NARI Research and Development Projects
Livestock
5. Improving the Profitability of Village Broiler Production in PNG
High and increasing costs of commercial stock feeds and the rising cost of transport have constrained the participation of smallholder livestock keepers in major growing livestock product markets, hence they are missing out from opportunities for increased incomes and improved livelihoods. On the other hand, there are realistic opportunities to tackle the high cost of feeds at farm level by utilizing proven technologies in crop and livestock production and by taking collective action in resource use and market access.
This project is a continuation of an earlier project which evaluated the feeding value of locally grown food crops and agro-industrial by-products such as fishmeal, copra meal and palm kernel broiler finisher rations. The specific aims of the project are to: 1) develop a range of reduced cost broiler feeding options that incorporate local feeds; 2) evaluate broiler growth performance and profitability using on-farm feeding trials; and 3) promote adoption of these feeding options to improve profitability. It is hoped that successful adoption of the new technologies will make broiler production more attractive to smallholder farmers and hence bring about an expansion of commercial smallholder broiler production in PNG.
Project Funder: Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research
Implementing Programme: Crop and Livestock Improvement
Project Cordination Centre: Momase (Bubia) and Highlands (Tambul) Regional Centres
Project Partners: Lutheran Development Services, Christian Leaders Training College, Agriculture Department of the PNG University of Technology, Salvation Army, Ok Tedi Mining Limited and Southern Australian Research and Development Institute (Australia)
Project Duration: January 2007 - December 2009
