Towards the Modeling of Indigenous Poultry Production ECP

Poverty remains a critical issue mostly in the rural South Africa. Various initiatives, policies and programs have been enacted by the government with attempting to reduce poverty at the national and provincial levels; poverty is yet to be abated. The target of the Millennium Development Goal 1 (MDG1) of halving poverty by the year 2015 notwithstanding, poverty remains a threat to quality livelihoods. Agriculture has continued to be one of the pillars of government efforts to address poverty. However, in livestock production interventions, efforts of government had largely been on cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and exotic poultry with little attention being given to indigenous poultry production (IPP). This study explores the option of using IPP to address rural poverty by capitalizing on its minimal inputs while recognizing its prevalence in a variety of households. The study addresses the characterization of the IPP from the perspectives of housing, feeding, healthcare management, breeding and marketing options. Skill competencies of the indigenous poultry farmers (IPFs) and the Agricultural Development Technicians (ADTs) were examined.