Contribution of technical innovations to the productivity of village poultry farming in Madagascar

Abstract

Village poultry farming plays an important role in Madagascar. It accounts for 83% of the total poultry sector and 69.7% of the livestock sub-sector. Chicken farming ranks first with 83% of the livestock, followed by ducks (13%), geese (2%) and turkeys (2%). It will be a significant income-generating activity for poultry farmers if improved. The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of introducing certain technical innovations in the management of indigenous chicken breeds. Therefore, vaccination coupled with deworming of chicks and the use of the "creep feeder" for chick rearing were chosen. The impact of these innovations was assessed on the mortality rate, the zootechnical performance of mother hens and the income generated for households. The evaluation of the results obtained supports the positive impacts of the proposed interventions, thus demonstrating the potential for improving farmers' incomes by adopting these innovations.

Keywords: Village poultry farming, Technical innovation, Vaccination, Deworming, Creep feeder, Madagascar