The 7th African Chicken Genetic Gains (ACGG) national innovation platform and handover of the Tanzanian Smallholder Poultry Association (TASPA) to the government was held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 19–20 June 2019 (photo credit: ILRI/Tsion Issayas).

The 7^th African Chicken Genetic Gains (ACGG) Tanzania national innovation platform meeting of representatives from the public and private sectors, non-governmental organizations and government agencies, was held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on 19–20 June 2019.

The two-day meeting was a rich learning and discussion event where participants reflected on the successes, challenges and future of the smallholder chicken subsector in Tanzania. One of the key messages that emerged from the discussions was the need for the platform members to work in partnership with diverse poultry industry stakeholders in the country to create a market-led chicken subsector where all value chain actors benefit, especially women.

Tadelle Dessie, ACGG project leader and senior scientist in genetics and breeding at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), said that such partnerships would help chicken industry actors in Tanzania to build new and strengthen existing relationships with government, private sector and donor agencies. He said that, working through such partnerships has enabled the ACGG project to successfully test different chicken breeds and develop agro-ecologically appropriate and farmer-preferred chicken in the country. ‘By forming and nurturing innovation platforms ACGG has also increased access to inputs and market for smallholder farmers, especially women,’ he added.

He called upon the innovation platform members to ‘build a transformative smallholder chicken system that is nutrition-smart, inclusive, remunerative and commercially viable through evidence-driven innovations and sustainable delivery models in Tanzania’.

The forum discussed the plans and next steps in the establishment of a Tanzanian Smallholder Poultry Association (TASPA), the timelines for setting up the association, strategies for funding, creating awareness and recruiting members from all over Tanzania. The government will now take over the process of registering and managing the TASPA.

Participants also visited displays of chicken feed, veterinary products, chicken coops and breeds set up at the meeting venue.

At the closing, Furaha Mramba, CEO of the Tanzania Veterinary Lab Agency thanked ILRI and ACGG for supporting the Tanzanian chicken industry. She presented an award to Tadelle on behalf of the Tanzanian government for his contributions in research and leadership to the Tanzanian chicken sector and the establishment of TASPA.

Tsion Issays is publishing services manager at ILRI.

The 24 participants that took part in the workshop discussed the broad development outcomes and contours of ACGG+.

Among participants, there was a consensus that the genetics gains component of ACGG should be accompanied by systematic and deliberate push and pull strategies.

Cover of the African Chicken Genetic Gains: Building the business case report (photo credit: ILRI).

The push strategy centres on equipping smallholder chicken farmers with the necessary skills and expertise to raise the productivity of their poultry farm enterprises and have access to competitive input and output markets.

The pull strategy aims to lower entries to market for smallholder producers (through risk sharing investment mechanisms), strengthen capacity of middle level value chain actors to break bottlenecks in the value chain between commercial areas and more impoverished geographic areas; and, work towards reforming policies and regulations that hinder competitiveness.

New investment areas, new partnerships?

Key opportunities that emerged from the discussions at the workshop included a range of new or increased investment areas:

• Ensuring genetics innovation remains a core business.
• Making ACGG+ more nutrition-sensitive will be essential. Some suggested aligning the project more clearly with the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH).
• Making technical, managerial and institutional capacity development in the delivery of genetic gains central in the next phase.
• Giving more emphasis towards women’s empowerment, creating a functioning poultry value chain, and an evidence-based biodiversity policy environment.

Key opportunities in the new phase will also comprise slightly modified partnership and engagement modalities.

The private sector actors have said they do not expect ACGG+ to keep investing in poultry genetics. But in order for ACGG+ to succeed, private sector involvement in the chicken value chain will need to be strengthened and requires a higher degree of engagement than has been achieved so far.

In addition, public-private partnerships will have to be catalysed to take tested and farmer-preferred chicken strains to market. From that point on these partnerships can help develop a market-led, stable and profitable smallholder chicken value chain for improved income and nutrition of sub-Saharan smallholder poultry keepers (especially women).

Participants also recommended that ACGG+ engage directly with policymakers (rather than operate systematically through innovation platforms) in order to show evidence gathered. The existence of a conducive policy environment, availability of national strategies e.g. those encapsulated in the country Livestock Master Engagement plan (such as in Ethiopia and Tanzania) etc., can serve as entry points in engaging with policymakers.

Moving agricultural technologies to markets: a 10-step pathway from discovery to delivery, and a framework for action

A 10-step pathway was introduced that could help the program define its business case and move away from the blue sky ‘discovery’ research to the ‘research-in-development’ delivery impact: The steps are:

1. Understanding market opportunities
2. Availing the proposed solutions
3. Technology description
4. Identifying impact pathways
5. Ecosystem mapping of technologies and geographies
6. Undertaking evidence-based benefits’ analysis
7. Identifying partnerships for delivery along the value chain
8. Investments
9. Strategy and stage plan
10. Making the business case

Along these lines, a programmatic framework was suggested. Finally, the participants also came up with a tentative vision statement for ACGG+, based on all the above deliberations:

Proposed Framework for Guiding ACGG+ Analytical Thrust. Source: Thurlow, J. and Koo, J. (image credit: IFPRI)

Catalyse public-private partnerships to expand genetic gains from tested as well as farmer-preferred chicken strains and develop a market-led, stable and profitable smallholder chicken value chain for improved income and nutrition of smallholder poultry keepers, especially women, in sub-Saharan Africa

Many months remain until the new program shapes up but a lot of work is going into preparing for ACGG+.

