Smallholder poultry production in the context of increasing global food prices: roles in poverty reduction and food security

Most poor households with food insecurity are found in developing countries, mainly in the rural and agricultural sectors. These households have limited resilience to local and global socio-economic and environmental shocks, including a surge in the price of foods. Increasing food price mainly reduces the real income of these households and affects the quality and quantity of the basket of foods households consume. This may push some of them to slip into poverty and food insecurity. On the other hand, increasing food prices may improve smallholder producers' income, at least in the long run, by enhancing their profitability and creating jobs and employment opportunities. Hence, the net effect may depend on the level of agricultural production and productivity, the type and amount of food purchased from the market, and constraints that affect households' production and market participation. In this regard, smallholder poultry production is vital in resource-poor settings as it helps households generate additional income with limited investment and provide cheap ASFs rich in protein and other nutrients. Hence, improving the production and productivity of the widely adopted traditional production system would help to mitigate the negative effect of food price shocks and contributes to poverty reduction and enhance food security. Increasing eggs and meat productivity would simultaneously boost the income and consumption of ASFs among resource-poor rural and peri-urban households. Conflict of interest statement. None declared.