An overview of the poultry sector and status of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in Kenya
Poultry keeping in Kenya plays a major role as a livelihood source, an income generating activity as well meeting other socio-cultural roles. Poultry production is, however, threatened by the emerging HPAI threat that has devastated other parts of the world. This study documented available informati...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Report |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI); International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI); Royal Veterinary College (RVC)
2009
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| Online Access: | http://www.ifpri.org/publication/overview-poultry-sector-and-status-highly-pathogenic-avian-influenza-hpai-kenya http://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/16095 |
| Summary: | Poultry keeping in Kenya plays a major role as a livelihood source, an income generating activity as well meeting other socio-cultural roles. Poultry production is, however, threatened by the emerging HPAI threat that has devastated other parts of the world. This study documented available information on the poultry sector. The objective was to identify knowledge gaps that HPAI research in Kenya should focus on. A thorough review of existing literature was done including searches over the internet. The study found that Kenya had about 37 million birds in 2006 of which 84.1% were free-ranging indigenous birds, 8.4% were layers, 5.7% were broilers while other poultry species accounted for 1.8%. About 65% of Kenyan households keep chickens; each household keeps about 12 chickens on average. Poultry are produced in four main production systems, which are labelled Sectors 1 - 4 according to the FAO/OIE classification. Sector 1 consists of the integrated industrial producers (big companies), Sector 2 is made up of hatcheries, and Sector 3 is dominated by smallholder semi-commercial farmers while Sector 4 constitutes the village or "backyard" (traditional) poultry production system. The September 2005 HPAI scare is estimated to have caused a loss of about Ksh 2.3 billion (US$40,000) mainly due to reduced demand for poultry products as consumers shunned away these products. Prices of poultry and poultry products declined due to the scare. For instance, the price of one broiler, indigenous chicken and spent layer declined by 15%, 26% and 29% during the period of the HPAI scare. The price of indigenous eggs fell by 7% while that of the commercial eggs decreased by 15%. Significant gaps in knowledge still remain. Based on these findings, the study recommends the following: * There is a need to conduct a poultry population census (possibly together with that of other livestock species) in order to update and validate existing data. * There is a need to create awareness of HPAI among producers and consumers of poultry ... |
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