A comparative performance of indigenous chicken in Baringo and Kisumu Counties of Kenya for sustainable agriculture

Abstract

The population of the world continues to increase especially in developing countries calling for increased food production which puts great pressure to develop a more sustainable agricultural economic activity throughout the world. The demand for white meat from chicken as a source of proteins has also increased. Production of free ranging indigenous chicken could provide solution to cheaper proteins at lower production costs. Nutritional studies conducted on indigenous chicken, Gallus domesticus showed that improved productivity can be achieved through improved feeding using locally available feed and supplementation. The indigenous chicken sector plays an important role in rural livelihoods and has great potential for development. A survey was conducted in April, 2015 in Baringo and Kisumu counties in Kenya to obtain information on commonly used feedstuffs, household characteristics, purpose of keeping chicken, flock size, flock management, performance parameters, feeding practices and prices of eggs and live birds. Inferential and descriptive statistical analysis was done using SPSS. The results showed that many young and educated men in Baringo County are beginning to venture in IC keeping contrary to the notion that IC farming was meant for women and the uneducated. The men are becoming more interested in IC farming probably because the young educated men are beginning to see the economic viability of IC business. The difference in the performance of indigenous chicken between the two counties was not significant (p<0.0064). There was no significant disparity between the two counties in terms of the feeds the farmers used (p<0.8413)