Characterization and Typology of Traditional Poultry Farming Systems in Southern Niger

An appropriate agricultural policy that integrates knowledge of endogenous poultry practices should enhance household resilience by contributing to food and nutrition security and sustainable development in developing countries. The current cross-sectional survey aimed to characterize poultry breeding systems and identify types of traditional poultry farmers in Maradi and Zinder in southern Niger. Therefore, 600 households were investigated for the socio-economic parameters of poultry farmers, the breeding methods, the zootechnical parameters of the local chicken, and the health parameters relating to biosecurity and animal care. The results of the descriptive analyses indicated that traditional poultry activity is mainly carried out by men (73.5%) and small farmers (74.2%). Breeding management was primarily free-range breeding (99.3%). The majority of the surveyed herders (67.8%) were illiterate. However, 41.5% of them attended traditional Islamic Koranic schools. Most farmers (80%) were small-scale livestock farmers with an average herd size of 22 ± 24.9. The poultry raised were 93.3% local breeds, with chicken domination (66%). The housing did not meet the required standards, and the feed was mainly cereals. The female chicken can potentially produce 12.64 fertile eggs per clutch and brood 3.53 times per year. The leading cause of mortality in poultry was avian diseases (93.7%) and Newcastle disease in some cases. Poultry vaccination against Newcastle disease was reported by 31.5% of respondents. Of the respondents, 20% have partially observed hygiene and biosecurity measures. About 35.5% of the participants reported the provision of veterinary care, while 44% used phytotherapy to prevent or treat poultry diseases. Based on the results of this cluster analysis, three classes of poultry farmers were distinguished, each with specific characteristics. Poultry farmers in class 1 were particularly characterized by the diversity of their main activity and their level of education, those in class 2 were mostly employed in agriculture and had little school experience, and those in class 3 were characterized by their low level of vaccination practice and their lack of therapeutic animal care. The results also indicated that 15.7%, 70.8%, and 13.5% of poultry farmers belonged to classes 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Keywords: Characterization, Farmer, Niger, Poultry diseases, Poultry production