Browsing by Author "Wolfgang, G."

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Farmers’ preferences for tropically adapted improved chicken breeds in selected agro-ecological zones in Tanzania
(Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2020) Wolfgang, G.
Chickens contribute significantly to the socio-economic development and nutritional requirements of people in Tanzania. The overall objective of this study was to investigate smallholder farmers (SHFs) preference for the tropically adapted improved chicken breeds distributed by African Chicken Genetic Gain (ACGG) project in selected Agro- Ecological Zones (AEZs) in Tanzania. This study was carried out in twelve villages which were implementing ACGG project in both Mwanza and Mbeya regions. The multi-stage random sampling was employed from AEZs level to a village level in which respondents were systematically selected from chick distribution list. The data were collected using questionnaires in which 132 SHFs were interviewed. The results show that, majority of SHFs preferred improved chicken breeds due to fast growth, disease resistance, good body shape, escape from predators, good meat taste, good egg taste and higher egg production just to mention a few. The Logistic Regression (LR) results showed that, SHFs in Mwanza region had greater improved chicken preference compared to those in Mbeya region. The profitability results show that, with the average flock size of about nine mature chickens, SHF can generate TZS 13 685 per improved chickens and TZS 6 427 per local chicken in the study areas. It is concluded that, majority of SHFs preferred improved chicken breeds which have high potential for income generation compared to local ones. It is recommended that, an economically sustainable distribution program of improved chicks to rural societies of Tanzania should be encouraged and supported
Farmers’ preferences for tropically adapted improved chicken breeds in selected agro-ecological zones in Tanzania
(AJOL, 2024) Wolfgang, G.; Makindara, J.; Mbaga, S.
This study was carried out in twelve villages that were implementing the African Chicken Genetic Gain (ACGG) project in Mbeya and Mwanza regions. Multistage random sampling method was employed from Agro-Ecological Zone (AEZ) level to a village level in which respondents were systematically selected from a distribution list of chicks. Data were collected using structured questionnaires and 132 respondents were interviewed. The objective of this study was to identify smallholder farmers’ preference traits of improved chicken breeds compared to local ones. The results showed that, the majority of smallholder farmers i.e. 104 (78.8%) in the study areas preferred improved chicken breeds due to the traits of fast growth rate, large body size at maturity, higher egg production, easily adaptive to the local environment, bigger sized eggs and being sold easily. Moreover, the chi- square test shows that, improved chicken traits of egg production, large egg size and being sold at good prices were statistically significant at (p<0.05) between regions. However, 28 smallholder farmers i.e. 21.2%, preferred local chicken due to the traits of ability to survive, scavenging ability, good meat taste, mothering ability, good hatching ability and egg taste. In this case, the chi-square test shows that, local chicken trait of ability to survive had significant difference (p<0.05) between regions. It is therefore concluded that improved chicken breeds were preferred by the majority of farmers due to their traits such as fast growth rate and high egg production. It is thus recommended that chicken breeders should introduce chicken which have traits preferred by smallholder farmers.