Special Section of the Journal of Food Security (Springer)
Electronic Supplementary Material
Sustainable smallholder poultry interventions to promote food security and social, agricultural, and ecological resilience in the Luangwa Valley, Zambia
Dumas, Sarah E., Lungu, Luke, Mulambya, Nathan, Daka, Whiteson, McDonald, Erin,Steubing, Emily, Lewis, Tamika, Backel, Katherine, Jange, Jarra, Lucio-Martinez, Benjamin, Lewis, Dale, and Travis, Alexander J.1, 2, 3
1 Baker Institute for Animal Health, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850
2 Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850
3 Corresponding author ()
Online Resource 1.Regional vulnerabilities in the Luangwa Valley.
Agricultural production in Zambia is dominated by smallholder subsistence farmers (Aregheore 2009), 70% of whom are living below the national poverty line and are particularly vulnerable to stressors and shocks (World Bank 2014). Chronic food insecurity is pervasive in the Luangwa Valley, particularly during the ‘hungry season’ from approximately September to March (Lewis et al. 2011), during which time HH grain stores have been depleted and newly planted crops are not yet ready for harvest. More than half of Zambia’s rural population is unable to meet their basic nutritional demands (IFAD 2012), and chronic undernutrition is a significant public health concern: 46% of children under five are stunted, 54% suffer from vitamin A deficiency, and 58% are anemic (FAO 2014, CSO 2009). The long-term consequences of undernutrition – including poor physical growth, mental development, and immune function – contributeto decreased overall health, wellbeing, and economic productivity. A 14.3% HIV prevalence rate in the country (CSO 2009), combined with endemic malaria, TB, and other infectious diseases, further depletes the workforce and contributes to a life expectancy of just 49 years, one of the lowest in the world (UNDP 2011).
With a highly inconsistent, unimodal rainy season, the Luangwa Valley in Zambia’s Eastern Province has historically been prone to frequent droughts and floods(Dodds and Patton 1968, Albrecht 1973), and the vulnerability of the area’s predominantly rain-fed agricultural system is expected to increase even further with climate change (Thurlow 2008). Agricultural productivity in the Valley is additionally constrained by historically suboptimal farming and soil management practices leading to poor nutrient cycling, as well as a lack of access to improved seed varieties and other agricultural inputs. Endemic trypanosomiasis in the Valley historically restricts the keeping of cattle, limiting most smallholders to plots of land that they can prepare by hand.
In the Luangwa Valley, with minimal non-agricultural employment opportunities and low levels of education, people rely heavily on resources within the Game Management Area in which they live, as well as several national parks. These resources are variously used to provide income on a routine basis, on a seasonal basis for certain non-timber forest products, and/or to cope with increasingly intense and frequent shocks such as crop loss, market failure, or family illness. Previous rural development projects in the area promoting the cultivation of cash crops, particularly cotton, over food crops have unintentionally encouraged extremely high rates of local deforestation and have increased farmer vulnerability to global market fluctuations. These short-term coping strategies put unsustainable pressure on the region’s natural resources, threatening the resilience of the ecosystem and the availability of these resources in the long-term.
Online Resource 2.Details of the various sources of data for assessing the impact of improvements in extensive village poultry production and semi-intensive egg production.
Data source / Year(s) / Description / Locations surveyed / Households sampledExtensive poultry system (village chickens)
1 / Newcastle Disease Vaccination Project, Household Vaccination Form (primary data) / 2007 - 2011 / Repeated count by community vaccinators of the number of birds vaccinated at each HH during the Newcastle Disease vaccination campaign, average HH flock size, and flock losses / Mambwe district (Chiefdoms of Nsefu, Mwanya, Malama, Sandwe, Mnkhanya, Kakumbi, and Msoro) and Lundazi district (Chiefdoms of Chitungulu and Chifunda) / All HHs participating in vaccination program
2 / Baseline study on rural community household livelihoods, gender, and social change - Luangwa Valley Ecosystem Integrated Conservation and Livelihood Project (secondary analysis of Ngumayo 2011, unpublished data) / 2009-2010 / Cross-sectional data of HH income earned from poultry activities in COMACO and non-COMACO HH in the Luangwa Valley, based on respondent recall / Districts of Chama (10 Chiefdoms), Lundazi (3 Chiefdoms), and Mambwe (8 Chiefdoms) / 893
3 / Poultry housing survey (primary data) / Jul 2011 / Cross-sectional survey of husbandry practices, flock size, and cause-specific mortality in a convenience sample of participating HHs using a structured survey instrument / Chiefdoms of Mnkhanya, Nsefu, and Kakumbi in Mambwe district / 59
4 / COMACO Monitoring and Evaluation (secondary analysis of COMACO M&E data) / 2011 / Continuous evaluation of the number of poultry groups formed and number of farmers participating, as reported by COMACO Area Extension Officer / Mambwe district, all participating Chiefdoms / NA
5 / Off-take dynamics monitoring form (primary data) / 2011-2012 / Longitudinal survey conducted monthly on flock size and composition, bird and egg consumption and sales, and flock losses and additions in participating HHs / Chiefdoms of Mnkhanya, Nsefu, Kakumbi, and Msoro in Mambwe district / 130
6 / Neighbor baseline nutritional survey (primary data) / Feb2012 / Cross-sectional data on animal-source food consumption, including eggs, poultry meat, and other meat, using a structured survey instrument / Chiefdoms of Mnkhanya, Nsefu, and Kakumbi in Mambwe district around 5 sites proposed for future egg production / 121
7 / Poultry producers focus groups survey (primary data) / Jan/Feb 2012 / Focus group discussion about poultry feeding, housing and vaccination practices, the determinants and barriers to optimal husbandry practices, and determinants and barriers to home consumption of poultry meat and eggs / 6 village area groups within the Chiefdom of Mnkhanya / 62 women and 4 men
Semi-intensive egg production
8 / Layer facility daily production and sales record (primary data) / 2010-2011 / Data from daily records maintained by the producer on the total number of eggs collected, number of eggs consumed by the family, number of eggs sold and price of each egg, and the amount and cost of feed purchased / At one facility in each of Mnkhanya, Nsefu, and Kakumbi / 3
9 / Individual interviews with egg producers (primary data) / Jun 2011 / Qualitative individual semi-structured interview with producers about their motivations for raising layers, the benefits and difficulties of the business, use of added income, and the impact of the business on their HH / At one facility in each of Mnkhanya, Nsefu, and Kakumbi / 3
10 / Layer facilities – Neighbors and producers nutritional survey (primary data) / Jun 2011 / Cross-sectional data of household egg sources, egg and meat consumption patterns, and determinants and barriers to egg consumptions / Chiefdoms of Mnkhanya, Nsefu, and Kakumbi in Mambwe district, around each of the 3 layer facilities and in 3 matched control areas / 120
Abbreviations: HH= Household
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