Abstract:
Providing agro- ecologically adaptive, low-inputs and high productive chickens in terms
of eggs and meat remain critical to transform smallholder chicken farmers in developing
countries from subsistence to commercial production. The provision of such chickens will
ultimately bring diverse benefits such as increased income and improved nutrition to the
society. This study was aimed at analysing the value chain for agro-ecologically adaptive,
low inputs and productive chicken in Lindi Rural and Masasi Districts. The
aforementioned districts are amongst the districts provided with the tropically adapted
improved chicken in Tanzania. Specifically, this study intended to map and characterise
actors in the tropically adapted improved chicken value chain, to determine gross margin
of different actors along the chicken value chain and to analyse factors influencing gross
margin at farm level. Data were solicited from 140 chicken value chain actors using a
structured questionnaire and checklist. Subsector mapping analysis was used to map actors
along the chicken value chain and the main actors were smallholder chicken farmers,
retailers largely small shops, chick and feed suppliers and service providers such as credit
and veterinary services. Further, gross margin analysis was used to determine profitability
of actors in the chicken value chain in which the average gross margin of smallholder
farmers was 308.8TZS per egg and for retailers it was 108.7TZS per egg. Multiple linear
regression model was used to determine factors influencing gross margin of smallholder
farmers in the study area, in which three factors viz., education level, access to market
information and number of laying hen were found to be statistically significant . Further ,
there were numbers of challenges including limited value addition, weak vertical and
horizontal coordination and diseases that inhibit the sustainability of chicken value chain.
The study recommended measures to solve these challenges in order to establish a
sustainable chicken subsector.
