Village chicken production practices in the Amatola Basin of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

Nyoni, Njongenhle M B; Masika, P.J.

doi:10.5897/ajar11.1689

Cited by 17 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…The free-range production system of village chickens is known for its low-input production requirements (Mtileni et al, 2009;Nyoni & Masika., 2012) which is well suited for the resource-poor farmers in Limpopo Province. This system of production is gaining increased interest that focuses on improving the productivity of the adaptable genotypes (Muchadeyi & Dzomba, 2017).…”

Section: Purpose Of Keeping Chickens and Selection Criteriamentioning

confidence: 99%

Mating practices, breeding objectives and trait preferences of village chicken farmers in Limpopo Province, South Africa

Rasekgoalo,

Raphulu,

Sebei

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Sustainable production improvement strategies suited for the resource-limited farmers are sought to replace the misaligned crossbreeding strategies that threaten adaptable genetic resources. This study will contribute towards bridging the knowledge gap that exists on the potential of the village chicken production system and the breeding practices applied by rural farmers in managing their flocks. A survey study on the 55 indigenous chicken farmers was conducted in Sekhukhune (n = 33) and Capricorn (n = 22) Districts of Limpopo Province with the objective to characterise the production environments in order to better understand the traditional mating and selection practices and to identify farmer breeding objectives and trait preferences. Farmers were interviewed using a structured questionnaire to acquire general household information, breeding and flock management, purpose of keeping chickens and traits of interest to the farmers. Fifty percent of the respondents were household heads, aged ≥ 61 (49.06%). Majority (96.36%) of the farmers owned at least one cock of local breed (88.89%), that are hatched and grown in the house (88.46%). All farmers practised uncontrolled breeding. Farmers keep chickens for meat consumption (40.35%), egg consumption (19.30%), passion (19.30%), and income (16.67%). Plumage colour (25.97%), mothering ability (28.57%), and body size (23.38%) were the traits considered in selecting hens for breeding purpose while body size (50.00%) and plumage colour (41.38%) were used in the selection of cocks. The study highlights the village chicken production potential and can aid in providing recommendations for improvement strategies that are suited for the management and breeding preferences of the farmers.

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Section: Purpose Of Keeping Chickens and Selection Criteriamentioning

confidence: 99%

Mating practices, breeding objectives and trait preferences of village chicken farmers in Limpopo Province, South Africa

Rasekgoalo,

Raphulu,

Sebei

et al. 2023

Preprint

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“…Growing and sustaining rural livelihoods and food security is germane to national development. Although little empirical evidence exists to support the significance of production of SC in households and national economies [5], available studies [5,11,[19][20][21][22][23][24] have indicated that SC production could serve as a tool for economic growth and poverty alleviation, as it plays a critical role in providing livelihoods and some form of household earning (revenue generation) and meets some level of household food needs (food security). It also affects the ability to save, invest and buy insurance.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Extensively distributed across rural Africa and reared by at least 70% of rural households [8,20], scavenging chickens are arguably the most common livestock in Africa, described in the literature as highly adapted to small farm production systems [34]. They have become an integral part of rural livelihood across South Africa, with most rural households rearing scavenging chickens [19,35]. They are known to be hardy and to possess good genetic traits that allow them to adapt extremely well to harsh environmental conditions, thus requiring minimal maintenance [36][37][38].…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In recent years, poultry producers in rural areas have made efforts to raise their birds to an ideal body weight and to produce eggs of the right size [11]. However, the farmers continue to struggle to reach such heights of productivity for foraging hens, underachieving desired productivity levels in comparison to what is found among hybrid breeds [19,30,34].…”

Section: Appropriate Identification Of High-yielding Hensmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the Training Offered to Smallholder Scavenging Chicken Farmers in Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

Yusuf¹,

Popoola²

2022

Sustainability

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Smallholder scavenging chicken farmers (SCFs) are constantly faced with the challenge of improving productivity. One profound challenge is that many SCFs lack comprehensive knowledge and the skills necessary for operating an efficient production system. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the training offered to SCFs in Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality (RMLM) on the best approach to improve scavenging chicken production. The data obtained was analysed quantitatively to assess differences in the management practices of the trained farmers before training (BT) and after training (AT). A paired sample t-test and Wilcoxon signed-rank test were used to conduct the study’s analysis. The results showed that the average flock size of the birds significantly increased post-training. There was a significant increase in the farmers’ use of supplementary feeding, local feedstuffs, artificial brooding and care of chicks, amongst other practices. These results indicate a marked improvement in their management practices post-training. Therefore, building the capacities of SCFs through training significantly improves their knowledge and skillsets. Periodic training of SCFs is recommended to keep them abreast of evolving management practices in SC production, as continual improvement in related competencies is important for enhancing local and national economic development.

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“…cultural activities and traditional wedding ceremonies). In cases where cash is urgently required, rural poultry is particularly valuable, as chickens are relatively easy to sell compared to other more expensive livestock, such as cattle (Nyoni & Masika, 2012). Despite the essential role that poultry plays in rural households, several challenges, such as predation, theft, and disease may impede production (Malatji et al, 2016;Mulualem, 2016;Win et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived impacts of climate change on rural poultry production: a case study in Limpopo Province, South Africa

Nyoni

Grab

Archer

et al. 2021

Climate and Development

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Rural farming households in developing countries frequently contend with multiple challenges, including a lack of resources, food insecurity, and poverty. Climate change threatens to compound existing challenges, particularly in such rural subsistence economies with limited adaptive capacity. We aim to establish farmers' perspectives on likely impacts of climate change on their rural poultry production in northern South Africa. A baseline questionnaire-based study was conducted across 106 households in the town of Musina, South Africa. Most households lacked reliable and adequate sources of income and had, for example, days when they had to skip meals as a coping strategy. With such poverty, coupled with poor access to scientific information on agricultural production, these farmers typically have limited capacity to adapt to shocks such as climate variability and change. Farmers reported a reduction in poultry productivity in recent years, coinciding with increased ambient temperatures. There are concerns that recent and ongoing warming trends will have negative impacts on the future growth and wellbeing of birds. However, the farmers in our study perceived their poultry as hardy and well adapted to survive any future climatic changes and may be uninclined to take adaptive action at this stage.

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Village chicken production practices in the Amatola Basin of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

Cited by 17 publications

References 10 publications

Mating practices, breeding objectives and trait preferences of village chicken farmers in Limpopo Province, South Africa

Mating practices, breeding objectives and trait preferences of village chicken farmers in Limpopo Province, South Africa

An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the Training Offered to Smallholder Scavenging Chicken Farmers in Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

Perceived impacts of climate change on rural poultry production: a case study in Limpopo Province, South Africa

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