TITLE:
Local Poultry Value Chian Analysis in Somaliland
AUTHORS:
Amina Husein Mohamed, Hibo Hassan Elmi, Asma Bile Hersi, Istahil Ahmed Yusuf, Ilhan Omar Dahir, Abdirahman Mohamed Ali, Carola Van Morstein
KEYWORDS:
Analysis, Local, Poultry, Somaliland, Value Chain
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Animal Sciences,
Vol.13 No.4,
October
26,
2023
ABSTRACT: Poultry production has important economic, social and cultural benefits and
plays a significant role in family nutrition in developing countries. In most
tropical countries it is based mainly on scavenging production systems, which
makes substantial contributions to household
food security throughout the developing world. All over the developing world,
these low-input and low-output poultry-husbandry systems are an integral
component of the livelihoods of most rural, peri-urban, and some urban
households and are likely to continue to meet this role for the foreseeable
future. Although the contributions of chicken farming to household food
security and income as well as its potential contribution to the income of rural communities are known, chicken production is practiced very little in Somaliland.
Therefore, the purpose of this project was to carry out a baseline study on the
potential of chicken production (eggs and meats) in Somaliland and its existing
chain gaps in order to identify whether chicken production could be a
successful income source for women and boost female economic activity in the
project areas of Saaxil, MaroodiJeex and Togdheer. The result from this
assessment showed that rural chicken production was a women-related
activity that helped them to be the sole decision-makers
and also users of the benefits regarding chicken and chicken products. The main
purposes for keeping chicken were egg production for income generating, home
consumption and meat provision. The major constraints for rural poultry keeping
were the lack of extension and veterinary services, predators, poor housing, poor
breeds, and lack of financial services among others. Women in all the selected
villages made remarkable contributions to the
local chicken production system. The result
of the assessments showed that indigenous poultry value chain consisted of
producers, collectors/retaileres, shops and consumers/restaurents. However,
the absence of processors along the chain means that chickens are sold live and
consequently cannot be retailed through formal channels like supermarkets
leading to the exclusion of potential customers in the middle and
high income categories who normally shop from supermarkets. Furthermore, as
population and incomes grow, demand for indigenous chicken is likely to continue growing, especially among the high income groups who not only
prefer it for its taste but also for health reasons due to its low fat content.
Finally, although the value chain for indigenous
chickens shows potential growth for all the players along
the chain, there is a need to address the various constraints affecting
the value chain for indigenous chickens in order to improve the
operation of the chain hence leading to
increased incomes for the value chain actors and at the same time ensuring
cheap delivery of indigenous chicken in a more convenient form and in formal
outlets.