Challenges and Opportunities in Improved Indigenous Chicken Production in Kenya

Abstract

The poultry sub-sector is vital in improving livelihoods for vulnerable members of the society in rural areas in Kenya. It is a source of cheap animal protein and income especially for youth and women. It is one of the enterprises which require low capital and land to establish. This study looked at the challenges and opportunities in production of improved indigenous chicken which perform better than the local indigenous ones due to early maturity early laying more eggs. Results indicate that chicken were mainly reared and managed by women (84%). The average age of the farmers was 51 years who had attained upper primary education level. A majority (59%) of the respondents indicated that they belonged to different group categories which aided them to access training, credit, production and marketing information, markets and inputs. The costs of feeds were cited by majority of farmers as the most pressing constraint in chicken production with some indicating that they had either scaled down or completely abandoned the enterprise especially in the last one year. Some opportunities identified in this value chain were incubation, vaccination and feed formulation services. Policy makers need to address the issue of production including feed ingredients like maize, soya bean and fish meal.