and in transferring technology to the existing production systems of Bangladesh. The process of learning technical know-how in the model is considered as one of the strategies for skill improvement.

POULTRY PRODUCTION SYSTEMS IN BANGLADESH

The chicken production systems of Bangladesh are divided into five production sub-systems (Table 1) and the duck production systems are divided into four. The production systems are as under.

Chicken Production Systems

(table 1 here)

1. Smallholder native scavenging chicken consisting of several birds with local germ plasm: Native chicken are extensively raised in the backyard with night shelter and little supplementary feeding by rural people specially women and children; the males are normally raised for meat and breeding purposes, while the hens are raised for egg production and reproduction. An estimate showed that about 75 per cent of the eggs and 86 per cent of the meat is produced by this system (Huque and Stem, 1993). These birds are raised with little or no inputs and productivity is very low and irregular with an average annual egg production 35–45 eggs weighing 33–38 gm (Huque et al. 1990).

2. Crossbred rural scavenging production with crosses between native and several improved breeds provided by the public sector: White Leghorn (WL), Rhode Island Red (RIR), Fayoumi are available in public sector poultry farms. These are mainly being used for improvement of local chickens through a crossbreeding program through chick, egg and pullet distribution, and cockerel exchange activities. At present, this program has got less priority in Bangladesh.

3. Small commercial rural farming by women with pure line improved breeds/ their crosses available at public sector poultry farms: This system of production is one of the main activities of public sector with collaborative program of Non-Government Organization (NGO) managed completely by the women. At the beginning, this type of birds were used for the semi-scavenging model developed with seven components for rural poultry development. Many small farmers transferred their farming from pure line stock to hybrid stock after having their improved skill.

4. Small commercial farming with imported hybrids by unemployed youth and women: The small farming commercial producers receive day-old chicks from local hatcheries or imported ones. A large number of youth and women have become small-scale poultry farmers in the vicinity of big cities. The youths receive training from Department of Livestock Services, Youth Training Centers and NGOs. This production system is expanding in the country with the improvement of skills of the small farmers.

5. Large commercial poultry agribusiness based on hybrids imported from overseas as day-old chicks or parent stock birds: These commercial layer and broiler enterprises are expanding in the vicinity of the cities for catering egg and meat to the cities. Numbers of this type of industrial ventures are very few which produce only 4 per cent eggs and 2 per cent meat of total production of Bangladesh (Huque and Stem, 1993).

Duck production systems

Duck production has an important economic role in Bangladesh and about 43 percent of the annual per capital egg consumption was duck eggs (BBS, 1984). Ducks are mostly reared by the small, marginal, landless poor and vulnerable section of the countryside. Almost all households keep ducks where any form of water bodies like rivers, ponds, lakes, big natural water basin and low lying areas are available. Ducks are mainly raised for egg and the meat is produced as a by-product (Huque, 1991). It was found in a survey that out of the total duck population, about 56 per cent were native, 28 per cent Khaki Campbell, 13 per cent cross bred and the rest were Indian Runner, Cherry valley, Muscovy, Jinding and Pekin (Amber, 1994). The national duck production programme was launched with one central duck breeding farm, three regional multiplication farms and 12 regional duck rearing farms in public sector. Two more regional duck farms are under way to be established this year. Non-government organizations (NGO) have a major duck production programme in the country. More than 80 per cent ducklings is produced by the ‘rice husk heating’ method by the NGO. Four duck production systems are practiced which are presented in table 2.

(table 2 here)

1. Smallholder integrated scavenging: The smallholder integrated scavenging ducks are reared for egg and meat production. Duck eggs are mostly hatched by broody chicken and reared first one or two weeks by the hen and later reared by individual farmers. The birds have access to confined water areas of pond, canals, basins, low lying areas and rivers as well as coastal regions. This allows the birds to get high-value aquatic weeds, snails, insects, crabs, small fishers, etc. which fulfill the need of feed requirement. In certain periods of the year, some farmers who keep ducks in confinement collect snails and feed them fresh to their ducks.

2. Herding system: The herded ducks have a free access to big natural water basin (haor), low lying areas (beel) and swamp areas. The flocks scavenge and forage whole day in the open fields and meet their feed requirement. A young boy (caretaker) normally looks after the herded flock during the day foraging period. The herded ducks are not generally supplemented with feed except in lean season (in the month of July and August, the water level is quite high in the water bodies and ducks gets less feed). The ducks find enough feed during grazing in the water bodies. All hatching is being done by the traditional ‘rice husk heating process’. The method is quite successful with hatching percentage more than 70 per cent on the total egg set.

3. Duck-cum-fish farming: This system of duck farming is becoming popular in Bangladesh. As the fish farming does not need any extra feed for fish, this production system is economically more viable and getting more popularity. Intensive system of management with balanced feeding is being practiced in this farming. The Fisheries Research Institute is making efforts to use duck droppings for higher fish production. This is making technology which is transferred to the farmers' fields through the farming system research programme.

4. Improved system: The improved system of duck farming is managed by the government and NGOs. Ducks are kept under complete confinement with balanced feeding though in some cases they are allowed to swim in pond within the farm area.

