The

Noiler Bird

Noiler is a dual-purpose breed of chicken developed by Amo Farm Sieberer Hatchery Limited for small holder farmers to address the challenges of food security and financial dependence among the rural populace, especially “WOMEN”. This Dual-purpose bird “NOILER” has all the attributes of a Native chicken, albeit with additional benefits of faster growth, Less fat, Tasty Meat, More Eggs and Hardy. They thrive on low inputs and meet the gap of nutritional security of developing countries.

Introduction

Poultry constitute an important economic activity for up-liftment of rural poor in Africa and other developing countries. Decades of research and development had gone into rapid development of poultry production as a competitive, commercial activity. However, the benefits of commercial poultry have side lined back-yard poultry activity which once was the foundation of poultry, benefiting the most disadvantaged Population.

Poultry for the poorest people will have an added advantage by way of regular day to day cash returns by sale of eggs and also periodic cash income from sale of birds for meeting the occasional family exigencies. It requires minimum capital and ensures quick return. It best suits to the landless households as it does not require more farmland and is accommodated in the homestead area.

Poultry farming can do immense service to poverty alleviation and improve the nutritional condition of less privileged people.  In sub-Saharan Africa, about 85 percent of all households keep poultry, with women owning 70 percent of the poultry. Income generation is the primary goal of family poultry keeping.

However, poverty has led to a significant reduction in the native poultry population. The Noiler bird can solve the problem of nutritional deficit (especially protein) in developing countries.

IMPORTANT FEATURES OF NOILER BIRDS

Attractive –multi-coloured plumage. This makes them well-camouflaged in free range.

Needs less brooding efforts. Low technology Inputs.

Longer shanks to run away from predators

Grows faster than native chicken

Produces 4 to 5 times more eggs than native birds

High general immune competence

Performs on low plane of nutrition

Less fat and tasty meat.

Tougher meat compared to broiler.

Much more adept to free ranging

Can thrive on scavenging

Better disease resistance

THE OPPORTUNITY

The Opportunity with NOILER breed

Agriculture is the back bone for economic growth in any developing country.  We want to create a revolution in rural poultry that will increase productivity and income for rural women and empower them to transform access of poor households to animal protein in Africa.

 We believe that, the agricultural sector must undergo significant reform to enable a transformation. The rural poultry industry holds a significant promise to address some of these challenges, given its potential to aggregate low cost grain and convert it into high value, high quality protein. Realizing the full potential of backyard poultry for poverty reduction, nutritional security, and empowerment of women requires good and reliable supply of better performing genetics, affordable good quality feed, and access to poultry health products. It also requires basic extension and training in poultry husbandry, bookkeeping, and the development of output marketing systems and networks.

The demand for animal source foods is increasing, but most nations cannot afford the purchase of livestock products. This demand has led to increase in importation with the scarce foreign exchange resources of the developing countries. This is not sustainable.

This poultry value chain will address  very important development challenges in developing countries:

Empowerment of women:

There will be a significant impact of rural poultry development on women in the developing countries. These include guaranteed supplementary income, enhanced status in their family, improved their relationships with their husbands, and increased their participation in decision-making, and increased women’s share and control over poultry assets and proceeds.

Rural Development

The main purpose of rural development is to improve the quality of life of rural people in African countries. Although there are no exact estimates of its actual share of contribution to household income, even very modest incomes from backyard poultry farming played a very crucial role in the household economy of the people in the lowest strata of the economic ladder. Poultry provides the advantage of regular day-to-day cash income from sale of eggs and periodic cash income from sale of birds for meeting family expenses.

Gender Inequality

Gender inequality can be more prominent in rural areas due to traditional roles which create more entrenched unequal gender relations. The following outlines typical gender inequalities or discrimination that rural women may face.
• Lower levels of education.
• Less formal contact with advisors or outsiders and often more restricted or limited networks, resulting in limited information on economic opportunities and markets.
• Less access to resources and inputs for agricultural related tasks.
• Discriminatory cultural and social norms as fundamental as early marriage for girls.
• Underlying or hidden negative attitudes about female’s capabilities that are socially rather than biologically determined.
• Family restrictions, socio-cultural norms, and other barriers often prevent rural women from working outside the home, which limits their opportunities to earn income.

Protein Deficiency and Malnutrition

Africa has a serious undernutrition problem in poor rural households leading to infant mortality and significant stunting. There is generally very low per capita consumption of livestock products, largely because the majority of poor households cannot afford them. For most poor households, the eggs and chicken they consume come from the very few they can spare from multiple laying clutches because they need the eggs to replenish the flock.

NEED FOR DISPERSION OF PRODUCTION

About 65% of the population in Africa live in Villages and depend on Agriculture. Many rural families live on their agricultural land. The rural families also need to be provided with eggs and chicken for better health & for the healthy growth of the children. The health and nutritional status of the whole family can be uplifted without huge infrastructure and financially risky investment.

The NOILER male birds grow faster and  can be used for meat for family. One bird per week can supply 500gms chicken per head per week. This also can make a huge difference in meeting the pe capita protein consumption.