Rearing local breeds of chicken is a typical activity of rural households across Nigeria, including in the Niger Delta. Approximately 3 million households keep local chickens across the region, with an average flock size of 11 per household. These birds, though not reared with a specific commercial intent, provide a safety net for rural households, and serve several purposes; they provide a store of wealth and occasional income, add to the household protein consumption, and are used in meeting traditional obligations such as gift-giving during festive seasons.

Demand for chicken meat and eggs in Nigeria is substantial and growing at more than 20% per annum as incomes rise and new marketing outlets appear. The government-imposed ban on poultry imports has raised the price of chicken meat and provides a strong window of opportunity for local production. The market for chickens is dominated by the live bird market, where small farmers in the Niger Delta sell their chickens. The bird population is dominated by traditional poultry which accounts for 94% of chickens in the country.

Mortality rates due to these diseases is over 30% with an estimated loss of eight billion Naira per year. Limited access to and availability of inappropriately sized vaccines, preventing smallholder farmers from using the vaccines, are among leading causes of high poultry mortality experienced by SHF.

Our Poultry Linkages Project was designed to provide implementation support to the poultry value chain which will increase local producers’ competitiveness and enable local processors of poultry upgrade meat quality and capacity to increase supply to sophisticated end markets.