Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T23:23:13.679Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Global poultry production: current state and future outlook and challenges

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 April 2017

A. MOTTET*
Affiliation:
Animal Production and Health Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy
G. TEMPIO
Affiliation:
Animal Production and Health Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy
*
Corresponding author: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

This paper presents the current situation of the global poultry sector and future trends, and discusses the challenges the sector is facing, with particular emphasis on four areas: food security, social challenges (poverty alleviation and equity), health (animal and human) and environment (natural resources and climate change). Poultry makes a substantial contribution to food security and nutrition, providing energy, protein, and essential micro-nutrients to humans, with short production cycles and the ability to convert a wide range of agri-food by-products and wastes into meat and eggs edible by humans. Poultry is the fastest growing agricultural sub-sector, especially in developing countries. The global poultry sector is expected to continue to grow as demand for meat and eggs is driven by growing populations, rising incomes and urbanisation. In this context, the sector is facing unprecedented challenges. Particularly for small holders and the poor, both in rural and urban areas, poultry is a major asset and key to poverty alleviation, providing income and market participation. Birds can be sold in times of crisis and act as household insurance. But the growing market is essentially benefiting large scale operations and access to market is critical for small holders. However, poultry represent a threat to human health, especially as a vector of infectious diseases and because of its role in antimicrobial resistance. Furthermore, poultry has a significant impact on the environment and is a large consumer of natural resources. While the sector is usually seen as efficient in converting natural resources into edible products, it uses large amounts of land, water and nutrients for the production of feed materials and contributes to climate change, mainly through feed production, and air and water pollution.

Type
Reviews
Copyright
Copyright © Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

This paper was first published at the XXV World's Poultry Congress, 5-9 September 2016, Beijing, China