Read the full report

Twenty-four participants from the project team globally, and from Ethiopia and Tanzania, as well as representatives from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) took part in the gathering. Together, they undertook to:

Cover of the African Chicken Genetic Gains: Building the business case report (photo credit: ILRI).

• take stock of critical research outcomes from ACGG to ensure market readiness along the chicken value chain in Ethiopia and Tanzania;
  
• describe and discuss the supply chain and its bottlenecks for the chicken genetic gains business case; and
  
• discuss broad outlines of the development outcomes of the next phase of ACGG+ (more on this will be covered in a subsequent post).

Some conclusions from the ACGG project’s work so far

The ACGG project has contributed significant poultry productivity gains (up to 300% chicken body weight increase, and 100-160% increase in egg production) in project sites. These results need to be further supported. Particularly, private sector actors are expecting ACGG to continue engaging in poultry genetic innovation.

There is considerable potential to build upon ACGG: There is a huge unmet domestic demand for chicken meat and egg; a conducive policy environment, including availability of progressive national livestock strategies; greater engagement of the private sector in the chicken value chain; and enhanced possibilities for public-private partnerships, specifically by moving the new technologies to market.

The participants also highlighted some of the limitations of the current program that ought to be addressed in the future: In terms of supporting the chicken value chain, issues requiring further reflection include operationalizing business incubation centres; instituting poultry insurance; and providing capacity development virtually to the myriad of value chain operators.

Farmers present their ACGG chicken in Tanga area, Tanzania (Photo credit: ILRI/J.Bruno)

Among participants were information and data analysts Jawoo Koo and James Thurlow from IFPRI. They introduced some analytical tools that could help evaluate a range of approaches and options, including market potentials, value chain options, investment trade-offs and development outcome scenarios.

There was consensus in the room that ACGG has pioneered some very important work in improving chicken production (including in the program’s engagement  with stakeholders through innovation platforms, which have been set up in all three project countries.

But there was also consensus that this was only a first step.

Tadelle Dessie of ILRI has received awards for his outstanding contribution in chicken breed improvement and capacity building in Ethiopia (photo credit: ILRI/Apollo Habtamu).

Tadelle Dessie, senior scientist and program leader for the African Chicken Genetic Gains (ACGG) project of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) has been appointed adjunct professor at Bahir Dar University in Amhara State, Ethiopia.

Tadelle will be affiliated with the animal production and technology department of the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at the university. He will contribute in research, student advisory and overall teaching-learning activities of the college in particular and the university in general.

In his more than 14 years service to ILRI, Tadelle has been involved in capacity development, knowledge management and implementation of research for development projects including chicken breed improvement through the ACGG project. To date, he has authored and co-authored more than 180 publications in peer-reviewed journals and proceedings. He has also supervised 78 PhD and MSc students.

Students from Hillside School at the ILRI poultry research facility in Addis Ababa (photo credit: ILRI/Apollo Habtamu).

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)-led African Chicken Genetics Gains (ACGG) project is now hosting educational tours for students at the poultry research facility at the ILRI campus in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The guided visits to the facility, which is referred to as Incubated Worlds are targeted at students of grade 6 to 8 in public and private schools.

The guided educational tours will:

• encourage students to learn more about genetics and poultry;
• promote ILRI’s activities and achievements to young students and their families;
• broaden students’ understanding of science and research; and
• acquaint students with new perspectives on livestock and related subjects.

Olivier Hannote explaining about the genome book to students from Hillside School (photo credit: ILRI\Apollo Habtamu).

On 30 March 2019, the first group of students from the private Hillside School visited the ILRI campus and the poultry research facility. The group was made up of 25 students who were selected based on their academic performance and interests.

Dejene Mulugeta, a teacher at the school, who led the group said the guided educational visit would expose students to livestock research and encourage them to contribute to the country’s agricultural sector in the future.

At ILRI, the visit was led by Wondimeneh Esatu, ACGG research officer and Setegn Worku, a geneticist at ILRI. The students saw the various chicken breeds (Koekoek, Sasso and Cosmopolitan), small poultry units and the genome book at the poultry research facility.

The students said that they learned the importance of science and research for agricultural development, the nutritional benefits of poultry products and the role that ILRI’s research plays in improving the livelihoods of poor livestock keepers.

More than 20 public and private schools (500 students) will take part in the guided educational visits during the 2019 academic year. The visits will take place once per month on Saturday mornings.

Read more about the ILRI poultry research facility:

Art underlines the precious value of poultry genetic research

The recent story of Zenebech Abdus already pointed to some of the benefits of the joint intervention of ATONU and ACGG for its participants on a number of domains: nutrition; water, sanitation and hygiene practices; women empowerment; chicken management, vegetable production, and consumption.

This brand new video unveils the experience of Zenebech and other women – and men – who have enjoyed interacting with the projects and their teams and have enjoyed various positive outcomes from more diversified nutrition to improved water and sanitation and economic benefits allowing them to invest in solar-powered solutions etc.

