Research Topics

EPAR Research Brief #89
Publication Date: 06/16/2010
Type: Research Brief
Abstract

This report provides an overview of poultry market trends in Niger as compared to the wider West African region. As of 2009, Niger maintains the 20 percent Common External Tariff (CET) for live chickens and hens, poultry meat, and eggs for consumption. Live turkeys and other poultry, reproducers, and hatching eggs are subject to a 5 percent tariff. The primary source for this analysis is the presentation document by the Groupement des Aviculteurs Privés de la Communauté Urbaine de Niamey et ses Environs (GAP/CUN/E) at the FAO Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Disease Operations’ (ECTAD) Second Poultry Farming Technical Workshop, held in Dakar in June 2009. We find that the poultry sector in Niger currently exhibits poor productivity, widespread disease concerns, and poor organization. The avian influenza epidemic devastated poultry stocks in Niger and the sector has yet to fully recover. Since smallholders comprise the majority of poultry producers in Niger, developing the sector presents an opportunity to improve health and food security.

EPAR Research Brief #87
Publication Date: 06/14/2010
Type: Research Brief
Abstract

This report provides an overview of poultry market trends in Nigeria as compared to the wider West African region. As a member of the Economic Community of West African States, Nigeria complies with most Common External Tariff (CET) measures, which facilitates an influx of cheap poultry imports from Europe.  The country adopted a ban on poultry imports in 2002 to reduce competition from foreign producers. However, illegal imports continue to enter via land borders. The primary sources for this analysis are the 2006 FAO-Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD) poultry sector review and the Pro-Poor Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Risk Reduction group’s 2008 review of Nigeria. We find that poultry keeping is ubiquitous in Nigeria’s rural areas and is increasingly common among peri-urban and urban households as a way to supplement income and increase access to protein. The commercial sector is comprised of operations at a range of sizes, including large-scale, vertically integrated facilities. We find that demand for poultry is rising and is expected to continue increasing as Nigeria’s economy grows. At all levels in the sector, the country’s poultry farmers have opportunities to expand production in response to rising demand.

EPAR Research Brief #84
Publication Date: 05/28/2010
Type: Research Brief
Abstract

This report provides an overview of poultry market trends in Burkina Faso as compared to the wider West African region. The main resources for this analysis are the FAO Pro-Poor Livestock Policy Initiative working paper Navigating the Livestock Sector: The Political Economy of Livestock Policy in Burkina Faso from 2005 and the FAO-ECTAD poultry sector review from 2007. We find that due in part to the country’s landlocked location, Burkina Faso’s poultry market is comprised almost entirely of domestic producers. Despite the poultry system’s performance and lack of direct competition, the system is not currently meeting market demand for poultry, particularly at holiday periods.  Opportunities exist to increase domestic production and potentially supply the regional market. In addition, the organizational environment is strengthening as the Maison De l’Aviculture (MDA) producer organization works to support poultry sector growth by importing production inputs, providing education, and engaging in policy advocacy.  

EPAR Research Brief #83
Publication Date: 05/28/2010
Type: Research Brief
Abstract

This report provides an overview of poultry market trends in Ghana as compared to the wider West African region. The primary source for this analysis is the 2006 FAO-Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD) poultry sector review. We find that poultry production in Ghana takes place in rural areas throughout the country and in commercial operations near urban centers. However, many domestic producers have been unable to compete with frozen poultry imports, resulting in stagnant domestic per capita production and underutilization of production facilities. The country’s coastal ports provide an entry point for poultry imports, which may explain why imports have dominated the country’s market more than in land-locked countries such as Burkina Faso. Opportunities for poultry development in Ghana include expanding the role of domestic producers in supplying geographic and product niches.

EPAR Research Brief #85
Publication Date: 05/25/2010
Type: Research Brief
Abstract

This report provides an overview of poultry market trends in Mali as compared to the wider West African region. In the wake of the avian flu epidemic, the only poultry products currently legal to import are eggs for reproduction and day-old chicks. No poultry meat has been imported into Mali since March 2004. The main resource available for this analysis is the FAO-ECTAD poultry sector review from 2006.  In this report, we find that a majority of Malian families raise poultry and it is an important source of both nutrition and income.  Mali produces over 99 percent of its chicken meat and eggs for consumption domestically. Over 90 percent of production occurs in rural areas, mostly under traditional practices. However, to achieve self-sufficiency in chicken meat and hen eggs for consumption, Mali imports over 60 percent of the hatching eggs and day-old chicks required to replenish its poultry stocks. The policy and organizational environment appears favorable for expanding the sector. There is an ongoing government initiative to support the poultry sector and several producer organizations at all levels of the supply chain. We find that analyses of Mali’s poultry sector suggest that market opportunities exist to increase domestic poultry reproduction capacity, production of poultry products and poultry consumption.

EPAR Research Brief #86
Publication Date: 05/24/2010
Type: Research Brief
Abstract

This report provides an overview of poultry market trends in Senegal as compared to the wider West African region. The primary sources for this analysis include the 2006 FAO-Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD) poultry sector review and a 2004 report from the FAO Pro-Poor Livestock Policy Initiative. We find that poultry production in Senegal takes place in rural areas throughout the country and in commercial operations near urban centers. Senegal implemented a ban on all poultry imports in 2006 in response to avian influenza and pressure from domestic producers. The 2006 poultry import ban has stimulated new growth in domestic production, and the country now produces almost 100 percent of its consumption. Analysts predict that the potential of the domestic market to absorb increased poultry production is quite large.  If given support to overcome production constraints, smallholder poultry keepers and commercial operators have the potential to increase supply in response to growing domestic demand.

EPAR Technical Report #60
Publication Date: 03/05/2010
Type: Literature Review
Abstract

In recent years, product supply chains for agricultural goods have become increasingly globalized. As a result, greater numbers of smallholder farmers in South Asia (SA) and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) participate in global supply chains, many of them through contract farming (CF). CF is an arrangement between a farmer and a processing or marketing firm for the production and supply of agricultural products, often at predetermined prices. This literature review finds empirical evidence that demonstrates that the economic and social benefits of CF for smallholder farmers are mixed. A number of studies suggest that CF may improve farmer productivity, reduce production risk and transaction costs, and increase farmer incomes. However, critics caution that CF may undermine farmers’ relative bargaining power and increase health, environmental, and financial risk through exposure to monopsonistic markets, weak contract environments, and unfamiliar agricultural technologies. There is consensus across the literature that CF has the best outcomes for farmers when farmers have more bargaining power to negotiate the terms of the contract. In reviewing the literature on CF, we find a number of challenges to comparing studies and evaluating outcomes across contracts. This literature review summarizes empirical findings and analyses regarding contract models and best practices to increase farmers’ bargaining power and decrease contract default.