A review of the roles of men, women, and youth in ensuring food safety in the smallholder poultry value chain in Kenya

Abstract

Smallholder poultry production is a significant source of food and income for many rural households in Kenya, but poultry products can be contaminated with Salmonella and Campylobacter spp. Household members have different roles in poultry production, with women and youth more actively involved in the earlier steps of the value chain, such as poultry production and processing, particularly at the farm level. This literature review summarizes current knowledge and practices on the roles of women and youth in food safety in the smallholder poultry value chain in Kenya. Of the 19 articles identified, a majority referenced gender roles in the poultry value chain but few referenced youth or the roles of women and youth in ensuring food safety. Women and youth were found to be the primary smallholder poultry producers on-farm. Due to their direct involvement in poultry handling and production, women and youth may have higher potential risk of exposure to foodborne pathogens. Men, women, and youth were all found to participate in slaughtering and transportation of poultry products. It was also found that, although women may be the owners and caretakers of chickens, they may not have decision-making power on the use of income from the poultry, and poultry product sales. Therefore, women and youth may have limited decision-making power or access to resources, such as training, to increase food safety. Further research is needed to address the factors important to women and youth empowerment to ensure food safety in the smallholder poultry value chain and reduce the risks of foodborne disease (FBD) in Kenya.

Gender-Linked Dynamics and Sustainable Small Holder Poultry Value Chains in Makueni County, Kenya

“…'Joint ownership' in poultry production means that men dominate the making of major decisions for rural poultry production, disease control, and markets, which may limit the benefits accessed by women who still contribute largest in terms of management and production tasks [13,26,[28][29][30]. This commercialization of poultry and opportunities for income bring with it the dilemma of the position of women in poultry management, especially in the making of decisions to sell [10,13,23,29,31,32]. Here, the gender norm of the role of men as head of households and resource owners becomes pronounced as they see potential for increased profits by the intensification of the poultry value chain.…”

“…Here, the gender norm of the role of men as head of households and resource owners becomes pronounced as they see potential for increased profits by the intensification of the poultry value chain. The increasing interest of men in the production and marketing of agricultural products under commercialization does not necessarily decrease women's labor [13,23,29,[31][32][33].…”

“…Leveraging on collective bargaining power through organizing women into groups for the small holder poultry value chain is also useful to promote access to resources and benefits [13,23,29,31,32,34]. Having knowledge of the social and cultural value of poultry, including actor roles and relations, is also helpful for targeting and aiding the design and implementation of interventions aimed at promoting sustainable small holder poultry value chains [6,10,14,19,24,29,31,33,35].…”

Gender-Responsive Design of Bacteriophage Products to Enhance Adoption by Chicken Keepers in Kenya

“…Infectious diseases associated with chicken farming and egg production also pose a risk to the health of livestock keepers and consumers. Women and youth are at a higher risk of exposure to infectious diseases than men because of their direct involvement in routine care [ 8 ]. Nontyphoidal Salmonella is a major cause of foodborne infections in both developed and developing countries [ 9 ].…”

“…Management practices, the division of labor, and access to veterinary services vary by gender. Women and men have different levels of decision-making ability and access to resources to prevent or treat bacterial infections and other animal health issues [ 8 ]. In a study about Tanzanian smallholder chicken-owning households, there was no difference in awareness of Newcastle disease vaccines or their use between households with men or women as decision-makers for chickens [ 33 ].…”