They further point to and question some interesting gender norms exerted in the environment of these ACGG-ATONU actors.

The ATONU project is now over, and ACGG is coming to an end in the course of 2019, but these stories reveal the importance of combining efforts, particularly around matters of improved nutrition (across livestock and agriculture), and women’s empowerment.

IFPRI Tanzania poultry hotspot analysis for the African Chicken Genetic Gains project

To support the strategic planning of the next phase of Africa Chicken Genetic Gains (ACGG) program, A team from the Spatial Data and Analytics Theme of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) analyzed geospatial data layers in Tanzania to identify its poultry business hotspots. These ‘hotspots’ are where the market opportunities and production potentials best align.

A location-specific composite index was developed by combining four spatially-explicit data layers that represent the spatial patterns of agro-ecological conditions, feed availability, market accessibility, and population density on 10 km grids across the country. The index was analyzed using the Getis-Ord hotspot mapping algorithm to highlight the extent of hotspots and identify twelve hotspot locations (i.e., hotspots) in nine regions, where the confidence level exceeded 90%.

Kimandolu Ward in Arusha Region was analyzed as the ideal location where all four aspects considered in this analysis aligned the best, followed by seven locations identified within the Southern Highlands area, three locations along the coast of Lake Victoria, and one in Kilimanjaro. This methodology can be further refined and applied in additional countries in the next phase.

Read the full document: IFPRI 2018 — ACGG – Mapping Poultry Hotspots in Tanzania

ACGG Tanzania poultry hotspots (image credit: IFPRI)

The new initiative follows the signing of a memorandum of understanding between CAS and ILRI on 13 December 2018 when CAS delegates led by the vice-president, Yaping Zhang visited the ILRI campus in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In particular, the delegation visited the ILRI forages genebank and poultry research facility in the campus.

The collaboration between the two institutes will include:

• Joint training of postgraduate students
• Exchange of research scientists, academic staff and education administrators
• Joint research project applications in areas of mutual interest
• Joint research organization of seminars, workshops, symposiums and training courses
• Production of joint scientific publications and reports.

ILRI’s scientists, Olivier Hanotte (middle), and Tadelle Dessie (right) with Yaping Zhang of CAS at the ACGG office (photo credit: ILRI\Bethlehem Alemu).

ILRI Director General’s representative to Ethiopia, Siboniso Moyo, emphasized the need to strengthen existing collaboration with SAJOREC while signing the MoU.

Yaping Zhang, said CAS was delighted to work with ILRI in life sciences and biotechnology with a particular focus on livestock. He also said that the collaboration will not only generate new knowledge but also new technologies and policy options for the sustainable use of livestock in Africa.

CAS established SAJOREC in 2013 in partnership with local and international institutes in Africa to strengthen scientific cooperation with developing countries under the Belt and Road Initiative.  SAJOREC ‘s work covers food security, eco-environmental protection, wildlife conservation, public health and other areas that are important for the sustainable development of Africa.

Zenebech Abdu, from Kalu District, Ethiopia has benefitted from the Agriculture to Nutrition project (photo credit: ILRI\Apollo Habtamu).

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)-led African Chicken Genetic Gains (ACGG) project partners with the Agriculture to Nutrition (ATONU) project in implementing interventions to improve nutrition in smallholder farming families in Ethiopia and Tanzania. Zenebech Abdu’s family is among the targeted  800 households in Ethiopia.

A smallholder farmer from Kalu District of Amhara Region, Zenebech is married and a mother of five children. She was among the farmers selected by the ACGG project to join the ATONU initiative in Arabo 21 Village. She received 25 chickens and started attending weekly behavior change communication sessions led by ATONU that focused on promoting the consumption of diversified meals to improve household nutrition in the village.

The weekly sessions were attended by 76 (39 women) people. They covered nutrition; water, sanitation and hygiene practices; women empowerment; chicken management, vegetable production, and consumption. Participants also learned new ways of preparing different foods during cookery demonstration sessions led by nutritionists who worked with households in the project area.

‘My neighbours and I learned the easiest and most cost-effective way of preparing Doro Wot (Ethiopian traditional chicken sauce) using new techniques and methods to ensure it is of high nutritional value. I now cook Doro mixed with vegetables that increase both its quantity and quality,’ says Zenebech.

Currently, the project is working with Zenebech’s family and 39 other households in her village. These households grow vegetables to diversify household diets while the surplus is sold for income. Most of these farmers used to grow limited types of vegetables prior to this intervention. But ATONU introduced an additional nine varieties of vegetable seeds and trained the farmers in vegetable seedbed preparation, sowing and transplantation.

Zenebech Abdu with her children (photo credit: ILRI\Apollo Habtamu).

Zenebech has also learned how to cook baby porridge as a result of participating in the project. She now feeds her five-year-old baby based on guidelines she learned from the project, which has made her child healthier.  She also now gives her children milk and other milk-based products which she says has resulted in improvements in her children’s physical and cognitive skills.

According to Zenebech, being part of the ATONU initiative has led to tangible nutritional benefits for her and her family.  Her family no longer frequently visits health centres now like they used to in the past and her children are scoring better results at school.

