A Study On Poultry Farming In West Africa

Background

Poultry Farming is a common practice in urban and some rural areas. It has developed and grown steadily over recent years. The agriculturists use a traditional prescription to treat chickens. The primary prospect of poultry production is market access, training facility and ease of management. Enhancing the management practice, educating farmers, and poultry breeds are feasible options to enhance the livelihood of the household. It is an important source of nutrition (protein), nutrition security and income for rural households. It is an essential part of subsistence farming and the sale of poultry creates revenue to pay for medical care and schooling to reimburse debts (Boateng, Zickermann & Kornahrens, 2006).

This period perceived an enormous development in the industry, particularly in the West. The size of the business grew from less than 1 million in the mid- 1960s to more than 40 million by the early parts of the 1980s (Akanni, 2007). The development of the industry has been sustained by government initiatives and inducements in terms of technological support, training, input support services, and others. Many of the poultry specialised staff were products of government promoting training programmes like diagnostic services and vaccines, which are financed, by the government. In the following an effort has been made to discuss research methodology and benefits to agricultural academia, agricultural industries and rural farming (Wang, Shi, Dou & Sun, 2009).

Study area

This study was accomplished in Nigeria where poultry farming constitutes a main component of the agricultural economy. It comprises 80% of the populace, which lives in rural areas and 90% of this rural populace are farmers. Figure 1 illustrates that the percentage of regular calories from all cattle production and the share of that coming from eggs and  poultry which states that 5% of the Nigeria population domestic production comes from livestock.  As per FAO Report (2010), poultry comes quarter among bases of animal proteins for human intake in Nigeria and subsidizes around 27% of the national meat production.  Fruit crops, for example, pineapple, oranges, and livestock production are well known

For the purpose of this study, researchers use a simple random sampling method was used for choosing the respondents. The respondents are farmers who rear broiler on small scale were randomly selected to 50 respondents that was the sample size for this study. The area is mainly rural with agriculture as their main occupation. The culture of the people residing is homogeneous and is communality of shared customs, which ensures social order and harmony (Okitoi, L. Ondwasy, Siamba & Nkurumah, 2007).

The facts for this study were selected from both primary and secondary sources using the personal interview for poultry farmers and structured questionnaire for researchers through random sampling technique. Descriptive statistical tools were utilized to examine the socioeconomic attributes of the respondents, while the risk approaches embraced using a Likert rating scale. It consists of socio-economic factors, management system adopted, a method of land acquisition, and input-output data, for example, the source of labour, production constraint, data on yield of broiler production.

Research Methodology

The data were administered to descriptive and quantitative analysis utilizing statistics such as frequency distribution table, average, percentage, and means. The target population for this study was enlisted poultry farmers as from the available data. Figure 2 illustrates the amount of poultry production per capita in which Nigeria creates 3.66 kilograms per capita while Niger is again the lowest manufacturer at only 0.51 kilograms per capita.A simple random sampling technique was used in selecting the respondents that involve a random assortment of 50 farmers (You & Diao, 2007).

A new free-range was recently recognized and a prospect to compare its dynamic performance with conventional production under comparative management practices. Free-range production is related to poorer bird performance, higher feed change, and higher mortality as compared to conventional production. This performance gap results in poor digestive health, nourishing insufficiency, and variable pasture utilization. These performance challenges add to poor financial sustainability in the business. Broiler production is carried out in all parts of the nation, with no social, cultural or religious inhibitions related to their consumption. Particularly, investment in broiler initiatives is attractive in light of the fact that, production cost per unit is low, with respect to different types of livestock, poultry meat that is extremely delicate and commonly utilize in contrast to other birds (Po?towicz & Doktor, 2011). In table, 1 it is estimated that most of the respondents were involved in other economic events aside poultry production. It was assumed that 20 per cent were solely involved in poultry production, 30% in crop agribusiness and 50 % in other economic actions.  

Table 1 Some other engagements of production-

Others	No. of respondents	%
Poultry Only	2	20
Agriculture(Crop Production)	3	30
Professional Employment	5	50

Conventional chicken arises from factory farms. This means that the chickens are packed into cages, which leads to unhealthy and unsanitary conditions very quickly. Free-range chickens are capable to roam everywhere, get fresh air and sunlight, and have communication with other chickens. 

Free-range chickens are producing great protein source and make healthier eggs as compared to conventional chickens are more probable to get unwell, which is why the majority of conventional chickens are driven with antibiotics for most of the times.

This research should also be a main concern and that nurturing the capacity of organizations to produce valued research in science and engineering could aid in transforming Africa and make broad improvements for society. It seems an improvement in research outputs and increases in pace and quality to stepped up further. It is seen that African researchers generate only 1 per cent, which is more doubled than their yields and producing papers on topics from HIV, to cancer to environment change. A significant number of academic journal realise the significance of creating, sharing, and, using information to build human investment as a key driver of financial growth. It focuses on health and agricultural sciences battling in serious diseases like malaria, HIV/AIDS and enhances math, science, technology, and science-based fields. It depends heavily on international collaboration, which intends to success and growth. It coordinates higher education strategies with development needs and rigorously implements priorities through effective funding (Agwu, Ekwueme & Anyanwu, 2008). It promotes provincial specialization among participating universities in territories that address specific shared provincial development challenges.

