Review on Poultry Production, Trends and Development Strategies in Ethiopia

Ethiopia has considerable livestock resource and poultry population is second ranked preceded by cattle. Besides their important and numbers, little is known about their production systems, population growth, egg utilization trends and development strategies in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian poultry population is almost entirely composed of indigenous chicken and recent estimates showed that poultry 81.7%, 10.9%, and 7.4% are indigenous, hybrids and exotic, respectively. The distribution of poultry population in Ethiopia is diverging from region to region. Oromia region has the largest number of poultry population followed by Amhara, South Nation and Nationality People of Ethiopia (SNNP). Poultry production system in Ethiopia is indigenous and an integral part of farming system. Based on the objective, breed, flock size, housing, feeding, health, biosecurity level and technology used, the poultry production system in Ethiopia can be classified into extensive or scavenging, semi-intensive, small-scale intensive and large scale commercial poultry production system. The extensive scavenging and small-extensive scavenging systems are the dominant forms of poultry production in Ethiopia. The poultry population growth over the year almost stagnant because of high poultry mortality due to lack of adaptation of introduced exotic poultry, diseases, predators prevalent in the scavenging production systems and limited expansion of commercial poultry production both in terms of number of operators and volume of operation. The poultry sector did not have a clear roadmap guiding its development until the recent production of the LMP. The future study should be attention on to expansion of large-scale commercial poultry production system, constraints of poultry population growth, adaption of introduced exotic poultry breeds and the reason for eggs sale and household consumption fluctuated.

Infectious Laryngotracheitis Virus in Commercial and Backyard Chicken Production Systems in Central and South Ethiopia (First report) ILT in Ethiopian Poultry Production

Poultry production is a sector of livestock production to gain meat, egg, and other products from domesticated bird species, including chickens, ostriches, turkeys, ducks, and guinea fowls. Poultry production is different from country to country due to different economic activities, environmental situations, and cultural aspects of society. With this in mind, the current study aimed to review the literature to explore the current status of poultry production, highlight the constraints in poultry production, and predict the future of poultry production. In many societies, poultry plays an important socio-cultural role. Diseases, market problems, feed resources, lack of proper housing, predators, as well as social and cultural constraints are all obstacles to the future growth of the poultry industry. Despite the presence of a large chicken population in Ethiopia, contribution to the national economy or benefit exploited is very limited due to diseases, predators, and veterinary services. The main diseases affecting the chickens in Ethiopia include viral disease (Newcastle disease), gastrointestinal parasites, ectoparasites, aspergillosis, and different bacterial infections due to lack of biosecurity. In addition, chicken predators affecting poultry production in Ethiopia are wild mammals locally called ama, cats, and birds (vultures). However, the poultry production system has a bright future since different local and international humanitarian organizations have recognized that addressing this sector will benefit the poorest and most disadvantaged people in developing nations. With the need to increase animal protein sources in the world, there is general agreement that these areas are going to witness further expansion in the current decades. Therefore, it is recommended to increase productivity through improvements in health, management, and control of predators.

This study was done with the objective of assessing the current poultry production system, feed resources and provides valuable information for researchers, producers, instructors and policy makers in Ethiopia. The review was done deeply with original research findings of different scholars working on poultry. This study revealed that there are three poultry production systems classified based on the input, flock size, health and bio-security measures (village poultry production, small scale and commercial production systems). The main poultry feed resources in the country are household wastes, cereal grains and their by-products, industrial by products, oil seed cakes and non-conventional feed resources. There is shortage of commercial feed resources and processing meals thought it is expensive. In conclusion, the most common production system practiced in the major farming community is the village production system with irregular supplementation of cereal grains Therefore, investors and government institutions should avail the concentrate feeds with affordable price to improve the production and productivity of poultry in Ethiopia.

A review was undertaken to obtain the related research results and facts on village/backyard/ poultry production systems in Ethiopia with the aim of bringing synthesized and summarized information to the beneficiaries. Poultry production has a major role in poverty alleviation by means of income generation and household food security. Village/backyard/ chicken production system is characterized by low input and output scavenging, with minimal investment in housing, feeding, watering, and chicken health management systems. The village chicken production system in Ethiopia is extensive and dominated by indigenous chickens that exhibit remarkable adaptation to local environments. Generally, it is concluded that the village/backyard/ chicken production system offers many people the opportunity to improve their livelihoods, suggesting that improvement of the chicken management system, breeding, production environment, farmers‟ access to inputs and markets needs to focus on the back yard chicken production system.