‘ACGG/ATONU has given me 25 chicken, which has helped me and my family to eat eggs and chicken meat regularly. This has helped us to fight malnutrition,’ says Zenebech.

This initiative has also helped raise the profile of breastfeeding in the village. Many women there have started exclusively breastfeeding their children for the first six months from birth and providing supplementary feeding after the six months, based on what they have learned during the weekly sessions.

Zenebech and her neighbours have also improved personal and household hygiene and sanitation. She is particularly fond of the tippy taps that ACGG-ATONU introduced in Arabo 21 village.

Zenebech is one of the 10 champions who have been selected from the village by the ATONU team. The champions will play an important role in making others aware of ACGG-ATONU interventions during village meetings and activities. Her participation is helping the project scale up successful interventions to the wider community to ensure their sustainability.

A smallholder farmer feeding Kuroiler and Sasso chickens in Tanzania (photo credit: TALIRI).

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)-led African Chicken Genetic Gains (ACGG) project and the Tanzanian Livestock Research Institute (TALIRI) will scale up improved Kuroiler and Sasso chicken in 25 regions of the Tanzania mainland.

This follows testing of the two breeds in five different agro-ecological zones (eastern, southern, southern highlands, lake and central) of the country which confirmed their biological potential for enhanced egg productivity, growth, meat quality, fitness, and reproductive traits compared to local chickens.

Last year, 1,746 smallholder farmers (80% women) in the five zones received a total of 32,000 Sasso chicks on 9–20 July 2016, and 11,224 six-week old Kuroiler chicks, in two batches, on 23–31 August 2016 and 20–28 November 2016. The farmers were responsible for feeding the birds using locally available feeds, and providing treatment and shelter under a semi-scavenging system. ACGG project field officers started collecting data the bird’s performance after six weeks. Data on body weight and mortality rates were collected after six weeks and information on the number of eggs laid and egg weight was collected from week 18.

The dual-purpose Sasso and Kuroiler breeds were found to have significantly superior performance compared to indigenous chicken under a low input production system. The results also showed that:

• Compared to indigenous chicken, Kuroiler and Sasso were 345% and 364% superior in body weight, respectively, at 18 weeks.
• Egg production ranged from 160–171 eggs for Sasso chicken and 156–168 eggs for Kuroiler chicken compared to 45–60 eggs per hen per year for indigenous chicken.
• Sasso and Kuroiler chicken had comparable mean egg weight ranging from 55–60 g at an age of 32–72 weeks compared to 35– 45 g from indigenous chickens of the same age.
• Kuroiler has a mortality rate of 10–25% while Sasso had a slightly higher mortality rate of 30–60%. Mortality rates differed between zones and breeds. More chicken died in the lake zone followed by the southern zone, while the lowest mortality was recorded in the central zone.
• Mature cocks were sold for up to USD13.6 while eggs were sold for up to USD0.4.

Following these promising results, TALIRI, the ACGG project and private companies—AKM Glitters, Nzua, Msigani Joint Venture and Silver lands Tanzania—are now collaborating to scale up the improved Sasso and Kuroiler chicken to more farmers and in different parts of Tanzania. As part of this activity, TALIRI and ACGG are providing technical support to establish and register a National Smallholder Poultry Forum that will bring together different actors in the sector.

To increase awareness of the benefits of these improved chicken breeds, the ACGG project, AKM Glitters and Nzua-Msigani JV jointly exhibited the two breeds to visitors at the 42^nd International Trade Fair known as ‘SABASABA’ in Dar es Salaam on 28 June –13 July 2018.  The fair focused on ‘leveraging business for industrial development’ and it was promoting and scaling up the production and distribution of various technologies and livestock products for rapid industrialization and economic transformation in the country. More than 500 international and 2,960 local companies exhibited at the event which attracted 700,000 visitors.

Former president of the United Republic of Tanzania Hon. Ali Hassan Mwinyi and the prime minister of the United Republic of Tanzania Hon. Majaliwa Kassim Majaliwa and the deputy minister for livestock and fisheries Hon. Abdalah Ulega were among the high-level government officials who visited the joint ACGG project, AKM Glitters and Nzua-Msigani JV pavilion.

Former president Mwinyi appreciated the role played by ACGG and TALIRI in engaging the private sector to produce and scale up Kuroiler chickens among smallholder farmers and other actors along the chicken value chain in Tanzania. Deputy minister Ulega said the collaboration between ACGG, TALIRI and the private sector is already availing improved chickens and chicken production technologies to farmers. He called for the wider adoption of these technologies in Tanzania.

Story by Ezekiel Goromela (TALIRI), Neema Urassa (TALIRI) and Annet Mulema (ILRI)

Chicken smallholder farmer in Nigeria (photo credit: ACGG Nigeria)

The African Chicken Genetic Gains (ACGG) project conducted a baseline survey in 2015-2016 across ACGG countries (Ethiopia, Nigeria and Tanzania) to understand, define and characterize the current smallholder chicken production system, chicken ecotypes, current productivity, husbandry practices, farmer production objectives and socio-economic status of smallholder chicken keepers. This post introduces the Nigeria baseline report.