The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

References

ALABI, R.A., ESOBHAWAN, A.O. and ARUNA, M.B. (2007) Econometric determination of contribution of family poultry to women's income in Niger-delta, Nigeria. Journal of Central European Agriculture 7 (4): 753-760.Google Scholar
ALDERS, R. (1996) Facilitating women's participation in village poultry projects: experiences in Mozambique and Zambia. Proceedings of the 20th World's Poultry Congress, New Delhi, India (Vol. 3, pp. 441-447).Google Scholar
ALEXANDRATOS, N. and BRUINSMA, J. (2012) World agriculture towards 2030/2050: the 2012 revision. ESA Working paper No. 12-03, Rome, FAO.Google Scholar
AROGO, J., WESTERMAN, P.W., HEBER, A.J., ROBARGE, W.P. and CLASSEN, J.J. (2001) Ammonia in animal production - a review. Proceedings of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Annual Meeting, Sacramento, USA.Google Scholar
DOBROWOLSKA, A. and BROWN, S. (2016) The Economic Impact of the 2015 Avian Influenza Outbreak on US Egg Prices.Google Scholar
EGG INDUSTRY CENTER (2015) Impact report.Google Scholar
FAO (2009) The State of Food and Agriculture 2009: Livestock in the balance. FAO, Rome.Google Scholar
FAOSTAT (2016) FAO statistical database, accessed in July 2016.Google Scholar
FARRELL, D. (2013) The role of poultry in human nutrition. Poultry Development Review, FAO, Rome.Google Scholar
GASPARRI, N.I., GRAU, H.R. and ANGONESE, J.G. (2013) Linkages between soybean and neotropical deforestation: coupling and transient decoupling dynamics in a multi-decadal analysis. Global Environmental Change 23 (6): 1605-1614.Google Scholar
GERBER, P., OPIO, C. and STEINFELD, H. (2007) Poultry production and the environment—a review. Animal Production and Health Division, FAO, Rome.Google Scholar
GERBER, P.J., HENDERSON, B., OPIO, C., MOTTET, A. and STEINFELD, H. (2013) Tackling climate change through livestock - a global assessment of emissions and mitigation opportunities. Rome, FAO.Google Scholar
GERBER, P.J., MOTTET, A., OPIO, C.I., FALCUCCI, A. and TEILLARD, F. (2015) Environmental impacts of beef production: Review of challenges and perspectives for durability. Meat science 109: 2-12.Google Scholar
GLEAM 2.0. (2016) Global Livestock Environmental Assessment Model. FAO, Rome. Available at http://www.fao.org/gleam.Google Scholar
GUÈYE, E.F. (1998) Poultry plays an important role in African village life. World Poultry 14 (10): 14-17.Google Scholar
GUÈYE, E.F. (2000) The role of family poultry in poverty alleviation, food security and the promotion of gender equality in rural Africa. Outlook on Agriculture 29 (2): 129-136.Google Scholar
HOFFMANN, I. (2005) Research and investment in poultry genetic resources-challenges and options for sustainable use. World's Poultry Science Journal 61 (01): 57-70.Google Scholar
IFAH (2012) The cost of animal diseases. A report produced by Oxford Analitica for the International Federation for Animal Health. Accessible at http://www.healthforanimals.org/component/attachments/attachments.html?task=attachment&id=34.Google Scholar
ILRI (2008) ILRI Annual Report 2007. Markets That Work: Making a Living from Livestock. ILRI, Nairobi, Kenya.Google Scholar
MEKONNEN, M.M. and HOEKSTRA, A.Y. (2012) A global assessment of the water footprint of farm animal products. Ecosystems 15 (3): 401-415.Google Scholar
MORTON, D.C., DEFRIES, R.S., SHIMABUKURO, Y.E., ANDERSON, L.O., ARAI, E., DEL BON ESPIRITO-SANTO, F., FREITAS, R. and MORISETTE, J. (2006) Cropland expansion changes deforestation dynamics in the southern Brazilian Amazon. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103 (39): 14637-14641.Google Scholar
MOTTET, A., DE HAAN, C., FALCUCCI, A., TEMPIO, G., OPIO, C. and GERBER, P. (2017) Livestock: On our plates or eating at our table? A new analysis of the feed/food debate. Global Food Security In press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MURPHY, S.P. and ALLEN, L.H. (2003) Nutritional importance of animal source foods. The Journal of Nutrition 133 (11): 3932S-3935S.Google Scholar
NARROD CLARE, A. and TIONGCO, M. (2012) Global poultry sector trends and external drivers of structural change. FAO, Rome.Google Scholar
OECD/FAO (2016) OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2016-2025. OECD Publishing, Paris. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/agr_outlook-2016-en.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
PELLETIER, N., IBARBURU, M. and XIN, H. (2014) Comparison of the environmental footprint of the egg industry in the United States in 1960 and 2010. Poultry science 93 (2): 241-255.Google Scholar
PICA-CIAMARRA, U. and DHAWAN, M. (2010) Small-scale poultry farming and poverty reduction in South Asia: From good practices to good policies in Bangladesh, Bhutan and India. New Delhi, South Asia Pro-Poor Livestock Policy Programme (available at http://sapplpp.org/lessonslearnt/smallscale-poultry-farming-and-povertyreduction-in-south-asia).Google Scholar
SONAIYA, E.B. (2007) Family poultry, food security and the impact of HPAI. World's Poultry Science Journal 63 (01): 132-138.Google Scholar
STEINFELD, H., GERBER, P.J., WASSENAAR, T., CASTEL, V., ROSALES, M. and DE HAAN, C. (2006) Livestock's long shadow - Environmental issues and options. Rome: FAO.Google Scholar
VAN HORNE, P.L.M. and ACHTERBOSCH, T.J. (2008) Animal welfare in poultry production systems: impact of EU standards on world trade. World's Poultry Science Journal 64 (01): 40-52.Google Scholar
WINDHORST, H.W. (2015) Housing Systems in Laying Hen Husbandry - Development, present situation and perspectives - Proceedings of the IEC 2015 Business Conference, Lisbon.Google Scholar