Poultry health constraints in smallholder village poultry systems in Northern Ghana and Central Tanzania
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Date
2023
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Publisher
Frontiers in Veterinary Science
Abstract
Introduction: Smallholder poultry production is a major contributor to food
security and rural livelihoods in low-and middle-income countries. However,
infectious diseases limit improvements to smallholder poultry production and
performance of the sector in general. Infectious diseases of poultry, especially
viral diseases, have major impacts on the health and productivity of flocks and
account for significant morbidities and mortalities of birds each year.
Methods: This study utilized participatory epidemiology approaches to better
understand the poultry health constraints and challenges faced by smallholder poultry
producers in village poultry systems in Northern Ghana and Central Tanzania.
Results: The results show dominance of small-scale semi-intensive and extensive
scavenging poultry production systems in the study areas. Newcastle disease ranked
as the highest cause of morbidity and mortality in chickens in the two countries. The
disease occurred mainly during the months coinciding with the dry season in both
countries. Other health challenges among poultry flocks included worm infestation,
fowl pox, coryza, and coccidiosis. Producers, especially in rural locations, had poor
access to veterinary services and critical inputs necessary for poultry production. In
the Northern region of Ghana, producers lacked definitive diagnoses for sick poultry
due to a shortage of veterinary personnel and diagnostic laboratories.
Discussion: These challenges point to the need for increased investment in
poultry disease control and prevention programs, particularly in rural areas.
Interventions focused on expansion of veterinary and agricultural extension
services and diagnostic laboratory capacity in rural areas and increased gender sensitive training to enhance smallholder knowledge in poultry husbandry and
disease prevention measures will support the development of the smallholder
village poultry systems. Tapping into the diverse genetic reservoir of local chicken
ecotypes with enhanced resistance to Newcastle disease through genomic
selection, coupled with models for enhancing ND vaccination supply and use
in the rural areas are potential future avenues for addressing ND constraints to
production
Description
Research Article
Keywords
village poultry systems, local chicken ecotypes, participatory epidemiology
Citation
Ouma EA, Kankya C, Dione M, Kelly T, Enahoro D, Chiwanga G, Abukari Y, Msoffe P, Kayang BB and Zhou H (2023) Poultry health constraints in smallholder village poultry systems in Northern Ghana and Central Tanzania. Front. Vet. Sci. 10:1159331. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2023.1159331