The baseline survey was conducted in 60 rural villages of Nigeria. Random study villages were selected in Kwara, Rivers, Imo, Nasarawa and Kebbi states (described in the project as ‘subnational zones’). The study covered 1,257 households. Following the description of the survey design and tools, the study presents the main findings including rank-index, tables, and graphs.

Key baseline results

General profile:

• Only 26.4% of the sampled households were female-headed.
• The average number of years of schooling, family size and age of the household head was 7.8, 6.5, and 44.45, respectively.

Poultry development and strain trait preferences:

• The mean chicken flock size per household was 28 chickens.
• Eighty-eight per cent (88%) of households had experience of providing supplementary feeding (i.e. any feed that was not scavenged) to their chickens at any time of the year.
• The preferred traits for good cockerels were good physical appearance, better meat taste, large body size, and less illness.
• The preferred traits for good hens were production of more eggs, producing chicks with high survival rate, and less illness.
• Chickens are kept for multiple purposes, with egg consumption and live adult chicken sale rated highest.

Income and ownership:

• The average quarterly household income from all sources were low in Kwara State (NGN 28,738, about USD 80) and highest in Rivers State (NGN 52,064).
• The overall average quarterly income of households from all sources was about NGN 34,154 .
• The contribution of poultry to total household income was 48.4%.
• Seventy-nine per cent (79%) of households said crop farming was their major source of livelihood, followed by livestock keeping and poultry keeping.
• Chickens were owned by males or females or jointly. The most common livestock ownership pattern depended on the type of livestock they owned: goats, ducks and guinea fowl are mostly owned by women whereas cattle, sheep and donkey were mostly owned by men.
• Men owned more farm and household assets, although joint ownership was significantly higher than individually-owned assets.
• Livestock amounts to 6.69% of total household assets on average for the entire sample.

Food and nutrition security:

• Respondents reported that they had enough food in the last 12 months (respectively for 95% in Kwara State; 89% in Rivers State; 85% in Imo State, 59% in Kebbi State and 40% in Nasarawa State).
• Overall, 74% of the respondents reported that they had adequate food in the last 12 months for their household.
• Most households in the project subnational zones have acceptable Food Consumption Scores (FCS) of more than 35.
• The dietary diversity score indicated was found to be higher for children than for men and women.

Chicken and egg consumption (in the three months leading up to the survey):

• Chicken consumption is highest in Rivers subnational zone (four birds per quarter) and it is lowest in Kwara subnational zone (three birds).
• The general average across the zones shows households consumed on average 3.85 birds every 3 months.
• Egg consumption was high in Imo (32 eggs per quarter) and low in Kebbi (5 eggs). Average egg consumption across zones was 15 eggs per 3 months.

Labour allocation:

• Adult women spend, on average, 94.26 minutes per week for chicken activities.
• Adult men, at 46 minutes per week (7 min/day), spend more time than children and hired labour.
• Seventy-six per cent (76%) of households reported that money accrued from sale of chickens was used for covering household basic needs.

The information from the baseline survey informed the design and implementation of the longitudinal (on-farm) study. It is also hoped that the information in baseline report can support future chicken research and development activities. In addition, the procedures followed and the baseline tools developed can be adapted for similar purposes outside ACGG subnational areas. Finally, the data provides a useful reference to study similar cases.

Read the full Nigeria baseline report online: http://hdl.handle.net/10568/96559

A small-scale poultry farm in Ada pilot learning District, Ethiopia (photo credit: ILRI).

In Ethiopia, chickens are considered valuable assets for smallholder farmers and make an important contribution to food security, poverty alleviation and the promotion of gender equality within the household. They provide meat and eggs, and generate income (from sales of birds and derived products). But there are many constraints to the development of the smallholder chicken production in improving productivity and overall livelihoods of rural and peri-urban smallholder households in the country.

ACGG is implemented in selected villages of rural and peri-urban subnational zones of the regional states of Tigray, Amhara, Oromia and Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR), and in the Addis Ababa city administration region.

The project conducted a baseline study at the start of the project. The baseline information was also used to inform the chicken strain choices for the project and implementation of the on-farm experimental testing. The cross-sectional baseline study covered a total of 1,257 households. Following a description of the survey design and tools, the study presents the main findings in the form of cross tabulation, rank-index, tables, and graphs.

Key baseline results

General profile:

• Only 252 (20%) of the sampled households were female-headed.
• The average number of years of schooling, family size and age of the household head was 3.1, 5.5, and 45.1, respectively.

Poultry development and strain trait preferences:

• The mean chicken flock size per household was nine (9) chickens – dominated by hens, followed by chicks.
• Households with experience of providing supplementary feeding (i.e. any feed that was not scavenged) to their chicken at any time of the year were 94.3%.
• Sixty-one per cent (61%) of households preferred exotic breeds over other breeds.
• Good physical appearance, large body size, and weight for meat production and feed efficiency were the most important traits in choosing good cockerels.
• For good hens, production of more eggs was the most important trait.
• Chicken were kept for multiple purposes with egg consumption, egg sale, and live adult chicken sale rated highest.

