Stichting Chitungulu community outreach - nature conservation. Poultry Project. Background

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1 Stichting Chitungulu community outreach - nature conservation Background Poultry Project Almost every family in Chitungulu keeps its own flock of free-range chickens, and one would, therefore, assume that there would be no shortage of chicken meat and chicken eggs in the village. However, in the early years of our involvement with Chitungulu, we discovered that children certainly did not consume eggs on a regular basis which is unfortunate as eggs, being an affordable nutritional powerhouse, are a perfect way for children to acquire vital nutrients. Together with several women self-help groups and a few vegetable gardeners, we set about tackling the problem of malnutrition in a two-pronged strategy: firstly, by diversifying the local supply of vegetables and pulses, and secondly, by setting up a poultry project to encourage the consumption of chicken meat and eggs. Elsewhere on our website, the organic vegetable gardening project is described in more detail - hereunder we take a closer look at our poultry project. The lack of proteins explained Because of the presence of wild predators and, more particularly, the tsetse fly, which is lethal to cattle and pigs, animal husbandry is near-impossible in Chitungulu. Animal-based protein intake is therefore generally being limited to the consumption of free-range poultry around the household (chickens, domesticated guineafowls and pigeons). Still, chickens do not feature regularly on the menu. Only on special occasions (for example, when family members from outside the village pay a visit), a chicken will be offered as a token of hospitality. As a matter of fact, chickens are mainly kept for these purposes: to offer as a token of friendship or to meet social obligations, and to sell off, or barter, in times of need. We also discovered that, despite the omnipresence of chickens in Chitungulu, it was far from easy to find chicken eggs for consumption. Most people prefer to let their hens brood, so that new chicks can make up for the constant losses caused by predators such as raptors, honeybadgers, genets and even lions, whilst eggs and hatchlings are a favourite with reptiles. Besides these constant predator s onslaughts, annual bird diseases (notably the endemic Newcastle Disease), account for further decimation of the chicken populations. Page 1 of 5

2 Two subprojects The Poultry Project which we initiated in 2013, is subdivided as follows: 1) the rearing of free-range, indigenous village chickens for meat, with the aim to create a more efficient business model, in order to beef up the consumption of chicken meat and to generate a stable source of income, thereby serving as an example for other households to follow; 2) the rearing of special layer hens for eggs, with the aim to promote the consumption of eggs (especially by children), to encourage entrepreneurship and to generate a source of income for several households. The approach Small-scale The small-scale nature of the poultry project aims at encouraging households in Chitungulu to set up their own efficient poultry project, thereby not only generating income but also contributing to improved protein intake. In 2013 and 2014 we built the first four chicken shelters: two for each subproject. The locations of the shelters were chosen in consultation with self-help groups across the village. By 2018, Chitungulu has two productive shelters for the production of chicken eggs and five productive shelters for rearing chickens for meat. Our support - 1 Building materials With regard to the building of the chicken shelters, the new owners provided labour and various local building materials, such as bricks, poles and thatched grass. They also provided night houses and nest boxes. Our foundation contributed with a good-quality wire mesh, feeders, cement, iron sheets for roofing and doors and locks. The shelters are completely predator-proof. Page 2 of 5

3 - 2 Transfer of know-how Apart from the provision of building materials, our support consisted of training and transfer of knowledge. High priority was given to disease containment strategies, such as the use of spacious, well-ventilated chicken shelters. Also, a strict hygiene protocol was introduced, including the daily removal of chicken manure (which is used to fertilize the vegetable gardens) and organic disinfection methods such as the use of crushed leaves of the Azadirachta indica (Neem) tree. To optimize the chickens health, we further advised the regular appliance of additional nutrients in the form of finely crushed leaves of the Moringa oleifera and crushed hot chilli peppers. Finally, a poultry expert from the Zambian nonprofit Comaco was hired to train the new chicken owners in various other aspects of their business, such as vaccination schemes and record keeping. - 3 Funding the purchase of chickens In order to kickstart the subproject for village chickens for meat, we funded the purchase of the first twenty village chickens per shelter, which number has increased by natural growth. The same was done for the shelters for layers hens, however, these hens, being a specialized race, are bought from outside Chitungulu and need to be replaced every two-three years. Arrangements At our request, the new owners of the shelters assisted the community living in proximity to the shelters in various ways for the first two years of the poultry project. The owners of the two shelters for chicken eggs provided free eggs to malnourished children, whilst the owners of the village chickens supported several of the poorest families with food (vegetables, chickens). By 2018, however, all shelters have become commercialized: chickens and eggs are no longer provided for free, but sold at affordable prices. This commercialization has the advantage of increased profit margins which enable the strengthening of a sustainable business model (this goes especially for the owners of layer hens for eggs, who need to invest more of their profits into their business, compared to the owners of village chickens). Impact analysis Results and impact village-chickens-for-meat The Poultry Project has improved the rearing of village chickens in the following respects: the chickens have safe, predator-proof night shelters, there is improved safety for eggs and chicks, chickens are healthier and fatter because of additional feed with local by-products (such as maize chaff or vegetable waste). In addition, there is more control over vaccinations against chicken diseases. During the day, the chickens still range freely. The resultant constant natural growth helps develop a healthy chicken population with the following impact: 1. Increased consumption of chicken meat in the community; 2. A stable income for the chicken farmers; Page 3 of 5

