Key constraints to smallholder village chicken production and marketing systems in Centre-Nord region, Burkina Faso

Objective
Chicken keeping among rural households in low-income countries like Burkina Faso provides an important source of income, nutrition, and gifts to strengthen social ties. However, the sector is hampered by high losses mostly due to diseases, limited access to farm inputs and value chain inefficiency impacting on productivity, marketing and human health. To better understand these issues, we investigated challenges faced by male and female poultry producers and other value chain actors, with emphasis given to animal health and welfare issues.

Material and methods
This study was conducted in the framework of the Poultry Losses and One Health (POLOH) project implemented by the International Livestock research Institute and partners. Two stakeholder workshops and one field site scoping visit were carried out but the research team. Various village poultry value chain stakeholders were engaged in group discussions or informal interviews in September and October 2022. National workshop participants (22 men, 8 women) included national and international research organizations, private sector, extension agents, government and development organizations. A site scoping visit included meetings with 14 stakeholders (9 men, 5 women) and field visits to poultry farms and markets. The workshop in Centre-Nord was attended by 60 stakeholders (50 men, 10 women) including representatives of producer cooperatives, traders, project area village leaders, private veterinarians, government (animal health, human health and environment) and development NGOs. Discussions focused on issues negatively affecting the village poultry value chain, and specific gender constraints and recommendations for upgrading the value chain.

Results
The national workshop identified a range of constraints, including lack of feed associated with increased cereal prices; insufficient veterinary service coverage due to the low number of animal health workers; insufficient producer knowledge of poultry farming good practices; persistence of poultry diseases; inadequate housing; difficulty accessing micro-credit finances; and insecurity in the region.
The Nord-Centre regional workshop with grassroot stakeholders, raised similar constraints. The top three constraints cited by input suppliers were: low level of actor knowledge about good management practices; low formal education of actors; and emergence of poultry diseases.
Producers cited: non-availability of veterinary pharmaceuticals; difficulty accessing feeds; and insufficient funds to purchase farm inputs.
Market actors cited: lack of poultry slaughter sites; unsuitable poultry transport and lack of dedicated poultry markets.
Women's issues included: lack of financial resources to grow farming business; lack knowledge on how to tackle zoonotic diseases; and the high costs of veterinary inputs. Recommendations to boost the poultry sector in the Centre-Nord region, included: build producer capacity; train processing node actors on good hygiene practices; strengthen extension agent capacity; facilitate access to loans; train actors in herd management and marketing; involve all stakeholders in the consultation process and decision-making to develop the poultry sector; and raise awareness of on the merits of empowering women in production activities such as leadership and their participation in meeting household needs.

Conclusion
These findings will guide interventions to improve poultry productivity and provision of safe chicken products to consumers. In-depth qualitative interviews and household surveys are ongoing to support context specific interventions that will be scaled up to sustainably increase livelihoods food and nutrition security.