Assessment of Village Chicken Production, Management and Marketing System in Cheha Woreda, Gurage Zone

Abstract

The study was conducted to assess marketing and village chicken production system in Cheha district, Gurage Zone, southern Ethiopia using questionnaire on 90 households. Both primary and secondary data were collected for this study with interviewing the farmers by using semi structured questionnaires and by understanding their socio-economic characteristics and production system, feed resources, and housing system then the data is analyzed by using descriptive statistics.The dominant chicken production system in the study area was extensive system (90.0%). seasonal supplementary feeding (63.4%) of home grown grains. 62.2% of respondent provides water for chicken and (73.3%) of the respondents do not construct a separate house to their chickens. The objectives of chicken production in the study area were sources of income (66.7%) and followed by home consumption (32.2%) and both consumption and income (1.1%).Village chicken production system in Ethiopia is characterized by small flock size owned by individual households and are maintained under scavenging system with low inputs for housing, feeding or health care, low outputs, and periodic devastation of the flocks by disease. The main constraints of scavenging chicken production were housing, predator, diseases, feed shortage and management. Chicken product traders, collectors, retailers, are identified to be the key actors in the value chain of chicken product sector. Three principal channels were identified in the value chain of the sub-sector. These channels are complex and interconnected that implies absence of organized marketing channel and lack of formal linkages among the actors. Efforts should be made to improve health care, housing, husbandry practices, and extension service and marketing to increase productivity of chicken at village management level. So that by considering conditions identified management and production system and give attention for marketing systems, use of alternative management and marketing situation and providing training to be successful in chicken production.