ArticlePloS one2020
Mortality as the primary constraint to enhancing nutritional and financial gains from poultry: A multi-year longitudinal study of smallholder farmers in western Kenya.
Article in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed.
- Vaccination of household chickens results in a shift in young children's diet and improves child growth in rural Kenya.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2022Trial
- Estimating genetic parameters of egg production in three local Tanzanian chicken ecotypes.Poultry science · 2026Article
- Understanding decision-making around human and livestock health in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic literature review.Dialogues in health · 2025Review
- High dietary Mucuna pruriens utilis seed meal compromises growth performance, carcass traits, haemato-biochemistry, and meat quality of broilers.Tropical animal health and production · 2024Article
- The Public Health Importance and Management of Infectious Poultry Diseases in Smallholder Systems in Africa.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Socio-economic and structural barriers in Newcastle disease vaccines uptake by smallholder women farmers in Southeastern Kenya.PloS one · 2023Article
- A high level estimation of the net economic benefits to small-scale livestock producers arising from animal health product distribution initiatives.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2023Article
- Prevalence and antimicrobial resistance patterns ofJAC-antimicrobial resistance · 2022Article
- Growth performance, survivability and profitability of improved smallholder chicken genetics in Nigeria: A COVID-19 intervention study.Frontiers in genetics · 2022Article
- "Chicken dumping": Motivations and perceptions in shifting poultry production practices.One health (Amsterdam, Netherlands) · 2021Article
- Impact of routine Newcastle disease vaccination on chicken flock size in smallholder farms in western Kenya.PloS one · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundChickens are a widely held economic and nutritional asset in rural Africa and are frequently managed by women. Despite potential benefits of larger flock sizes, the average number of chickens kept at the household level is reported to be low. Whether this reflects decision-making to maximize benefits per unit labor by voluntary reduction of chicken numbers by consumption or sale versus involuntary losses due to mortality is a significant gap in knowledge relevant to improving smallholder household welfare.
methodsIn a 4-year longitudinal study of 1,908 smallholder households in rural western Kenya, the number of chickens owned by quarterly census at each household was determined. Households reported gains and losses of chicken over the immediate previous quarter. Gains were classified as on-farm or off-farm; losses were classified as voluntary (sales, gifts, consumption) or involuntary (mortality, unclassified loss).
resultsThe mean number of chickens owned over the 16 quarters was 10, consistent with prior cross-sectional data. Involuntary losses represented 70% of total off-take, while voluntary off-take represented the remaining 30%. Mortality composed 60% of total reported off-take and accounted for most of the involuntary losses. Household consumption, sales, and gifts represented 18%, 9%, and 3% of off-take, respectively.
conclusionThe overwhelming majority of off-take can be classified as involuntary off-take, principally due to mortality, that does not reflect the owner's decision to maximize value through nutritional gain, income, or social capital. This strongly suggests that there is substantial opportunity to enhance the value of chickens as an asset, both nutritional and income generating, for smallholder households living at poverty level. Our findings suggest that programs emphasizing community level poultry vaccination and feed supplementation are much more likely to be effective than those solely focused on providing chickens.
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