Assessing a pilot co-operative-based workshop-subsidy model toward improving small-scale chicken production in peri-urban Nepal

Abstract

Farmers in Nepal face many of the same global challenges associated with initiating and scaling poultry husbandry as many other developing countries. These include, access to innovative approaches in finance, credit, coop design, marketing and sales. As with most low-income countries, Nepalese poultry farmers also lack adequate training in poultry husbandry including biosecurity. In this paper, we describe a collaborative workshop-subsidy approach to addressing these challenges conducted by a partnership with the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, the College of Engineering, the School of Education and a farming co-operative based in the semi-rural area of Bhaktapur, Nepal. The program included two workshops covering aspects of poultry rearing including coop construction, chick rearing, biosecurity and husbandry. Both workshops were a combination of lectures and hands-on learning. Following completion of the workshops, each farmer received subsidized materials for coop construction and poultry rearing. The co-operative provided training facilities and a market for selling eggs. Despite an outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), which affected the scale of program implementation, our results suggest that the workshop subsidy collaborative approach can be successful in reducing market entry barriers. Our 6-month post-workshop survey showed that two-thirds of the workshop participants ultimately built their own coop and raised chicks. Half of these participants reported market available egg production and a doubling of egg consumption at home.

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Antibiotic Use and Resistance among Poultry Farmers in Nepal

“…The knowledge section had 12 different close-ended questions while the attitude section had 8 different close-ended questions. The practice section had 15 both closed and open-ended questions. A preliminary interview was conducted among 20 farmers in the Chitwan district to improve the quality of the questionnaire, but their data were not included in the analysis.…”

“…Currently, there are no guidelines on prudent antibiotic usage in poultry and food animals in Nepal, there are no laboratory strategic plans for guidance and governance to national laboratories, and most poultry farmers lack adequate training in poultry husbandry, including biosecurity [ 15 ]. Hence, proper guidelines on the prudent use of antibiotics in food animals, the establishment of surveillance programs, and biosecurity training programs for livestock farmers, technicians, veterinarians, and the general public on the rational use of antimicrobial drugs can reduce the burden of AMR in Nepal [ 2 ].…”

Capacitación técnica y producción sostenible de aves en entornos rurales

“…La efectividad de la capacitación técnica a productores avícolas depende de factores como necesidades, nivel educativo, disponibilidad de recursos y tiempo. Se enfoca en mejorar la productividad pecuaria y potenciar capacidades para un desarrollo sostenible, promoviendo la adopción de nuevas técnicas y la toma de decisiones autónoma (Acosta et al, 2022). Estudios en Nigeria sugieren que la capacitación en el uso adecuado de antibióticos puede reducir su uso excesivo, beneficiando la salud pública y la economía en la producción avícola (Acosta et al, 2022).…”

“…Se enfoca en mejorar la productividad pecuaria y potenciar capacidades para un desarrollo sostenible, promoviendo la adopción de nuevas técnicas y la toma de decisiones autónoma (Acosta et al, 2022). Estudios en Nigeria sugieren que la capacitación en el uso adecuado de antibióticos puede reducir su uso excesivo, beneficiando la salud pública y la economía en la producción avícola (Acosta et al, 2022). En Guangdong, productores avícolas mostraron actitudes positivas hacia el bienestar animal, prefiriendo sistemas de cría al aire libre.…”