International Rural Poultry Centre

Why village poultry?

1. Rural poultry production is recognised as an important activity in all developing countries.
2. Chickens in traditional village poultry systems provide scarce animal protein in the form of meat and eggs and are available for sale or barter in societies where cash is not abundant. 
3. They are generally owned and managed by women and children.
4. Village chickens fulfil a range of other functions for which it is difficult to assign a monetary value, e.g. active in pest control, provision of manure, use in special festivals and traditional ceremonies and meeting social obligations.
5. Although the output of traditional village chickens in terms of weight gain and number of eggs per hen per year is low, it is obtained with minimal input in terms of housing, disease control, management and supplementary feeding.
6. Any cost-effective strategy that increases the productivity of these birds will assist in poverty alleviation and the improvement of food security.
7. The increased availability of village chickens and eggs results in an improved intake of protein by farmers and their families and an increased access to cash and other resources.
8. Chickens are often essential elements of female-headed, poor and HIV/AIDS-affected households. This is a particularly important contribution in areas where child malnutrition is common.
9. People living with HIV/AIDS have a higher requirement for dietary energy and protein. Village chickens can be raised by households affected by HIV/AIDS as, unlike ruminants, chickens require few labour or financial inputs and provide high quality nutrition to their owners.

The International Rural Poultry Centre is a subsidiary of the KYEEMA Foundation (IRPC). The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Development (ACIAR), the School of Veterinary Science at the University of Queensland (UQ) and the Australian Government Agency for International Development (AusAID) have been at the forefront in funding village chicken development and research, in particular the development of the thermostable I-2 Newcastle Disease (ND) vaccine. The IRPC was formed to continue this work and to group the specialists involved with village poultry development, research and within one unit whose services are more accessible to the developing world.

The IRPC was initiated by Professor Peter Spradbrow and Dr Stewart Routledge in response to concerns about the possible loss of ND expertise as a result of Professor Peter Spradbrow retirement from UQ and the imminent reduction of ACIAR funding for ND projects in developing countries.   The IRPC was thus set up to promote cost-efficient, sustainable improvements to village poultry production and to assist with a sustainable supply of the I-2 master seed. It is also intended that the IRPC will take responsibility for training laboratory and field staff for countries that request the I-2 vaccine. This vaccine is available free-of-charge under certain condition because ACIAR holds the intellectual property rights to the vaccine. This training will ensure that:

• the vaccine production is of the highest quality standard;
• vaccinations are administered correctly and successfully; and
• field workers are aware of simple, cost-effective husbandry practices that can further improve production.

By setting up the IRPC, it is hoped that requests for assistance with village poultry and ND control can be met with appropriate funding and technical expertise.

Over the last twenty years, ACIAR has supported projects aimed at finding a sustainable solution to control ND in village chickens. Vaccines have been developed that are relatively thermostable and are not completely reliant on a cold chain. Two vaccines have been developed from avirulent Australian isolates of ND virus. Strain NDV4-HR became a commercial vaccine. Strain I-2 was developed specifically for local production in developing countries, as it is not under patent. The seed material was produced by Professor Peter Spradbrow with funding from an ACIAR project and is held at present at the University of Queensland. Seed material is made available without cost to developing countries that wish to test, and possibly produce, thermostable vaccine.

The IRPC works closely with UQ and ACIAR, the two organisations which were responsible for development of the I-2 thermotolerant Newcastle disease (ND) vaccine. Dr Robyn Alders, Board member of the KYEEMA Foundation and Associate Professor at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in the USA was based in Mozambique for ACIAR/UQ/AusAID from 1996-2005, undertaking laboratory and field trial work on the I-2 vaccine. Dr Alders has also been involved with the control of ND and village poultry production in Bhutan, Cambodia, Ghana, Malawi, Senegal, Tanzania, Vietnam, and Zambia.

Objectives

The International Rural Poultry Centre (IRPC) aims to improve the livelihood and standard of living of rural families by:

1. Promoting cost-efficient, sustainable improvements to village poultry production by working with government staff, community livestock workers and farmers and their families;
2. Ensuring a sustainable supply of the thermotolerant I-2 ND vaccine master seed; and providing monitoring and training in its effective production, quality control and field use;
3. Providing appropriate training for all groups involved with village poultry production from farmers to researchers, both internationally and in Australia

IRPC Activities

1. Provision of Technical assistance.
2. Project implementation.
3. Rural Poultry Website.
4. Regular Newsletters.
5. Assistance in designing, planning and implementing Short Courses on Rural Poultry Production.
6. Virtual library.

The IRPC provides virtual and actual technical assistance across a broad range of issues dealing with village poultry research and development:

• Poultry Health and production issues highlighting the benefit-cost of available options including the prevention and control of avian influenza;
• Socio-economics and gender issues;
• Evaluation and development of appropriate information, education and communication materials and methods;
• Marketing and cost recovery systems;
• Monitoring and evaluation;
• Veterinary Epidemiology;
• Laboratory and field diagnostic services; 
• Training – for all stakeholders from national decision-makers to veterinarians, extension workers, community animal health workers, community vaccinators and farmers; and production and quality control of thermotolerant I-2 ND vaccine.