Poultry Farming as Additional Income Source for Coffee Farming Families: Youth and Women Empowerment
Smallholder coffee farming families are encouraged to pursue multiple income sources to achieve food security and stability. Ana Makama and Damas Bwama are a young couple who participated in the ICP poultry farming project in the Songwe region, Tanzania, from November 2020 to December 2023. In addition to coffee farming, they effectively managed to raise more than 140 chicken. They have now expanded their income sources by selling eggs and chicken.
Poultry Production Training Makes a Difference
Before undergoing training, Damas mentioned that poultry farming was not very productive because they were raising chicken without following proper farming methods. The focus was mainly on raising chicken for family consumption rather than as a source of income. After the proper poultry production training, the young couple experienced significant improvements. Learning about the essential aspects of poultry farming, such as ensuring proper housing, feeding, healthcare for the chicken, waste management, record keeping, and financial management, significantly contributed to the success of their poultry farming project.
"I am thankful to ICP for the valuable training their project has provided us with, starting from the basics. "
Now, poultry farming has become a part of their family business and serves as an additional source of income. In fact, poultry farming has proved to create opportunities across the value chain, not just in poultry production, processing, and marketing, but also the supply of essential inputs, particularly feed. The sector also provides job and self-employment opportunities such as aggregators/traders, agrovet dealers, veterinary services, mobile abattoirs, local retail outlets, and more. While past promotional activities in Tanzania have focused on small-scale poultry production, extending support throughout the entire supply chain could enhance these prospects within the sector.
"It is something to be proud of, to see how we have made strides economically as a family, and now the community here is learning from us; we have become an example to be imitated. "
Poultry Farming as Women and Youth Friendly Business
In Tanzania, women and youth make up the majority of poultry smallholder producers due to the lack of significant barriers to accessing land (land pressure) for investing in a small or medium-sized poultry farm: Returns on land and labour are higher compared to most other agricultural enterprises.
"I raise poultry together with my husband, he takes them to the market and negotiates the prices. He brings back all the money from the sales, and we budget together for it. "
The family business has enabled Damas and Ana to buy a 1.5-hectare farm for coffee farming and construct a home for their family. Additionally, they are now able to cover their children's school fees. They intend to expand the family's poultry farming venture from 140 to 600 chicken by end of 2024, with an expected monthly eggs collection of 1120. They are optimistic that the upcoming project expansion will enable them to grow their business further, and to eventually send their children to college.
Charles Machonga, Producer Organization Trainer at HRNS Tanzania, noted that the production cycle in poultry farming is small and flexible, making cash flow favourable for smallholder coffee farmers, particularly women and youth.
"The poultry production cycle is small and flexible, making it easy for beginners to start on a small scale. It is also women-friendly as it can be operated from home. "
Charles reiterated that gender equality is strongly encouraged and the role of women in poultry farming is as equal as men, whereby men should be involved in activities like distribution, processing, and trading which necessitate mobility and extended hours away from home.
The poultry industry in East Africa (including Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda) has experienced rapid growth over the past 8–10 years. This growth has been fuelled by urbanization, the expansion of the middle class, an increase in quick-service restaurants in urban areas, and a rising demand for animal protein. While Kenya's poultry sector is the most developed, the other three East African countries have also made substantial progress in expanding their own poultry industries.
