Poultry Genetic Diversity and International Food Security

Chickens can serve a useful role as a route out of malnutrition and poverty for some of the worlds’ most vulnerable: poor, rural women and children in Africa.  Chickens are a livestock species that are typically the purview of women, which helps bring improved nutrition and income directly back into the family. Layer and broiler chickens that have been commercially genetically selected for egg and meat production are very efficient producers of high-quality protein for the human diet, and they serve that role for much of the developed world.  When, however, poverty and lack of infrastructure in the developing world prevent small-holders from providing shelter, feed, and vaccines, then other genetic types of chickens can be better suited to the harsh, local environments. The tools of molecular genetics are being used to assess the reservoir of genetic diversity existing in local ecotypes of native chickens. This increased knowledge can be used to select breeding birds that will enhance the performance of locally adapted ecotypes for important traits such as disease resistance, egg production and growth, thereby bringing sustainable improvements and greater security to the local food production system.