4 3. Increased awareness of the need for taking care of animals: for example, by making sure that chickens have plenty of feed, the village chickens can grow stronger and fatter, eventually generating more money; 4. The project has a 100 percent sustainability rate (financially independent) Prognosis The outlook for this project s future looks positive: the sales potential for village chickens is good anywhere in Zambia, as the meat of free range chickens is regarded tastier and healthier compared to the industrially produced broilers. As for Chitungulu, too, there is no lack of potential markets, including more distant ones such as the district capital Lundazi. However, for the time being, local residents, passing visitors/truck drivers and tourists at Luambe Camp constitute a stable market. Results and impact layer hens for eggs From an organizational point of view, this subproject proved, at times, more challenging especially with regard to the supply of specialized chicken feed which is only available in the provincial capital, at approx. 7 hours drive from Chitungulu (the specialized chicken feed is needed to boost egg production in the hens). During the rainy season, when road transport to and from Chitungulu becomes near-impossible, it proved difficult to keep sufficient stock of chicken feed. The problem has been addressed by building a small storage facility nearby one of the layers shelters. Meanwhile, the farmers also experiment with home-made versions of chicken feed so as to reduce their dependence on external chicken feed. It also transpired that we needed to strengthen the business model for this particular subproject. Initially, profit margins proved meagre, resulting from the provision of free eggs to the community in a bid to address the issue of malnutrition in children. All the same, from the onset the owners of the layers shelters managed to fund the purchase of chicken feed themselves, out of their profits. From 2017 onwards, the project has been completely commercialized. Pricing ( 0,10 per egg) is such that everybody in Chitungulu will be able to buy eggs on a fairly regular basis. Sustainability performance in this subproject compares less favorably to the subproject for village-chickens-for-meat. Whilst the chicken farmers in the latter subproject have managed to achieve a 100 percent independence from external resources, the layers farmers still rely on external funding when it comes to the purchase of new layers or the funding of transport for layers and/or chicken feed. The reason for this is the relatively high price for layers ( 8 per hen) and transport. On the other hand, the layers farmers do manage to invest part of Page 4 of 5

5 their earnings in the purchase of chicken feed to keep their flocks going. We are currently taking various measures in order to enhance sustainability performance. Apart from experimenting with home-made chicken feed, the farmers will also try crossbreeding part of their layers hens, after their productive phase, with local village chickens in a bid to breed a more productive local layers hen. In summary, the results of this subproject are the following: 1. Increased consumption of chicken eggs, which has boosted the health of children living close to the shelters. The eggs are in high demand, and the project is highly appreciated by the community; 2. The project has created a stable income for the owners of the layers shelters (amongst whom one widow with six children); 3. The project has contributed to the development of entrepreneurial skills as well as to a greater awareness of the need for hygiene and care when keeping chickens; 4. The owners of the layers shelters are able to reinvest part of their profits in the purchase of specialized chicken feed; 5. The project is not yet fully sustainable: the purchase of new layer hens is still funded by the foundation for the greater part; the dependence on specialized chicken feed from outside Chitungulu needs to be reduced. We are in the process of gradually realizing a higher sustainability performance for this subproject. Prognosis It is our aim to achieve maximum sustainability performance for this subproject. However, as the consumption of chicken eggs has substantial positive health benefits for children, we allow this subproject more time to improve on its sustainability performance. Cooperating partners This project was realized with the kind support of: Private donors from the Netherlands Stichting Alle Beetjes (Netherlands) Stichting Onder De Toren (Netherlands) Comaco Zambia Page 5 of 5