The role of local adaptation in sustainable production of village chickens

Judy M. Bettridge, Androniki Psifidi, Zelalem G. Terfa, Takele T. Desta, Maria Lozano-Jaramillo, Tadelle Dessie, Pete Kaiser, Paul Wigley, Olivier Hanotte and Robert M. Christley ()
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Judy M. Bettridge: University of Liverpool
Androniki Psifidi: University of Edinburgh
Zelalem G. Terfa: University of Liverpool
Takele T. Desta: LiveGene - CTLGH, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)
Maria Lozano-Jaramillo: Wageningen University and Research
Tadelle Dessie: LiveGene - CTLGH, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)
Pete Kaiser: University of Edinburgh
Paul Wigley: University of Liverpool
Olivier Hanotte: LiveGene - CTLGH, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)
Robert M. Christley: University of Liverpool

Nature Sustainability, 2018, vol. 1, issue 10, 574-582

Abstract: Abstract Village chickens are ubiquitous in smallholder farming systems, contributing to household, local and national economies under diverse environmental, economic and cultural settings. However, they are raised in challenging environments where productivity is low while mortality is high. There is much interest in utilizing indigenous genetic resources to produce a chicken that is resilient to its environment, while at the same time providing the basis of an economically sustainable enterprise. Globally, however, a wide variety of interventions have so far proved unable to deliver sustainable improvements. Here we show that regional differences in trait preferences and parasite burden are associated with distinct chicken gene pools, probably in response to interactions between natural and human-driven (economic and social) selection pressures. Drivers of regional differences include marketing opportunities, cultural preferences, agro-ecologies and parasite populations, and are evident in system adaptations, such as management practices, population dynamics and bird genotypes. Our results provide sound multidisciplinary evidence to support previous observations that sustainable poultry development interventions for smallholder farmers, including breeding programmes, should be locally tailored and designed for flexible implementation.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1038/s41893-018-0150-9

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