Poverty alleviation, food security and the well-being of the human population trough family poultry in low-income food-deficit countries

Author: E. F. Guèye

Received 25 December 2002, accepted 23 April 2003.

Abstract

Family poultry (FP), which are still very important in low-income food-deficit countries (LIFDCs), have been kept by local communities for many generations. These birds usually make up more than 80% of the national poultry flock in many LIFDCs. Although requiring low levels of inputs, FP are a valuable asset to local populations, especially in underprivileged groups and less favoured areas. FP represent an appropriate system to provide additional income to the generally resource- poor small farmers, especially women, to supply the fast-growing human population with high quality protein, hence their significant contribution to poverty alleviation, food security and the overall well-being of household?s members. Nevertheless, there is a strong need for governments, non-governmental organizations, international agencies and donors to design, implement, monitor and evaluate FP development programmes by taking socio-cultural issues into account.