Abstract

In Benin, family poultry farming has become an important activity in economic and social aspects that contribute to food security, poverty reduction and well-being. However, current information about poultry production and consumption is still limited. This information would be useful to improve the sustainable exploitation of agricultural and commercial genetic resources. We aimed to identify and assess the socio-economic and phenotypic features as well as to investigate phenotypic variability and growth performance of guinea fowls raised under different environments. Growth performance and survival rates of local guinea fowl varieties were recorded in three zones of Benin: Collines, Atacora and Borgou. Seven varieties, Gray, Common, Bonaparte, White, Black, Isabelle and Multicolored, were identified in Benin. The farmers choose a variety to be raised based on breeding system, agro-ecological zone, disease resistance, market price and production purpose. Bonaparte, Common and Gray varieties emerged as the most resistant whereas White, Black and Gray outperformed in growth and may be used for breeding purposes. The semi-confinement system could be recommended for startup as a temporary solution to improve production of local guinea fowls in Benin. The existence of several varieties on farms does not encourage genetic conservation and improvement of these resources. Establishing selection or crossbreeding programs in controlled environments would be more appropriate for guinea fowls raised in Benin. Key words: Survey, agro-ecological zones, confinement systems.

Highlights

  • In West Africa, family poultry farming has become an important activity in economic and social aspects

  • Strategies to develop family poultry production at village level have been reported over the years (Riise et al, 2005)

  • We aimed to investigate the phenotypic variability and growth performance of local guinea fowl varieties raised under different environments to further indicate a better scenario to raise these birds

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Summary

Introduction

In West Africa, family poultry farming has become an important activity in economic and social aspects. In Benin, family poultry is meat/eggs sources that contribute to food security, poverty reduction and wellbeing of local people. This activity has potential profitability leading farmers to increase their production (Guèye, 2009; Moreki et al, 2010). In 2013, poultry population (chicken, duck, guinea fowl, turkeys and pigeons) was about 18.19 million (http://faostat.fao.org). Despite guinea fowl meat/eggs production is the third largest, chicken (1st) and duck (2nd), productivity is still low. This fact might be due to genetic and environmental factors as well as guinea fowl farming issues (Sanfo et al, 2007; Fajemilehin, 2010)

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