Poultry farming is an agribusiness venture that the majority have started unleashing today. Poultry has various streams of earning revenue as it entails a variety of birds that you can specialize in raising. Furthermore, it is a profitable business since there is minimal competition and a high demand for poultry products in the country.
It would be best to have a strategic business plan, determination, and a passion for running the business. Like any other business in Kenya, poultry farming faces various challenges which need to be addressed to maximize farmers’ profits.
10 Problems Facing Poultry Farming in Kenya
Below are the 10 main problems facing poultry farming in Kenya:
1. Inadequate Capital
Farmers have inadequate capital to fund the poultry business to completion. Insufficient capital leads to losses, which means you are likely to fail in this business. Besides, the majority lack the finances to buy feed, yet feed determines the growth of the birds.
Also, farmers lack access to financial aid from the government, which makes it even more difficult for farmers when rearing birds for commercial purposes.
2. Outbreak of Diseases
Various deadly outbreaks of diseases affect poultry. They cause deterioration of birds’ health, leading to less productivity or even death. Farmers need to vaccinate their poultry to boost their immunity in the future. Besides, deworm the birds to avoid poultry being affected by parasites.
3. Unavailability of Affordable Vaccines
Birds are prone to diseases due to various factors in the environment. In Kenya, farmers cannot afford vaccination to boost the immunity of their birds due to the high vaccination cost. This leads to failure in the poultry business as birds can fetch fewer profits due to poor health or cause total losses due to death.
4. High Cost of Poultry Feeds
Poultry are given various types of feed depending on their age. Nutritious feeds are always bought from agro-vets to ensure the growth of the birds. These feeds are quite expensive for local farmers to afford. The majority end up feeding their local poultry feed, which causes retarded growth in birds. Sometimes, farmers’ ratio feeds leads to unsatisfied birds, which is not healthy.
5. Lack of Government Support
The government of Kenya does not fully support poultry farmers as they have majored in other sectors. Besides, they do not offer funds to help farmers support their businesses, which is a major problem for poultry farming. If you decide to venture into poultry farming, it is important to get financing elsewhere to fund your business.
6. Lack of Knowledge about Poultry Farming
Poultry farmers are not well exposed to the rearing of birds. The Ministry of Agriculture organizes minimum seminars. Besides, farmers do not know how to feed and raise their birds in a healthy state. Inadequate knowledge about poultry has led to less productivity in poultry products today.
7. Lack of an Organized Market
The market highly determines the number of profits you will earn in this business. It is of great concern that poultry farmers in Kenya lack a ready market where they can sell their products. The lack of organized markets has made farmers sell their products at throwaway prices, which leads to losses. The government should create a ready market for farmers to support their productivity. The government’s support will also boost the economy as it will earn revenue after exporting these products.
8. Low Genetic Potential
Low genetic potential is also a primary concern in poultry farming. Various poultry breeds have unlikable characteristics such as slow growth rates, not being prolific, etc. These breeds are found on almost every poultry farm. These breeds highly discourage farmers as they do not mature faster and have low productivity. Low genetic potential pulls back poultry farming in Kenya.
9. Poor Management
Management determines the success or failure of your business. Farmers should have a proper plan that will guide them in running this business. The majority of farmers in Kenya do not know how to plan their business, leading to less productivity. Poor management is the biggest source of losses in the country today.
10. Poor Feeding with Little Supplementation
Feeding determines the growth rate of your birds. Poor feeding programs with minimum supplementation are the major problem in the poultry industry. Farmers need to adhere to the correct feeding schedule to facilitate the faster growth rate of the birds and maintain healthy conditions.
Benefits of Poultry Farming in Kenya
Poultry farming in Kenya is taking the lead as it is an industry with fewer diseases; therefore, the country does not necessarily have to import poultry products.
Furthermore, poultry farming has a lot of profits due to the high demand for poultry products as they are a great source of protein. The country gains from the poultry industry as exports earn the country foreign exchange, thus boosting the economy.
Types of Poultry Farming
There are two main types of poultry farming, which are:
- Organic poultry farming: entails raising birds without synthetic products such as pesticides, antibiotics, etc.
- Inorganic poultry farming: entails caged birds and the use of synthetic products in the raising of birds.
Perhaps you want to know the most expensive method of poultry farming, which is the deep litter system. It is expensive as it is the modern method of rearing poultry, where birds are kept full-time indoors. Feeds and fresh water are provided in the birds’ coops. Besides, it requires close monitoring, which makes it quite expensive.
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