Urban and rural poultry production for food security and income generation in Mozambique: Short communication

In Mozambique, as in many other African countries, eggs and poultry meat are important sources of animal protein. The data published in Mozambique indicate that 44% of children aged 0-5 years suffer from chronic malnutrition, resulting into death of one third of them, before they reach the age of five years. The severity of this situation is most pronounced in rural areas, where the diet is generally based on vegetable proteins that are naturally poor in essential amino acids. Nowadays, considerable benefits can be gained from the consumption of animal products, including fish. From the point of livestock production, the chicken is virtually the only affordable source of high nutritional value animal protein, providing meat and eggs. Poultry and chickens in particular are fast growing and prolific animals, which produce meat and eggs over a short time-span. In a country such as Mozambique, where two thirds of the territory is infested with tsetse fly, which limits cattle production, poultry production is of great importance. In Mozambique, the production of chickens is carried out in two production systems, intensive and extensive.The intensive system is predominant in periurban areas, while the extensive one is most common in rural areas. It is notworthy that in both systems it is women and children, that are mostly involved in keeping of chicken. Despite the benefits of these birds several factors contribute to their low production and productivity such as: poor welfare, diseases, predators, poor food supplementation, and poor housing. Different authors indicate that good feeding, good housing, and good health and general management training may contribute to improve chicken production and productivity. These aspects, combined with education on the various ways of using this species, can make a major contribution to improving food and nutritional security of households, especially the most vulnerable, women and children, including people living with HIV/AIDS. The aim of this review is to present some aspects related to poultry production in (peri-) urban and rural areas in Mozambique.