SMALL FARMING POULTRY DEVELOPMENT MODEL

Small farming semi-scavenging poultry development model is a self-sustainable complete package based on almost all local resources. This model has given an opportunity for income generation of the poorest of the poor and landless poor, particularly destitute or landless women in Bangladesh (Table 3). The improvement of the poverty alleviation through the model is presented in Table 4. This model is one of the main chicken development programs of the Government of Bangladesh in collaboration with NGOs. The model has not been executed yet for duck development programme, as ducks are not raised extensively in all areas of the countryside. The model has two core elements: (a) prevention coverage of major poultry diseases through self employment and (b) improvement of skill of small farmers for higher egg and meat production. The action programmes of the small farming poultry development model are proved to be very effective in the skill improvement process described in this paper. The model has a package of seven components supported by small amount of credit supply without any collateral support:

Table 3 and Table 4 here

1. Poultry workers (women vaccinator),
2. Chick rearers,
3. Key rearers,
4. Model rearers
5. Mini hatcheries,
6. Egg collectors,
7. Feed sellers

1. Poultry workers: Group formation is an important criterion for this component. At least 20 landless poor (having only homestead), almost all women, need to form a group in the target village. One woman from each group is selected and provided 10-day basic training on poultry vaccination and health control along with a some idea on poultry husbandry. On completion of initial training, they are supplied with a vaccination kit box along with a thermos-flask and on regular basis stock of vaccines and drugs. The poultry workers return to their villages and vaccinate all birds in the villages by charging Taka 0.50 per bird. The average income of the different components are presented in Table 4. After three weeks, the workers receive a refresher training for 9 days in two times with certain intervals. The workers will take part in a group discussion once in a month.

2. Chick Rearers: Chick rearers are selected from best poultry workers and offered additional 9-day training thrice with several months of intervals on chick rearing. They rear 250 to 300 improved day-old chicks up to eight weeks of age under intensive system of feeding with balanced starter ration. They rear 4–5 cycles of chicks commercially in a year. The chicks are sold to the Key Rearers and Model Rearers.

2. Key Rearers: Key Rearers are the group members of the village and are given training on ideal method of poultry rearing for additional 4 days in two times with a few months of interval. They purchase 10 to 15 birds from the chick rearers and rear them up to 80 weeks of age for egg and meat production. They raise their birds under semi-intensive system with supplemented feeds.

4. Model Rearers: Model rearers are selected from the experienced and technically skilled ‘Key Rearers’ for production of hatching eggs for local hatchery. They are trained additional 4 days in two times and acquire a higher level of technical capability (improved skill) of poultry rearing. They purchase best selected 26 pullets and 4 cocks from chick rearer at the age of 8 to 12 weeks and rear under intensive system with balanced ration. The primary output of this model is to supply hatching eggs to the mini hatchery along with some table eggs and meat.

5. Mini Hatcheries: Women are selected from the group members and are given training on rice husk heating method for 21 days for chicken and 28 days for duck to produce day-old chicks/ducklings. They purchase hatching eggs from the egg collector and hatch it in their mini hatchery. The chicks or ducklings are sold to the chick rearers.

6. Egg collector: One woman member from each area is selected and developed as an egg collector. She receives 3 days training on egg handling and care for hatching and table eggs. She is responsible for buying eggs from model rearer and supply it to mini hatchery.

7. Feed seller: One woman is selected as feed seller and is given 3 days initial training on feed identification, preparation of balanced ration and their proper hand mixing system. They are supplied feed formula for different types of birds. All group members purchase feed from this feed seller to avoid feed adulteration and quality feed.

Small amount of credit is one of the important factors for whole operation of the model as the landless poor or destitute women do not have their own funds for starting these activities. A collateral less credit is given to all component members depending on their size of operation. Poultry workers do not get any loan but they receive vaccination kit and flask as grant. At the beginning, Chick rearer, Key Rearer, Model rearer, Mini hatchery, Egg collector and Feed seller receive loan at the rate of Taka 6000.00, 2000.00, 4000.00, 6000.00, 2000.00 and 6000.00, respectively. With the weekly repayment system, loan recovery is almost 100 per cent. Farmers can get loan again after completion of repayment. The model is operated in collaboration with Government and NGOs in an integrated package program.

SMALL FARMERS SKILL IMPROVEMENT

Small scale farming of poultry is the major operational program of poultry in Bangladesh as 96 per cent of eggs and 98 per cent of poultry meat is produced by the small farmers. Skill of the farmers and its improvement depends on the production of the systems of poultry of a country. In the context of Bangladesh, five production systems in chicken and four production systems in ducks are being practiced. All the skill improvement process described here are effective in the small farming context of Bangladesh. Small farmers skill improvement in poultry management is being done by the following process:

1. Group forming of the primary target beneficiaries: Formation of a group with the primary target beneficiaries is a factor for developing skill. Selection of the target beneficiary need to be based on interest, needs of incumbent and their level of social and educational background.

2. Training: Training is one of the most important tools for skill improvement. The nature of trainings are:

   1. Primary training on poultry production and health care based on class room instruction along with the practical knowledge.

