Village chickens for achieving Sustainable Development Goals 1 and 2 in resource-poor communities: a literature review

Abstract

Global human population rapid increase, particularly in Low-Income Food Deficit Countries (LIFDCs) causes severe food shortages. Food shortages are complex and can be linked to economic, environmental, social, and political variables. Harnessing village chicken products serves as a cheap commercial chicken substitute in addressing food shortages. Consumption and sales of protein products from village chickens such as; meat, eggs and internal organs ensure food security and poverty alleviation in limited-resource communities. However, village chicken has poor quality end products due to poor management and animal rearing resources. Village chicken production challenges include absence of high-quality feed, biosecurity, record keeping, housing and commercial marketing of its end products. Management being based on cultural gender roles instead of possession of formal poultry management formal training further limits village chicken production. To improve village chicken's end product quality, poultry management trainings for rural women are suggested due to studies showing that women mainly manage village chicken production. Furthermore, to create formal market share of village chickens, sensory evaluations need to be conducted using mainstream poultry consumers. This review examined the potential contribution of village chickens in achieving Sustainable Development Goals; One of No Poverty and Two of zero hunger to benefit vulnerable groups in resource-poor communities.