Abstract
Poultry production is very significant to the livelihoods of Nigerian rural populace which constitute 70%. Free range scavenging poultry constitutes up to 90% of the total stock. Disease such as Newcastle and recent past the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) or bird flu H5N1 among other constitutes serious threat to poultry production in the country. Interventions targeted at preventing diseases at low cost and on sustainable manner particularly the HPAI seen as central in the fight against the plight and vulnerability of the rural dwellers. A series of field assessment focusing on vulnerability, assets base, and capabilities was conducted in 18 communities using participatory tools and questionnaire, six each from the North West (Katsina State), South East (Anambra State) and South West (Ondo State) of Nigeria. The results revealed abundance of natural resources, such as land, water, forest and indigenous knowledge, skill and experiences that can be used to achieve cost effective biosecurity amongst the rural households, hence increased poultry production and well-being of the communities at large. Key words: Free range, poultry, biosecurity, sustainable livelihood, rural Nigeria.
Highlights
Majority of the Nigerian population (70%) live on less than US$1.25 a day (Nwajiuba, 2010)
Among the agricultural activities, scavenging poultry play a significant role in enhancing food security of the poorest household and reducing livelihoods vulnerability and promotion of gender as evident in literature
The criteria designed for village selection include; small villages and small peri-urban communities, some level of poultry production activity, accessibility through a secondary road and limited commercial poultry activity. 256 structured questionnaires were administered to generate information on socio-economic, assets, poultry number and species, diseases and livelihood strategies
Summary
Majority of the Nigerian population (70%) live on less than US$1.25 a day (Nwajiuba, 2010). Africa Insight put the estimated number of hungry people in Nigeria at over 53 million, which is about 30% of the country’s total population of roughly 150 million 52% live under the poverty line. Poverty is especially severe in rural areas where majority of the population live below the poverty line, social services and infrastructure are limited (IFAD, 2012). The country’s poor rural women and men depend on agriculture for food and income. Among the agricultural activities, scavenging poultry play a significant role in enhancing food security of the poorest household and reducing livelihoods vulnerability and promotion of gender as evident in literature.
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