Income and ownership:

• The average quarterly household income was lowest in Tigray (ETB 2,011.2 around USD 73) and highest in Oromia subnational zone (ETB 6,795.1).
• The average quarterly income of households from all sources was found to be about ETB 640.
• Poultry income accounted for 29.5% of total household income.
• Crop farming was their major source of livelihood for 82.1 % of households; livestock keeping was second; poultry keeping third.
• Chickens were owned by males or females or jointly, but the most common livestock ownership pattern is joint ownership.
• Men owned more farm and household assets, although joint ownership was significantly higher than individually-owned assets.
• Livestock amounts to 38.5% of households assets on average.

Food and nutrition security:

• Respondents reported that they had enough food in the last 12 months (96% in Addis Ababa; 92% in Amhara; 87% in Tigray, 81% in Oromia and 79% in SNNPR).
• Overall, 85% of the sample respondents reported that they had adequate food in the last 12 months for their household. Most households have acceptable Food Consumption Scores (FCS) of more than 35.
• The dietary diversity score was found to be higher for children than for men and women.

Chicken and egg consumption (in the 3 months leading up to the survey):

• Chicken consumption was highest in Oromia (2.4 birds per household per quarter) and lowest in SNNPR subnational zones (1.1 birds per household per quarter). Tigray was the second highest bird consumption zone (2.2 birds).
• The general average across the subnational zones shows households consumed on average 1.8 live birds per quarter.
• Egg consumption was high in Addis Ababa (42 eggs per quarter) and low in Amhara (13 eggs) and SNPPR subnational zones. The average egg consumption across zones was 22 eggs per 3 months.

Labour allocation:

• On average, adult women spent 90 minutes a week on chicken-related activities. Children (at 45 minutes per week) spent more time than adult males and hired labour.
• Households sell their chickens (76% reported) to get money for covering household basic needs.

The information generated from the baseline survey informed the design and implementation of the longitudinal (on-farm) study. It is also hoped that the information generated in the report can support future chicken research and development activities. In addition, the procedures followed and the baseline tools developed can be adapted for similar purposes outside ACGG subnational areas. Finally, the data provides a useful reference to study similar cases.

Read the full Ethiopia baseline report online: http://hdl.handle.net/10568/97038

Women farmers work the land with chicken around, in Kilosa, Tanzania (photo credit: Mitchell Maher / International Food Policy Research Institute).

The African Chicken Genetic Gains (ACGG) project conducted a baseline survey in 2015-2016 across ACGG countries (Ethiopia, Nigeria and Tanzania) to understand, define and characterize the current smallholder chicken production system, chicken ecotypes, current productivity, husbandry practices, farmer production objectives and socio-economic status of smallholder chicken keepers. This post introduces the Tanzania baseline report.

The baseline survey was conducted in 80 rural villages of Tanzania. Random study villages from different agro-ecologies were selected in the central semi-arid, eastern subhumid, southern highlands, lake, and southern humid zones (described in the project as ‘subnational zones’). The study covered 1,202 households. Following a description of the survey design and tools, the study presents the main findings including rank-index, tables, and graphs.

Key baseline results

General profile:

• Only 239 (20.6%) of the sampled households were female-headed.
• The average number of years of schooling, family size and age of the household head was 6.9, 5.2, and 47.8, respectively.

Poultry development and strain trait preferences:

• The mean chicken flock size per household was 27 chickens.
• Ninety-four per cent (94%) of households had experience of providing supplementary feeding (i.e. any feed that was not scavenged) to their chickens at any time of the year.
• The preferred traits for good cockerels were good physical appearance, large body size, and less illness.
• The single preferred trait for good hens was the production of more eggs
• Chickens are kept for multiple purposes, with meat consumption and live adult chicken sale rated highest.

Income and ownership:

• The average quarterly household income from all sources was low in eastern subhumid sone (TZS 237,803, about USD105) and highest in lake zone (TZS 476,890).
• The overall average quarterly income of households from all sources was about TZS 352,654 .
• The contribution of poultry income to total household income was 38.35%.
• Seventy-nine per cent (79%) of households said crop farming their major source of livelihood, followed by livestock keeping and poultry keeping.
• Chickens were owned by males or females or jointly, but the most common livestock ownership pattern was joint ownership.
• Men owned more farm and household assets, although joint ownership was significantly higher than individually-owned assets.
• Livestock amounts to 15-58% of total household assets.

Food and nutrition security:

• Respondents reported that they had enough food in the last 12 months (respectively for 98% in southern humid zone; 91% in lake zone; 91% in southern highlands, 85% in eastern subhumid zone and 79% in central semi-arid zone.
• Overall, 89% of the respondents reported that they had adequate food in the last 12 months for their household.
• Most households in the project subnational zones have acceptable Food Consumption Scores (FCS) of more than 35.
• The dietary diversity score indicated was found to be higher for children than for men and women.

Chicken and egg consumption (in the three months leading up to the survey):

• Chicken consumption is highest in lake zone (4.3 birds per quarter), followed by central semi-arid  (3.3 birds per quarter), and it is lowest in southern highlands zone (2.0 birds).
• The general average across zones shows households consumed on average 3 birds per 3 months.
• Egg consumption was high in southern highlands (19.2 eggs per quarter) and low in lake zone (8 eggs per quarter). Average egg consumption across zones was 14.6 eggs per 3 months.

Labour allocation:

• Adult women spend, on average, 138 minutes per week for chicken activities (about 20 min/day).
• Adult men, at 46 minutes per week (7 min/day), spend more time than children and hired labour.
• Fifty-four per cent (54%) of households reported that money accrued from sale of chickens was used for covering household basic needs.

