Constraints Facing Rural Poultry Production In Png The Role Of Input Suppliers

Context: The average consumption of protein foods in Papua New Guinea (PNG) remains insufficient to meet nutritious diet guidelines, especially in rural areas. While an expanding literature has demonstrated that poultry is a cost-efficient animal source food to increase protein intake, rural households in PNG face high prices at the market for poultry meat. Similarly, the high price of poultry production inputs constrains greater uptake of rural poultry production. PNG’s heavy reliance on feed (and feed input) imports, as well as high transportation costs and insufficient rural manufacturing and processing infrastructure creates limited opportunities for rural subsistence and commercial poultry production growth. Objective: There is a lack of value chain studies to understand the feasibility of expanding the local mini livestock feed mill model in PNG to increase poultry feed supply in underserved areas. This study builds from earlier work on rural livestock feed infrastructure programs, and aims to fill the knowledge gap on the opportunities and constraints for expanding domestic livestock feed production and distribution via rural mini feed mills. Method: The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the National Agriculture Research Institute (NARI) conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with 8 mini mills and 13 poultry farmers across 4 highland provinces during October and November 2022. We synthesize the interview transcriptions of the qualitative interviews in tandem with quantitative analysis of food consumption and agri-food trade data, as well as the authors’ own field observations in this paper. Results: The in-depth interviews showed that the poultry farmers who purchased from local mini feed mills substantially lowered their feed costs, resulting in greater gross profits compared to rural poultry farmers that only sourced feed from commercial feed suppliers. However, the mini feed mills that we interviewed outlined a series of challenges in sustaining rural feed mills in PNG. The main challenges of running a successful mill included feed mill equipment procurement, electricity reliability, reliable raw ingredient supply, mini mill retailing to secure a client base, and adequate information about feed formulation. We identified two potential approaches that have overcome many of the identified challenges, that could be replicated and adapted to expand mini feed mill operations in the Highlands. The first approach is a farmer cooperative model that incorporates credit and feed delivery services to cooperative farmers. In doing so, they are able to better estimate volume demand for processed feed and accommodate feed production accordingly. The second approach follows a lead firm model, whereby a local farm supply retail outlet is expanding its business to include livestock feed production and supply, overcoming equipment procurement constraints given their previously developed business model focused on farm implement supply. Our evaluation provides detailed costs and benefits of both approaches for potential expansion of these livestock feed producer and distributor models.

Food systems are intimately linked to our lives – through the food we eat, our nutrition and health, our livelihoods, jobs, and the environment and natural resources of the planet. The main challenge for food systems is to produce nutritious food for all while preserving our biodiversity and environment and ensuring equitable distribution of wealth. This Food Systems Profile provides a summary of the main food system issues in Papua New Guinea and highlights potential solutions for their sustainable and inclusive transformation. It is the result of a systemic analysis and stakeholders' consultation that was part of a global assessment of food systems in over 50 countries, following a joint initiative by the European Union, FAO, and CIRAD which aims at catalysing the sustainable and inclusive transformation of food systems.

This technical guide promotes sustainable small-scale, family based poultry production. It gives a comprehensive review of all aspects of small-scale poultry production in developing countries and includes sections on feeding and nutrition, housing, general husbandry and flock health. Regional differences in production practices are also described. The guide provides the technical and scientific building blocks needed to develop sustainable programmes for small-scale poultry production. It will be of practical value to those keeping or planning to keep poultry and as a valuable technical reference for poultry specialists, researchers, students and those interested in broader rural development issues. Contents Chapter 1: Introduction; Chapter 2: Species and Breeds; Chapter 3: Feed Resources; Chapter 4: General Management; Chapter 5: Incubation and Hatching; Chapter 6: Health; Chapter 7: Breed Improvement; Chapter 8: Production Economics; Chapter 9: Marketing; Chapter 10: Research and Development for Family Poultry.

'This study provides a review of the development of the livestock sector during the last decade and identifies barriers to livestock input and output markets for smallholder livestock producers. Potential issues for research and development that can be addressed through policy and institutional reforms are also identified. This report focuses on the pig and poultry sector. Both sectors, particularly the pig sector, have been growing rapidly and are on the verge of structural transformation, in response to both internal and external focus, i.e. the expanding domestic demand and the opportunities for export ' (from Executive Summary, p 1)

"The poultry production systems of Africa are mainly based on the scavenging indigenous chickens found in virtually all villages and households in rural Africa. These systems are characterized by low output per bird. Nevertheless, over 70 percent of the poultry products and 20 percent of animal protein intake in most African countries come from this sector. Therefore, increased rural poultry production would result in a positive impact on household food security both in increased dietary intake and in income generation. ... This study coincided with the World Food Summit, held at FAO, Rome, from 13 to 17 November 1996, where delegations committed their governments and civil society to a global attack on food insecurity and poverty. Poultry, like other short-cycle animal stock, is viewed by the FAO Special Programme for Food Security (SPFS) as a crucial element in the struggle for sustained food production and poverty alleviation. The guidelines provided in this study are particularly pertinent to those countries participating in the SPFS where village chicken production will have a substantial impact on increased household food security and gender equity."--Foreword.

This book gives an overview of the poultry industry in the warm regions of the world and covers research on breeding for heat resistance. And highlights some of the findings on nutrient requirements of chickens and turkeys.