The availability of quality rice seed is a critical factor in boosting rice productivity and production in Ethiopia. This study assessed the current practices of early generation and community-based rice seed multiplication and quality control to strengthen the rice seed system in Fogera district, Ethiopia. Community-based seed production and marketing groups played a significant role in rice seed multiplication and distribution, but faced challenges related to limited access to breeder and foundation seed, inadequate technical and financial support, and weak seed quality control mechanisms. Strengthening the capacity of seed producers, enhancing the availability of early generation seed, and improving seed quality assurance systems are recommended to enhance the effectiveness of the rice seed system in the study area. Intervention of large scale demonstration of the early generation rice seed is one of the practical and effective techniques in the rice seed system, which can enhance the better rice seed accessibility. Large scale demonstration of early generation rice seed is also useful for participatory learning on the rice seed production procedures, and rice seed quality management activities in the community. The findings provide insights for policymakers and development practitioners to design and implement interventions that can strengthen community-based rice seed systems in Ethiopia.

BackgroundSmall ruminant playing significant economic development and cultural roles for smallholders and reared in different agroecological systems in Ethiopia. However, ticks and tick‐borne haemopathogens are major threats to the health of small ruminants leading to loss of production and productivity in Ethiopia especially in north‐western Ethiopia, due to climate and agroecological system favourable to the tick survival in the area.ObjectivesThe objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of Ixodid tick infestation and tick‐borne haemopathogens, to identify the existing Ixodid tick species and to investigate major risk factors associated with tick infestation and tick‐borne haemopathogens.MethodsA cross sectional study was conducted on 396 small ruminants (sheep =198 and goats = 198). Ticks were identified to the species level according to their morphological key structures. Thin blood smear were prepared and laboratoricaly examined to investigate tick‐borne haemopathogens. Logistic regression was employed to assess the association between potential risk factors with tick infestation and tick‐borne haemopathogens.ResultsThe overall prevalence of tick infestation and tick‐borne haemopathogens were 47.22% and 4.29%, respectively. Age, species, body condition, agroecological system and season were found significantly (p < 0.05) associated with tick infestation. Season was found to be significantly (p < 0.05) associated with occurrence of tick‐borne haemopathogen. Amblyomma variegatum (18.2%) and Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi (13.4%) were the predominant tick species encountered. Anaplasma ovis, Anaplasma marginale and Babesia ovis were prevalent tick‐borne haemopathogens.ConclusionsThe present study reported that there was higher tick infestation and tick‐borne haemopathogens infections on small ruminants in the study area. Therefore, based on tick epidemiology, a strategic tick control programs were needed in this region. Further detailed studies on the role of Ixodid tick species in causing tick‐borne diseases in small ruminants and their economic impact on livelihoods should be conducted.

This review focused on the poultry production status, breed/ecotype characterization, genetic improvement trends and economic value of the poultry sector in Ethiopia. The poultry production system in Ethiopia can be classified into four categories, large scale commercial, medium scale commercial, small scale commercial and village or backyard commercial production system. Chickens play an important role in the human economy, supplying food, creating wealth through job creation for the booming population. About 78.85% of the Ethiopian poultry population consists of indigenous chickens, while the remaining 21.14% consists of exotic and hybrid breeds of chickens. The indigenous chickens of Ethiopia have various names and characterized based on their ecological or main habitat, depend on qualitative characteristics. The molecular characterizations of some Ethiopian indigenous chicken ecotype were conducted. The improvements of the productivity of indigenous chicken ecotype are mainly focused on the introduction of high yielding exotic chickens. Exotic chickens were first introduced into Ethiopia in 1953. The genetic improvement through introduction of exotic breeds was failed due to less adapted to local environment conditions, poor management; lack of input and output markets; and shortage of quality feeds, vaccines and veterinary inputs. Chickens are the backbone economy base of poor resource households in Ethiopia. The economic contribution of the poultry production sector is not still proportional to the huge chicken numbers, due to the presence of many productions, reproduction and infrastructural constraints. To use full potential of poultry sector, it requires the development of proper poultry breeding program and strategy. Keywords: breed, chicken, economy, exotic, genetic improvement, indigenous chicken, phenotypic characterization DOI: 10.7176/FSQM/109-01 Publication date: June 30 th 2021

