Overall Program Objectives

Objective 1: Define and characterize current smallholder chicken production systems, chicken ecotypes, current realized productivity, husbandry practices, and the socio-economic status of smallholder farmers in Nigeria, Tanzania, and Ethiopia;

Objective 2: Identify, characterize, and test highly productive African chicken germplasm to determine productivity across agro-ecologies and management conditions and to define farmer preferences;

Objective 3: Identify, characterize, and test tropically-adapted chicken germplasm to determine productivity across agro-ecologies and management conditions and to define farmer preferences;

Objective 4: Develop stable multiplication lines of the farmer-preferred germplasm and develop IP models to facilitate private and public sector access to the germplasms;

Objective 5: Evaluate and document the impact of the introduction of the imported germplasm on the diversity of indigenous chicken populations and provide strategic recommendations to inform the national and global efforts for conservation;

Objective 6: Develop and nurture National Innovation Platforms to facilitate private sector engagement and business model development in the chicken value chain;

Objective 7: Develop and nurture Community and Sub-National Innovation Platforms focused on empowering poor smallholder farmers, especially women, in the chicken value chain; and

Objective 8: Develop a roadmap for long-term crossbreeding and chicken genetic gains programs in each country.