The information generated from the baseline survey informed the design and implementation of the longitudinal (on-farm) study. It is also hoped that the information generated in the report can support future chicken research and development activities. In addition, the procedures followed and the baseline tools developed can be adapted for similar purposes outside ACGG sub-national areas. Finally, the data provides a useful reference to study similar cases.

Read the full Tanzania baseline report online: http://hdl.handle.net/10568/97039

As part of its work of testing, delivering and continuously improving tropically-adapted chickens for productivity growth in sub-Saharan Africa, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)-led African Chicken Genetic Gains (ACGG) project conducted a cross-sectional baseline survey of a smallholder chicken production system in the country.

More than 1,200 households in 60 rural villages were surveyed. A recent ILRI research report presents findings from the study, which include:

• Only 26.4% of the sample households were female-headed.
• The average number of years of schooling, family size and age of the household head were 7.8, 6.5 and 54.45 respectively.
• The mean adult chicken-flock size per household was 28 chickens.
•  The flock structure and composition were dominated by chicks followed by hens.
• Almost all households (88%)  in the study area had experience of providing supplementary feeding to their chickens at any time of the year.
• The most important traits in choosing good cockerels include good physical appearance, better meat taste, large body size and less illness.
• Farmers preferred local breeds irrespective of whether they kept the breeds or not.
• Adult women spent 94.26 minutes per week on chicken activities.

The survey results were used in the design and implementation of the longitudinal (on-farm) ACGG study in the country. Findings from the study will also be used to identify the constraints and opportunities of chicken production for ACGG future research and development interventions in the country.

ACGG is a five-year agriculture research-for-development program that is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Download the study report.

This study by researchers working with the African Chicken Genetic Gains (ACGG) project in Ethiopia reviewed literature on the socio-economic, marketing and gender aspects of village chicken production in the tropics. It found that:

• Chicken are a valuable asset to local communities specifically for disadvantaged groups in rural areas.
• In developing countries, women take care of the routine management of poultry with the assistance of children.
• In most areas of the tropics, chicken research gives little attention to marketing rather but was focused on production and productivity.
• Although poultry is a potential tool in escaping extreme poverty, there are many constraints to the development of smallholder poultry production.

The study assessed poultry production, gender and rural chicken production, poultry marketing, and challenges in poultry production and marketing.

ACGG is a five-year agriculture research-for-development program that is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Download the research report 

Sixth Ethiopia national innovation platform meeting participants (photo credit: ACGG).

The program coordinator, Tadelle Dessie, summarized the ACGG program activities carried out so far in a few figures:
1. Households surveyed: 3,665
2. Indigenous strains tested: 15
3. Improved strains tested: 10
4. Households enrolled: 5,859
5. On farm villages enrolled: 203
6. Birds tested: 216,600
7. On station testing sites: 6
8. National IP facilitators (subnational coordinators–SNCs) trained: 25
9. Community IP facilitators (enumerators and field officers) trained: 203
10. National IPs conducted in all three program countries: 18
11. PhDs trained (or under training): 20
12. MScs trained (or under training): 35
13. ACGG global program management team meetings (PMT’s): 4
14.Scientific and industrial advisory committee meetings: 4
15. Country-level PMT’s: Many
16. Community IP convenings: Many

Dessie spoke of important issues that the program needs to address for the future and highlighted a few ‘options in the making’ including:

• Transforming ACGG to an ‘ACGG platform’ for incubating technologies that support
  the transformation of the smallholder chicken subsector into a vibrant and competitive business that supports the livelihoods of the smallholder chicken farmers.
• Ensuring the sustainability of the innovation platform by making sure its operations don’t depend on the ACGG program. He said that in order for this to happen, the platform needs to explore other sources of funding and these may include the Feed the Future initiative supported by the United States Agency for International Development among others.
• Calling upon the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries to play an active role in hosting the platform if it evolves into a national poultry development forum as is the case in Nigeria.

In the long run, the project’s key developments will include the multiplication and delivery of strains at scale (through private hatcheries) and the development of the Long-Term Genetic Gains program. The ACGG program team is also in talks with various institutions to explore modalities for additional funding.

The participants unanimously agreed that the Smallholder Chicken Forum – a national forum that should replace the innovation platform in the long run – is needed and should continue, without depending on donor funding.

They explored, in working groups, the possible mandate, membership etc. of the forum and compared two different forum management and coordination options (hosted by the Ethiopian poultry Producers and Processors Association [EPPPA] or started as an independent entity).

On the second day of the meeting, the ACGG Ethiopia national coordinator Solomon Abegaz of the Ethiopian Institute for Agricultural Research (EIAR) explained the major ACGG program activities and achievements in the country including:

• Animal feed and health manuals are in press for publication
• Data collection on-farm and on-station has been completed in most of villages
• Partial data analysis and mid-term report has been prepared by the ACGG core team in Ethiopia
• Further detailed data analysis was done by independent consultant and results would soon be available
• A draft report on the baseline, on-farm and on-station activities has been prepared
• Two report review workshops have been organized for critical stakeholders
• A final mid-term report has been completed
• An ACGG gender focal person has been recruited
• A training on data access and analysis using R platform has been undertaken for nine MSc students working with ACGG
• A training on data collection on the gender assessment has been carried out.