1 - Overview of commercial poultry production systems and their main welfare challenges

Chicken production scenarios, feedstuff resources, and experience of using alternative ingredients were reviewed with the aim of improving chicken production in Ethiopia. The common production systems used for chicken production in Ethiopia are traditional, extensive types. There is a high demand for protein foods, particularly those from poultry in this country. However, the performance of chickens in Ethiopia is poor and consequently the demand for chicken products is not met. This sector is characterised by insufficient levels of co-ordination, little or no specialisation or vertical-integration. Issues with feed are the main factors contributing to reduced chicken productivity, subsequently discouraging chicken producers. Moreover, the recent feed price increment is upsetting many plans for further development of poultry production in this country. Consequently, poultry populations and the per capita consumption of eggs and poultry meat in Ethiopia have been declining. Furthermore, the competition between food and feed is expected to further increase the feed price, forcing producers to look for alternative feeds and locally available feeds for their birds. Possibilities to improve the utilisation of by-products for poultry feed must be reviewed for poultry producers. It is concluded that headway options for alternative feed sources to improve the productivity of chickens in Ethiopia must be explored to alleviate some of the problems seen in this industry.

An assessment of the highly pathogenic avian influenza resurgence at human-poultry-environment interface in North-central Nigeria: Sociocultural determinants and One Health implications

Review on Economic Contributions and Major Constraints of Poultry Production and Productivity in Ethiopia

Poultry production systems are outlined under the social and physical environmental conditions of Ethiopia. The results of research on the performance of local domestic fowl and on the performance and adaptability of imported stocks and resulting crosses with native fowl are also assessed. Farmyard/backyard type production, in which native fowl scavenge for most of their food, predominates and is widespread in the rural community. Both state and privately owned commercial farms using imported stocks are beginning to develop around urban centres. The egg production and growth rates of native stocks are low. Under prevailing management conditions it has been found that crosses between native stock and imported White Leghorns, incorporating about 60% White Leghorn blood, perform better than either parent types.

Feed shortage has been the persistent problem hampering livestock production and productivity in Ethiopia. The conventionally available feed resources (natural pasture and crop residues) are not only limited in quantity but also inferior in quality and cannot meet even the maintenance requirement of the country`s livestock resources. Hence, improvement in livestock production and productivity is unthinkable without intensification in feed production using other complementary feed resources in addition to the existing ones. Improved forage crops have untapped potential to resolve the feed shortage problem and lay down the basis for intensification of livestock production if properly promoted, adopted and utilized in the farming systems. This review paper provides an overview of improved/cultivated forage research and development efforts, important achievements, major constraints associated with forage development in the country and recommendations on the way forward.

Ethiopia has a huge potential to be one of the key countries in dairy production for various reasons. It includes a large population of milk cows, a huge potential for production of high quality feeds under rain fed and irrigated conditions, existence of a relatively large human population with a long tradition of consumption of milk and milk products and hence a potentially large domestic market. Despite its potential for dairy development, productivity of indigenous livestock genetic resources in general is low, and the direct contribution it makes to the national economy is limited. The main source of milk production in Ethiopia is cattle but small quantities of milk are also obtained from goat and camel in pastoralist areas of the country. Based on the system of production, Milk production can be viewed at three different sources. These include: Pastoral milk Production, The highland smallholder milk production and Urban and peri-urban milk production. Milk and milk products are channeled to consumers through both formal and informal marketing systems. Ethiopia has a low level of milk consumption compared to other countries in the region (Kenya=90lt/cap; Uganda=50lt/cap). Challenges and problems for dairying vary from one production system to another and/or from one location to another. Underdevelopment and lack of market-oriented production, lack of adequate information on livestock resources, inadequate permanent trade routes and other facilities like feeds, water, holding grounds, lack or non-provision of transport, ineffectiveness and inadequate infrastructural and institutional set-ups, prevalence of diseases, illegal trade and inadequate market information (internal and external) are generally mentioned as some of the major reasons for the poor performance of this sector.