The project's main goal is to improve food and nutritional security in the village level by availing technologies that enhance food productivity and provide technical training to farmers through the innovative Local Service Provider approach.
At Ziwani Poultry we help small scale farmers by offering improved dual purpose chicken, Incubation services that multiplies their stock quicker, offering farmers training on best poultry husbandry and linking them to the market.
Most poultry farmers are small scale farmers who get into poultry with little knowledge of poultry production and lack of link to the market. 74% of all poultry in Kenya are indigenous chicken. Indigenous chicken have poor productivity and have high production cost.
Chicken rearing is a common enterprise in the rural arears, it supports the food and nutrition security of rural communities and country at large. Any surplus is sold to earn extra money, but more recently poor people are developing the business interest to rear chicken specifically to earn extra income.
The incubation service helps the farmer to multiply their flock quicker, with our incubation service a farmer can hatch as many eggs as they have/want. This is a way of adding value to their eggs.
We aim to enhance household nutrition and also build household resilience to the vagaries of climate change. Livestock remains the main source of livelihood for communities living in the ASALs where more than 60% of the Kenya livestock resides. However, productivity of livestock is low due to seasonal availability of poor quality feeds, diseases and poor animal breeds. Chicken are the only affordable livestock for the poor and improving their productivity will improve the livelihood of the poor and serve as a stepping stone out of extreme poverty. The project will introduce improved dual purpose chicken under a free range system to the project area to enhance food and nutrition security.
Free range chicken production systems are adaptable and require low start-up capital. Improved dual purpose chicken are hardy and thrive under a harsh environment with minimal inputs. They scavenge for feeds and may occasionally benefit from agricultural and other household wastes. Eggs and chicken under this system will contribute directly to household protein nutrition thus alleviating malnutrition and offering food security. Chicken production represents an alternative source of high quality nutrition for communities living in the ASALs. Sales of surplus eggs and chicken will earn and diversify incomes for women and youth who often own and control benefits accruing from this enterprise.
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