The World Poultry Foundation (WPF) has received a four year US$21.4mn dollar grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to enhance poultry production in Tanzania and Nigeria
The WPF, a non-profit organisation committed promoting economic development in emerging markets by providing education and technical training on poultry production, will use the grant to lead a project that will catalyse a transformation of rural poultry production in these two countries, while working closely with government and in-country private sector partners. This initiative is expected to increase poultry production and productivity through the access of low-input dual purpose birds, increase rural household income, improve household nutrition and empower women.
“This grant provides us with an opportunity to implement a strategy that creates access of improved genetics to the rural famers, provides technical assistance and training, and offers access to markets that may not have been possible before,” said Randall Ennis, CEO of the World Poultry Foundation. “Our goal is to impact 2.5 million households across Tanzania and Nigeria by the end of this four-year initiative.
“Unlike past approaches of delivering free chicks and feed to the rural farmers, this project will focus on training and extension support to build a sustainable value chain,” Ennis said. He pointed out that one of the key components of the project is the establishment of over 1,500 entrepreneurial enterprises – primarily owned and managed by women – that will supply healthy brooded and vaccinated chicks to the rural smallholder farmers.