For some time now the World’s Poultry Science Journal has regularly published papers associated generally with poultry production in developing countries, and more specifically with issues related to small-scale family poultry farming in developing countries. Over the past twenty years or so, the World’s Poultry Science Association (WPSA) has recognized the importance of improving the efficiency and sustainability of poultry production to meet the burgeoning needs for high quality animal protein in the developing world with its expanding human population and increasing levels of affluence. This extends to the recognition of small scale family poultry production as essentially the only form of poultry production to provide meat and eggs to the rural poor in many countries. This system of production is, however, for the large part, very low input-low output. Improving the efficiency of production under this system whilst maintaining its applicability and sustainability, presents a real challenge to all those dedicated to the alleviation of poverty and improvement in household food security in rural communities in the developing world.

The commitment by WPSA to improving the efficiency and sustainability of small-scale family poultry farming was very much in evidence in the scientific and technical programme at the 19th World’s Poultry Congress in Amsterdam in 1992; this commitment has continued in subsequent Congresses. In keeping with this, at the 11th European Poultry Conference in Bremen in September 2002, the WPSA Board endorsed the proposal to include the International Network on Family Poultry Development (INFPD) as a global working group within WPSA. In that same year, the Asian Pacific Federation of WPSA established a Working Group on Family Poultry Farming; the inaugural meeting of the working group was held in March 2005 in conjunction with the 4th International Poultry Show and Seminar in Dhaka, Bangladesh. In March 2007, the working group convened a symposium on The Impact of Avian Influenza on Small-scale Family Poultry Farming in Developing Countries in conjunction with the 8th Asia Pacific Poultry Conference in Bangkok. The symposium, subsidized by WPSA, FAO and CTA was very well attended by internationally recognized family poultry researchers and supporters.

More recently, at the 23rd World’s Poultry Congress held in Brisbane, Australia in July 2008, one of the eight main concurrent streams was on Poultry Production in Developing Countries. There were some 40 papers presented in the stream and the final session within the stream involved a workshop aimed at facilitating cooperation and collaboration between all stakeholders involved in support of small-scale family poultry production. A key recommendation from the workshop report was that an over-arching entity “Poulet Sans Frontiers”, mooted in an AusAID-sponsored conference in Tanzania in 2005 and with membership from all agencies and organizations supporting family poultry farming, be established. The collective desire was that this body should impact meaningfully on the level and nature of global support for small-scale family poultry farming to enhance opportunities for improved productivity and profitability and reduced endemic poverty in rural communities.

The papers published here in this special edition of WPSJ include the invited papers in the above Congress stream as well as three papers from the Genetics and Breeding stream dealing with breeding for small-scale poultry production in developing countries and genetic resources and conservation. The workshop report is included here as the final paper. It is hoped that this publication will be a useful resource for all stakeholders with interests in small-scale family poultry production.

Bob Pym, President WPSA

Lucy Tucker, Editor

The poultry industry has always been innovative and interesting, and the last twelve months have been no exception. Variations in feed raw material pricing, food scares and the global financial problems will certainly keep it so, and it looks as though we are going to continue living in ‘interesting times’. On the plus side, the poultry sector, and its associated research, continues to lead the way in many aspects of animal science, and the exciting seminar and conference opportunities in 2009 are testament to that. A prime example is that this year sees the 17th European Symposium on Poultry Nutrition being held in Scotland, with participants and delegates expected to attend from all over the world. I shall certainly be there, as will the rest of the WPSA board, and look forward to meeting WPSA members new and old. The organising committee have done a wonderful job and, as the dates coincide with the Edinburgh festival, there will some great opportunities for seeing the best Scotland has to offer at this time of year.

The Journal has also been given the opportunity to launch a ‘special’ edition in June regarding small scale family poultry farming. This is an important aspect of the WPSA’s work with developing countries, and has been the focus of several meetings recently. As a result our new President, Bob Pym, and I have put our heads together and come up with a group of papers specifically relating to this topic. Our continued strong links and involvement with the FAO gives us a great opportunity to explore this much-needed area, as it affects the lives and well-being of so many men, women and children living in poorer countries. I hope you will all enjoy this special issue and learn something new about what poultry science has to offer these families from a nutritional, social and economic perspective.

We are also fortunate to be able to publish John Hodges thought-provoking paper regarding capitalism, how it has affected the poultry industry and how big businesses may work in the future. This was the keynote paper given at Brisbane, and stimulated much comment and discussion among those who heard it. I trust it will give you all food for thought!

Lucy Tucker

Editor

During recent decades there has been significant improvement in genetic selection of broilers and turkeys for growth rate, which has coincided with dramatic increases in metabolic rate. A similar pattern is observed in the rate of egg production by laying hens. However, this selection has not been accompanied by comparable development of visceral systems, causing inferior thermotolerance response. In parallel, scientists expect that the average global surface temperature will rise by 0.6-2.5°C during the next 50 years. This situation, in which, from year to year, growth rate especially, but also egg production, improve (accompanied by increased heat production), and global surface temperature increases, demands an efficient means to improve the acquisition of thermotolerance by domestic fowl exposed to hot climatic conditions, and to do so economically. To develop thermotolerance three direct responses are employed: the rapid thermal stress response (RTSR), acclimation/acclimatization, and epigenetic temperature adaptation. This review will focus on the advantages and disadvantages of the different strategies used to reach the conflicting goals of production on the one hand and thermotolerance on the other hand.

