Smallholder livestock farmers in Tanzania can benefit from growing consumer demand for beef and poultry products

Major business opportunities exist for smallholder livestock producers in Tanzania, driven by growing demand for high quality beef and poultry products and a large number of rural livestock-keeping households, a recent research study shows.

The research findings were presented at the 19th International Farm Management Congress held in Warsaw, Poland in July 2013. The study assessed urban and rural consumers’ preferred retail outlets and retail forms (different cuts of beef and poultry) as well as their preferences for product quality and safety attributes. Retail outlets and form preferences differed markedly across consumer income classes, but quality and safety attributes were valued by all income classes.

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The market for animal-sourced foods in Tanzania: Business opportunities for small-scale livestock producers? from ILRI

Citation
Baker D, Pica-Ciamarra U, Longin N and Mtimet N. 2013. The market for animal-sourced foods in Tanzania: Business opportunities for small-scale livestock producers? Presentation at the 19th International Farm Management Congress, Warsaw, Poland, 21-26 July 2013.

ILRI study identifies interventions to reduce exit from Bangladesh's poultry industry

Policy interventions to address farmers' shortage of capital, low profit margins and constraints in the supply of day-old chicks can help to reduce the rate of exit from Bangladesh's poultry industry, a research study by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) reports.

The results of the study are contained in a policy brief (published December 2011) that highlights findings of surveys carried out in 2005 and 2007 to assess the reasons for exit from the poultry sector in Bangladesh and possible solutions. The study considered both broiler and layer enterprises, and large- and small-scale poultry keepers.

The study was carried out in collaboration with partners from the Bangladesh Agricultural University and the Bangladesh Ministry of Food and Disaster Management.

Download the brief.

Citation
Jabbar MA, Rahman MH, Talukder RK and Saha SK. 2011. Exit from Bangladesh's poultry industry: Causes and solutions. ILRI Policy Brief. ILRI (International Livestock Research Institute), Nairobi.

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ILRI Research Report: Contract poultry farming in Bangladesh

Bird flu fear in Asia: IFPRI and ILRI offer research-based disease control options for developing countries

Amid fears of resurgence of avian influenza in parts of Asia, researchers at the International Food Policy Research Institute and the International Livestock Research Institute are helping governments in developing countries to make informed decisions on how to control the spread of the disease and minimize its economic impact on the poor. (Photo: IFPRI)

The H5N1 form of avian influenza that has recently swept through Asia and into parts of Europe and Africa poses an extraordinary challenge for the international community.

And now the United Nations has warned of an imminent resurgence of avian influenza in parts of Asia, following the detection of a mutant strain of avian influenza in China and Vietnam. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has urged "heightened readiness and surveillance against a possible major resurgence of the H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza".

While a strong global response is necessary to control the spread of this disease, efforts in developing countries have shown that conventional approaches to disease control and prevention may not always work in the case of avian influenza.

There is considerable uncertainty throughout the developing world about the disease’s spread mechanisms, as well as the timing, extent, and severity of potential outbreaks.

This gap in knowledge, however, does not change the fact that developing countries are faced with critical decisions about how to defend against and recover from a potential outbreak of avian influenza.

Researchers at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the Market Opportunities theme of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) are spearheading a new research program to study the patterns and determinants of the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), the economic impacts of an HPAI outbreak on different populations, and cost-effective HPAI control and prevention strategies.

The goal of the project, which is funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID),  is to help governments in developing countries make more informed decisions about how to control the spread of HPAI and how to minimize the impact on different populations, particularly the poor, of both the disease and the measures taken to control an outbreak so as to ensure optimal compliance.

The project is implemented in Ethiopia,Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya and Nigeria.

For more information and to download the project publications, please visit the project web page.

Collaborators present preliminary study results on poultry and dairy farming in Bangladesh

Livestock-sector stakeholders in Bangladesh held a workshop to discuss key findings of ILRI-sponsored research on poultry and dairy farming.

The workshop titled ‘Demand-driven opportunities for transformation of the livestock sector: Role of contract farming and breeding’ was held on 24 May 2009 in the conference hall of the Faculty of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU), Mymensingh.

The objective was to share the findings of three studies sponsored by ILRI with EU funding and implemented jointly with BAU and Bangabandhu Shaikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University (BSMRAU), Gazipur.

These were on urban demand for livestock products with a focus on quality and safety attributes, and contract farming in poultry and dairy.

An additional survey was conducted on stakeholder perspectives on breeding strategy and choice of breeds, which was not in the original work plan and this was also presented.

Over 70 participants attended the workshop which drew representatives from universities, the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, the Department of Livestock Services, research institutes and private-sector NGOs as well as several small-scale commercial poultry and dairy farmers.

Dr Mohammad Jabbar welcomed the participants on behalf of ILRI and made a brief presentation describing the background and importance of the studies and the mode of collaboration with BAU and BSMRAU.

Dr Jabbar is the immediate former leader of the Changing Demand and Market Institutions Operating Project in the Markets Theme. He is now based in Bangladesh and works with the theme as a consultant on a number of projects.

The workshop was opened by Mr Mohammad Shah Alam, Secretary in the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock.

Prof M A S Mandal, Vice Chancellor of BAU, Prof T H Miah, Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, and Prof Habibur Rahman, study coordinator and workshop organizer also spoke at the opening session.

They all lauded the studies, considering them timely given the on-going commercialization of poultry and dairy activities in Bangladesh.

Four papers were presented in the business session covering the key findings of the studies.

The findings were considered very useful under the current dynamics of the livestock sector and the results generated lively discussion and debate.

There was not enough time for in-depth presentation of results and more detailed discussion.

However, one jointly printed publication, two draft reports and one paper presentation were distributed to the participants so that they could have access to the full study reports.

The draft reports will be reviewed and formally published in due course.

ILRI research report: Contract poultry farming in Bangladesh

ILRI's Markets theme has published a research report titled Alternative institutional arrangements for contract farming in poultry production in Bangladesh and their impacts on equity. The study identified forms of market institutions that would allow smallholder poultry producers in Bangladesh to engage in commercial production of broilers and eggs so as to raise household incomes under rapidly differentiating livestock markets.

Citation
Jabbar MA, Rahman MH, Talukder RK and Raha SK. 2007. Alternative institutional arrangements for contract farming in poultry production in Bangladesh and their impacts on equity. ILRI Research Report 7. ILRI (International Livestock Research Institute), Nairobi, Kenya. 98 pp.

Download the report