Edwin Adenya (regional field schools support officer at Mkulima Young) shared the exciting experience of Mkulima Young in engaging youth, women and the private sector, which really inspired participants.

The IP meeting ended with the nomination of task forces (on feeds, health, markets) and envisioning key results expected from these task forces over the next six months. The 40 participants (two thirds male, one third female) represented smallholder and commercial chicken farmers, researchers, extension workers, policy and civil society.

Read the sixth Ethiopia National Innovation Platform meeting report.

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Participants learning how to use the scoring method during an ACGG data collectors training in Ethiopia (photo credit: ILRI/Annet Mulema).

Drawing on recommendations from the newly devised gender strategy, the African Chicken Genetic Gains (ACGG) project is set to study how empowerment or disempowerment and gender dynamics influence smallholder chicken production in Ethiopia.

The qualitative study, which will be carried out from 28 May to 24 June 2018, is expected to contribute to:

• enhancing the understanding of the local meaning of empowerment;
• strengthening the understanding of the gender dynamics of chicken trait preferences to inform decisions on the release of farmer-preferred genotypes;
• identifying the constraints of female and male farmers in access to services, inputs, and markets;
• improving understanding of how intrahousehold gender dynamics affect the distribution of benefits of improved chicken production;

In preparation for the rollout and data collection, the ACGG’s research team made up of four sub-national coordinators and 21 data collectors from Amhara, Oromia, the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’, and Tigray regions, underwent a four-day planning and training program on how to collect sex-disaggregated data in which they familiarized themselves with:

• the study objectives and design
• hypothesis and research questions
• research methods and participatory tools, and
• the fieldwork roadmap

To further practice and reflect on the research process and methodology, the research team engaged in a two-day pilot exercise in two nearby communities in Addis Ababa. The experience helped the team to get acquainted with the expected logistical challenges during the actual data collection and learn how to deal with them.

The research team will start data collection end of May 2018, and the team is expected to produce a draft report by the end of the data collection fieldwork. A similar study has been conducted in the other two ACGG countries – Nigeria and Tanzania. The results will aid the development of a comprehensive framework for the ACGG project to attain its goal of empowering women and men, and also inform selection of chicken strains that are socially and economically likable and thrive in the different agro-ecological environments. The study will also validate results from the quantitative study.

Annet Mulema, a gender expert at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) delivered the training with the support from ACGG gender focal person, Jabrail Hassen, and principal investigator Solomon Abegaz. The training was organized at the Ethiopian Institute of Agriculture Research in Addis Ababa.

Sixth Tanzania national innovation platform meeting participants (photo credit: ACGG).

The meeting which was attended by more than 40 people had the following objectives:

1. To share updates on recent developments within ACGG and the poultry industry in Tanzania including key lessons from other ACGG (Ethiopia and Nigeria) countries.
2. To re-examine lessons learnt so far in the ACGG project in Tanzania and agree on how best to develop sustainable solutions to challenges encountered including institutional evolution and working with the private sector.
3. To discuss and agree on a clear way forward for the national innovation platform as a mechanism for facilitating collective development action.

The ACGG Tanzania team gave an overview of activities and accomplishments in the ACGG program:

• Households surveyed: 3,665
• Indigenous strains tested: 15
• Improved strains tested: 10
• Households enrolled: 5,859
• On farm villages enrolled: 203
• Birds tested: 216,600 [exact total number as in Ethiopia?]
• On station testing sites: 6
• National IP facilitators (subnational coordinators–SNCs) trained: 25
• Community IP facilitators (enumerators and field officers) trained: 20
• National IPs conducted in three countries: 18
• PhDs trained (or under training): 20
• MScs trained (or under training): 35
• ACGG global program management team (PMT) meetings: 4
• Scientific and industrial advisory committee (SIAC) meetings: 4
• Country level PMT’s: Many
• Community IP convenings: Many

The participants explored the topic of the sustainability of the forum, a) emphasizing the need to clearly discuss the objectives of the proposed Chicken Forum for Tanzania, b) agreeing to register the forum and c) determining whether the forum could be part of the Tanzania Poultry Association or if it should be a separate entity. In working groups, they explored the main objectives of the forum, its structure, membership, hosting and coordination etc.

The agreed on a guiding vision of the ACGG Tanzania Smallholder Poultry Forum saying that it should be a platform for smallholder poultry farmers to voice their needs, share opportunities along the value chain, collectively influence policies, and monitor demand and supply of standardized quality products etc.

On the second day of the meeting, the participants reviewed the challenges and opportunities of five other poultry initiatives in Tanzania for the delivery of chicken ecotypes.

Read the sixth Tanzania national innovation platform meeting report.

The implementation plan is structured in line with the five action areas of ACGG’s gender strategy. It identifies key activities and also the roles and responsibilities of ACGG staff in each of the three program countries—Ethiopia, Tanzania and Nigeria.

The program implementation plan incorporates key activities including coordinating program-level learning, refining and developing research tools and protocols and leading on program level data analysis.

Read the ACGG gender strategy program implementation plan