It examines a wide array agricultural administration regime, in various regions, concentrated on agro ecological intensification that attracts upon innovation, land restoration, adaptation, and mitigation (Pretty, Toulmin & Williams, 2011). Researchers address several benefits such as reduces soil nutrition deficits, imbalances that increasing biodiversity, resource use efficiency, improves genetic adaptation to emerging and current stresses, and managing the ecosystem. This research brings consideration to social marginalization, corruption, power relations in a landscape, and institutional activities for multi-area coordination. They contribute expressively to poverty mitigation, providing high-quality protein, and enhancing food security. This market potential is an absolute economic tool for changing the agricultural sector. This change must help in providing solutions to create jobs, addressing the necessities of consumers, securing natural resources, etc. This research meets the demand and dependence on global markets for food and enables countries to put agriculture back in the right place (Corbeels, De Graaff, Ndah, Penot, Baudron, Naudin & Rusinamhodzi, 2014).

Free-Range Poultry Production

This research is benefited to agricultural industries in the context of potential profitability as it can maximise their profits, turnover can be increased and the country’s economy is developed. This study evaluates the economic, social, and environmental benefits to the agricultural industries in West Africa. It begins by identifying sustainability and priority measures. It reflects the present status of liberalisation and regional integration with an opportunity to create esteem products, provide employment in the industry, and upgrade income for both agriculturists and workers. It boosts productivity, improves nutrition, support collaboration across borders, and creating sustainability (Behnke Jr, 1985).

This will enhance, adapt, disseminate, and produce improved technologies by generating situations for regional cooperation. It also constructs institutional capacity, across the sub-region, creates employment of youth, involves women, and adapt to climate change. It endorsing sovereignty and contributes to security and stability in Nigeria international standard. It fosters the production of an economic environment helpful to sustainable agricultural intensification. This research facilitates its communication through enhanced commitment with organisations across the landmass and building better associations with agriculturists, the private sector, and farmers’ organizations through more prominent activation of natural resources. It coordinates activities and promotes a vision in resolving the general issue of underdevelopment in Nigeria. It is helpful in economic sustainability, which includes investment, government revenue, and economic performance; social sustainability, which states that majority of the population, is employed in agriculture and benefiting from economies of scale. It includes employment, poverty, food security, and gender security. Environmental sustainability paid special consideration to the use of inputs and land use for agricultural biodiversity (Oladunni & Fatuase, 2014). This encourages trade facilitation at a provincial level and rearranges and streamlines requirements and strategies related with imports and exports with a specific focus on customs valuation, pre-shipment review, import licensing. It will enhance transparency, fosters competitiveness and advance trade (Nchuchuwe & Adejuwon, 2012). This research is benefited in agricultural industries and if the industry grows and develops in the same way, it gains profitability and development at a great pace.

The benefits of this research to rural farming in West Africa are focused on maintaining and building small-scale rural farmers for productive use. In this, green revolution enables a game changer and offers economies of scale and productivity in the near future. It gives emphasis on overall employment, improved food security, rural employment, healthier economy, and more robust rural infrastructure. It helps in decision-making and improves on their farming techniques. It contributes greatly to the provision of food and raw industrial material. It mainly provides employment opportunities for the people, as many theorists and researchers believed that it encompasses development planning. This had many ‘revolutions’ and significant changes in agricultural industries in the present period. This research made rural development into massive transformation and develop new technologies in the era. It has the desire to secure the degradation of natural resources and enhance the need for food production to the growing population. It has increased dramatically through the process of modernization. They put more efforts to formulate policies and strategies to spread technology to farmers (Atta-Krah & Francis, 1987).

Benefits of Poultry Farming to Rural Households

Moreover, it is differentiated either socially or economically based on relative sizes and nature of their landholdings, and levels of capitalisation, which influence labour intensity and operational scale (Kristjanson, Swallow, Rowlands, Kruska & De Leeuw, 1999). It will increase their changed levels of cropped areas, levels of productivity, domesticated property, and outputs. This research gives rural farming a way to move ahead in bringing success and development to the organization in the current and prospective era (Dal Bosco, Mugnai, Rosati, Paoletti Caporali & Castellini, 2014).

Conclusion

This research provides a detailed overview of poultry production efficiency of small-scale broilers farmers in West Africa, Nigeria. The outcomes of the study exhibited that poultry farming inclined the technical competence of broiler production using artificial insemination. The particular purposes were to assess the productivity of poultry farming and govern the factors that increase the likelihood of production. This analysis offers some opportunities to expand poultry production and subsidizes around 25% of the cultivated local products of the Nigerian economy. They still have to enhance their production regarding broiler birds. These analysis objectives were to estimate effectiveness of poultry production and control the factors prompting total revenue attained in poultry production in the study area. It provides new economic opportunities and new advancements in the region of the poultry sector. The poultry industry in Nigeria owns a prominent position as the chief source of animal protein supply to the resident. It is practised in all levels from subsistence to large-scale business operations. The poultry business has a huge capacity in Nigeria to create employment. The potential in Nigeria is abundant and only the farmers can fill the gap and tackle these opportunities. The challenge is to manufacture poultry products at feasible levels in order to fill the protein supply gap in the future.

References

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