A One Health approach is needed to incorporate village poultry production into nutrition sensitive landscapes. Village poultry, including chickens, provide important nutrition and economic benefits for rural families through their eggs and meat. They obtain feed through scavenging and require low inputs, making their production efficient. Village poultry also contribute to food security, empowerment of women, and conservation goals. A Nutrition Sensitive Landscapes approach considers interactions within an area to optimize food and nutrition security while conserving biodiversity. Village poultry production can complement this by contributing nutrient-rich animal source foods.

1. A One Health approach to
incorporation of village poultry
production into nutrition sensitive
landscapes
A/Prof Robyn Alders1,2,3 and Dr Brigitte
Bagnol1,3,4
1Faculty of Veterinary Science & Charles Perkins Centre, Sydney
2Tufts Cummins School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, USA
1Kyeema Foundation, Brisbane, Australia & Maputo, Mozambique
4Dept of Anthropology, Witwatersrand University, Johannesburg, South Africa
robyn.alders@sydney.edu.au3rd GRF One Health Summit 2015
Fostering interdisciplinary collaboration for global public and animal health
4 - 6 October 2015 in Davos, Switzerland

2. Acknowledgements
Nothing happens without a
strong team:
 Farmers, communities
and colleagues who
have shared their time
and knowledge over the
year
 “Healthy Food Systems:
Nutrition•Diversity•Safety”
Project Node members
in Australia and beyond
2

3. Nutrition sensitive landscape
A Nutrition Sensitive Landscapes (NSL)
approach considers:
 the diverse interactions and
interconnectivity within a given
landscape
 to optimize the multiple goals of food
and nutrition security, sustainable use
of natural resources and
 conservation of biodiversity, both for
human health, as well as environmenta
health.
Source:
http://www.bioversityinternational.org/fileadmin/user_uplo
ad/research/research_portfolio/Diet_diversity/Nutrition__Se
nsitive_Landscapes_Concept_paper_March_2014.pdf
Credit: USyd/Alders

4. The quest for sustainable, ethical and healthy food
systems
Including non-cultivated and indigenous foods of
plant and animal origin can improve human and
ecosystem healthCredit: Robyn Alders, USyd

5. The agriculture, human nutrition
& health nexus
More food ≠ better nutrition
More crops ≠ less stunting
Stunting - long-term cumulative
impacts
- Children – health, physical and
cognitive development capacity
- Adults - productivity losses
Anaemia – ~ 2 billion suffers
(malnutrition one contributing factor)
11% of gross national product
in Africa and Asia lost annually due
to malnutrition
Credit: Kyeema/Alders

6. Compared to plants,
animal source foods provide more:
• Energy and fat
• Vitamin B-12 (the only dietary source)
• Riboflavin
• Vitamin A (the only preformed source)
• Vitamin E
• Available iron (the only dietary source of heme)
• Available zinc
• Calcium
• Vitamin D (the only dietary source)
Credit: Lindsay Allen 2015

7. Some chickens are …
more equal than others
Village chickens Modern broilers
 Traditional poultry and eggs -
one of the few land-based
sources of long-chain n-3 fatty
acids which is synthesized from
parent precursor in the green
food chain
 Loss of n-3 fatty acids - the n-6:n-3 ratio
as high as 9:1, as opposed to the
recommendation of about 2:1
 Fat energy exceeds protein
 With the obesity epidemic, chickens
that provide several times the fat energy
compared with protein seem illogical
 Production system requires review with
regard to its implications for animal
welfare and human nutrition.
Source: Wang et al. 2009.
Credit: Kyeema/Alders
Credit: USyd/de Bruyn

8. Family poultry: three production
systems under one umbrella
Family poultry is defined as small-scale poultry keeping by households using family
labour and, wherever possible, locally available feed resources.
Family poultry employs one of three different production systems and may involve
chickens, muscovy, pigeons, mallard ducks, Guinea fowl, quail, turkeys or geese.
Extensive Semi-intensive Intensive
Increasing inputs and risks (financial and disease)
Credit: Kyeema/Alders
Village poultry = extensive + semi-intensive production systems

9. Village
environment
Household
environment
Village
market
Regional
market
National
market
Feed
Fee
d
SCAVENGING
SYSTEM
Chickens
Eggs Eggs
Chickens Chickens
Labour
Eggs
Chickens
Housing
Housing
Feed
SEMI-INTENSIVE
SYSTEM
Chickens
Eggs Eggs
Chickens Chickens
Labour
Eggs
Chickens
Housing
Housing
Eggs
Feed
Feed,
other inputs
(Competition)
Village poultry value chains

10. Village poultry production
is efficient …
 Low-input in terms of labour & capital
 Scavenge for feed  major saving
 Smart & agile  escape predators
 Go broody  replacement stock
 Healthcare  frequently traditional
 Still command premium price in
urban markets
 Lack of essential inputs in rural areas to
support intensive poultry production
 Very high benefit-cost ratio
Credit: Kyeema/Alders

11. Vital role in rural families …
Village poultry provide:
 petty cash
 high quality protein &
micronutrients
 pest control (including
both plant & animal pests)
 manure for vegetable
gardens
 social credit – ceremonies
& rituals, &
 assets for women &
children
Credit: Kyeema/Alders

12. Eggceptional
value!Eggs contain high
quality protein,
micronutrients
and energy
Sterile inside
Easy to store
Easy & quick to
cook
Nutritious in small
quantities

13. Village chickens & wildlife
conservation in Zambia
Farmers & their chickens ……. … & the wildlife

14. Wise words from Mr Banda
UNZA Driver (Translator &
Philosopher)
“Anyone who looks at a wild
animal
and sees beauty …
has already eaten enough.”

15. In support of human and
ecosystem health ...
Village poultry production
complement nutrition-
sensitive landscapes and
contribute to:
Food and nutrition security
Poverty alleviation
Empowerment of women
Sustainable Development
Goals
Wildlife conservation Credit: Kyeema/Alders

16. Bibliography
Alders, R.G. 2009. Conservation Medicine. Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable
Development 51(4):7-8. (http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.3200/ENV.51.4.7-9 )
Alders, R., Aongola, A., Bagnol, B., de Bruyn, J., Kimboka, S., Kock, R., Li, M., Maulaga, W.,
McConchie, R., Mor, S., Msami, H., Mulenga, F., Mwala, M., Mwale, S., Rushton, J.,
Simpson, J., Victor, R., Yongolo, C. and Young, M. 2014. Using a One Health approach to
promote food and nutrition security in Tanzania and Zambia. Planet@Risk (Special
Issue on One Health) 2(3):187-190.
Alders, R.G. and Pym, R.A.E. 2009. Village poultry: still important to millions, eight
thousand years after domestication. World’s Poultry Science Journal 65(02):181-190.
de Bruyn, J., Wong, J., Bagnol, B., Pengelly, B. and Alders, R. 2015. Family poultry and food
and nutrition security. CAB Reviews 10(13):1-9.
Kock, R., Alders, R., and Wallace, R. 2011. Wildlife, wild food, food security and human
society. Proceedings of the OIE Global Conference on Wildlife: Animal Health and
Biodiversity - Preparing for the Future; 23-25 February 2011, Maison de la Chemie,
Paris, France. p 23.
Wang, Y., Lehane, C., Ghebremeskel, K. and Crawford, M.A. 2009. Modern organic and
broiler chickens sold for human consumption provide more energy from fat than
protein. Public Health Nutrition 13(3):400–408.

17. Thank you for your attention.