   2. Functional training at the farm by work in hand from first to last steps of operation.

   3. Refresher training at certain intervals following the problems faced by the poultry farmers are needed to upgrade farmers' skill and management used by the farmers.

3. Demonstration: Demonstrations in each steps of the production chain along with its economic benefits and sustainable production systems are required.

4. Group meetings: Group meetings among the farmers in presence of technical officials are useful to uplift the knowledge of the members.

5. Visits: Organized farm visits in a group with the members of farmer to the neighboring poultry farms/ demonstration farms are good efforts to teach new techniques.

6. Mass communication: Mass communication programs are effective system of farmers skill improvement. It can be conducted in different ways, such as broadcasting special bulletin through television, radio and video program on poultry husbandry with its economic viability.

7. Publications: Publication and distribution of posters, leaflets, pamphlet, training materials etc. are recognized as tools for skill improvement.

8. Input services: Input services like birds, feeds, vaccines and medicines, credit etc. are essential for expressing the skills following the training.

9. Advisory services: Advisory services for continuous upgrading of technical know how are required for the farmers on a regular basis through the extension agents. Number of extension agents and their frequent contact are also important for covering the target areas.

10. Efficiency improvement training: Efficiency improvement training is required to increase the level of skills for higher technical knowledge. After the first stage of learning and the adoption of simple techniques, an efficiency improvement training is essential as further steps of skill improvement.

11. Output services: Output services such as an increased focuses on marketing and processing of the products are essential for skill improvement.

12. Field day, workshop and seminar: are an effective processes for farmers to increase their knowledge and skills.

13. Inter-agency cooperation: for continuous input output services are required for keeping standard flow of the operation which helps to maintain the improved skills

14. Management information system: A group of best farmers' skills information can be collected through a management information system and identify the facts of management skills for higher production and transfer these gained experiences to the other producers.

WOMEN PARTICIPATION IN POULTRY RAISING

Women in the small farm participated quite actively in the various activities involved in poultry production. In the small farm, almost all work such as brooding operation feed preparation and feeding, rearing of chicks and ducklings, egg collection, gathering ducks or chicken for night safety and the other daily chores are performed by the women. Sometimes only input procurement and marketing of the produce are shared. by the men, none the less women participate in major decisions related to the poultry production. In many cases women themselves do procurement and marketing also. But it is important to notice that the income from the sale is spent by women. In a society traditionally dominated by men, small poultry farming provides women with a unique opportunity for economic empowerment. In the large commercial enterprises, the farmers engage women workers for most of the farm works like egg collection, feeding etc.

STRATEGY FOR RESEARCH

The present attempt is to conduct adaptive and field problem based research in Bangladesh. As the major share of egg and meat production is coming from small scale farming, an alternative improved type of birds for catering this farming is required for increasing the rural production. A research experiment has been undertaken on the small poultry farming with different combinations of pure line chicken breeds and their crosses with the financial support of IFAD. Another emphasis has been given to utilize local feed resources along with the non-conventional feed resources to reduce the feed cost.

The need for research on small scale poultry farming is not generally recognized but small scale poultry farming is promising in developing countries as the demand of poultry products in developing world is growing very rapidly and it requires less investment. To meet the increasing demand of eggs and meat, research efforts need to be directed towards the small scale poultry farming in the developing countries as the problems in developing countries are different than in the developed countries. The transfer of technical know-how in different stage of skills and adoption of techniques is the major constraint in small scale rural poultry production. The research efforts are also needed to be undertaken in these areas.

REFERENCES

AMBER, J. (1994) Survey of duck production in Bangladesh. Presented in a workshop on 9-6-1994 at Department of Livestock Services.

ANONYMOUS, (1996) Socio-economic impact of smallholder livestock development project, Bangladesh. Department of livestock services, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

B.B.S.C., (1984) Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics Agricultural Census overnment of Bangladesh. (DLS). 1994 Department of Livestock Services (Livestock Economics section. DLS. Dhaka.

HUQUE, Q.M.E., EBADUL, M.H. and RIGOR, E.M. (1990) The effect of chick separation on productivity of the hen and chicks. Asia-Australasian Journal of Animal Science 3(2): 121–123.

HUQUE, Q.M.E. (1991) Duck production system in Bangladesh. Asian Livestock 16(2): 18–23.

HUQUE, Q.M.E. and STEM, C. (1993) Current status of poultry production and marketing systems in Bangladesh. Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council/ USAID/Checchi & Company Consulting, Inc.

Table 1. Chicken production systems

NC = Native Chicken,
WL = White Leghorn,
RIR = Rhode Island Red,
F = Fayoumi,
IH = Imported Hybrid,
L = Layer,
B = Broiler.

Table 2. Duck production systems

L = Local,
KC = Khaki Campbell,
LXKC = Local × Khaki Campbell,
J = Jinding,
B = Beijing

Table 3. Average yearly income and cost & return analysis of different component of beneficiaries of the model.

US $ 1 = Taka 40.00, - = not available.

Table 4. Percentage of poverty alleviation through the model

Source : Anonymous, 1996,

NA = Not available