The role of chicken in the livelihoods of farmers in Katakwi sub county, Katakwi district.

Abstract

This research study was conducted to determine the role of chicken in the livelihoods of fanners in Katakwi Sub County, Katakwi district. Questionnaires, interview schedules and personal. observations were the tools used for data collection. One hundred and fort four poultry farmers were selected by simple random sampling: The study revealed that indigenous chicken were the predominant type of poultry. (74.8%) kept for their attributes that they are easy to handle & meat is tastier. Indigenous chickens were mainly for sale so as to raise income for the· household and were also used as a source of food (95.8%). Eggs were for consumption, income and hatching and number of chicken raised per household ranged 'between 5-35 birds (27.3%). The results from the survey showed that the annual income from sale of chicken and their products was >100,000 with income from poultry constituting a quarter (1/4), of most (53.5%) famers total income. The main Source of household income was income from the sale of chickens, crop produce-and daily casual labor (42.3%) ranked most important, contributor to household income. However, other sources included income from crop farming, other livestock, and non-farm sources (remittances, salary, trading, etc.). The findings also indicate that farmers in the study area do not regularly slaughter their chicken for food. When asked how most frequently chicken arid their products were. eaten at home the: most common responses were chicken 55.6% of the interviewees eat chicken fortnightly: eggs 40.1 % of the fanners acknowledged that children are often given to eat eggs weekly. However, the study revealed that, 81.4% of respondents 'buy fish/meat after selling chicken. This indicates that income from the sale of chicken and their products plays role in. improving household nutritional status. It was further established that low market prices offered (44.8%), and cheating, from poultry agents (middle men), lack of poultry marketing associations, were the main challenges facing chicken farmers in marketing poultry and their products. Chicken farmers should form groups and cooperatives to get some form of non-formal education from agricultural extension services and other development organizations to improve upon their business educational status, poultry production, value addition and marketing, through higher level farmer organization formation it will also help. farmers to have better bargaining power so that they can bargain good prices with poultry buyers, by the creation of poultry value-chain so that poultry fanners can get better prices for their birds.