Indigenous Chicken Productivity and Associated Farm-Level Attributes among Producers in the Western Parts of Kenya

Abstract

Indigenous chicken production is an important sub-sector in Kenya. About 90% of rural communities keep indigenous chicken in small flocks. They provide the much needed high value protein and income for the rural households. Despite its importance; the productivity of the sub-sector greatly varies depending on the management systems deployed by the producers. The management systems are thought to be influenced by demographic; socio-economic and information literacy factors. This study investigated the potential links between these factors and indigenous chicken productivity in two regions in the Western parts of Kenya. The survey study adopted a descriptive approach. Semi-structured interview schedules were used to collect data from a sample of 106 smallholder producers. Purposive and multi-stage sampling techniques were used to select the participants from among producers who had shown interest in the commercialization of indigenous chicken following awareness meetings conducted by public extension agents in the two regions. Data was analyzed by use of descriptive statistics and correlation estimates using Kendalls’ tau-b and Goodman-Kruskalls’ Gamma coefficients. Gender; education levels; flock size; information literacy and access to markets had significant association (P < .05) with some indigenous chicken productivity indicators that were investigated.