This paper reviews the existing body of scientific literature relevant to organic poultry production, in order to assess, and where possible quantify, the key issues affecting welfare. The review consists of three parts, covering health-related welfare issues in organic poultry production systems (breed suitability; nutrition; feed contribution from the range, range use and group size), health-related welfare issues for organic laying hens (feather pecking; endo-parasites and ecto-parasites), and health-related welfare issues for organic broilers (foot, hock and breast health). The evidence suggests that most health-related welfare issues are not specific to organic farms, but maintaining good health and welfare on organic farms can be challenging. There are many organic farms that do not have major problems, suggesting that husbandry (knowledge and technical skills) is crucial in managing welfare issues. There is also considerable variation in farming systems within the organic sector (ranging in farm size, housing and range quality, capacity to produce home grown feed, opportunities for pasture rotation etc.) which can be a constraint to solving welfare problems, particularly where managerial input has to be spread across a diversity of enterprises. It is recommended that efforts should be made to make existing knowledge more accessible to those involved in organic livestock production. This should include mechanisms for regular updating, and take account of the fact that data from published research may lag behind the levels of performance being achieved by the most able producers. Topics for further research were identified including subjects that have had little previous research, such as the catching and disposal of spent organic laying hens, management of parent flocks and keel bone breakages.

Broiler meat is one of the sources of Salmonella contamination of humans. Concerns about food safety have prompted the poultry industry and governments to introduce control plans to combat Salmonella. This has been strengthened by legislation, as is the case in the EU, where targets have been set forcing member states to decrease Salmonella prevalence in poultry flocks. Strategies to prevent transmission of Salmonella to humans should focus on the whole production chain of broiler meat and on the subsequent storage and handling of meat, thus from farm to fork. In the primary production phase, both hygienic measures and general farm management strategies are important. These management strategies should include in-feed Salmonella control and product administration. A wide range of feed additives is currently available for that purpose. Hygienic measures and logistic slaughter are tools to reduce the Salmonella contamination in the slaughterhouse. At retail and in the consumer's kitchen, care needs to be taken of product storage and handling to avoid contamination and bacterial growth. The numbers of contaminated Salmonella broiler flocks will most likely decrease in the future due to the established action plans, but complete eradication of Salmonella is unrealistic. The main issue is, however, to keep the flock prevalence, the within-flock prevalence and the numbers of bacteria in infected animals at such a low level, that contamination of meat, and thus transmission to humans, becomes a highly unlikely event. This clearly underlines the need for coordinated action of governments and poultry-related industries (including feed industry and slaughterhouses), at all stages of the production chain.

As the simultaneous use of carbohydrases and phytases gains momentum it is imperative that formulators understand the magnitude of additivity of effect to allow for appropriate modification to diet nutrient balance. Though carbohydrases and phytases are often thought of as pronutrients with energy, calcium and phosphorus value, within the scientific literature there are dozens of papers on the effect of these enzymes on ileal amino acid digestibility coefficients. The effect of enzymes on ileal amino acid digestibility is instructive as patterns of response allow speculation as to mode of action and likely additivity of admixtures. A review of the scientific literature has revealed that whilst xylanases and phytases may be considered to be broadly additive in effect, on an individual amino acid basis this effect ranges from sub-additive (e.g. threonine) to synergistic (e.g. arginine). Importantly, the mean response to both xylanase and phytase for ileal amino acid digestibility can be predicted (R2=0.65 and 0.56 respectively) by polynomial equations based only on the nutritional value of the control diet. The fact that control diets with an inherently high digestibility respond poorly to enzymes explains why the use of a second enzyme will likely yield a lesser response when used on top of another, since the former has already improved digestibility characteristics. The implications of these responses, as well as suggested mechanisms of action, are discussed within practical diet formulation constraints.

Village poultry make a significant contribution to poverty alleviation and household food security in many developing countries. This contribution by village poultry to livelihoods can also support HIV/AIDS mitigation and wildlife conservation initiatives. Appropriate interventions focussing on the factors limiting productivity of the different production systems must be tailored according to country and local conditions. The contrast between the type of support in relation to the production systems that might be promoted in export-oriented countries such as Thailand, in comparison to others such as Mozambique and Lao PDR is discussed. A review of the benefits and costs of inputs comparing small scale commercial poultry and scavenging village poultry production systems in different countries taking into account the bio-risks for each production system demonstrates the overall efficiency of the village production system and provides an insight into why this system has continued to thrive into the 21st century.

Poultry production has achieved outstanding biological and economic performance in the last 60 years as exceptional leadership harnessed science and business in the public interest, thus contributing powerfully to cheap, abundant food and improved quality of life. But unacceptable negative effects are now evident, adding to the threatened collapse in Western society that is being provoked by an unsustainable culture of materialistic consumption and self-interest. A supreme desire for profit dominates all public decisions and resource use. The balanced market economy system has been distorted into ‘Elite Capitalism’. In agriculture, this deformed economic model combined with ‘Elite Science’ threatens both food security and the social fabric of world society. Not only are established boundaries of economic behaviour being breached but, in the process, traditional boundaries are being violated in rule of law, justice, species integrity, community and morality. The current Elite Science and business model is unsustainable and must be reshaped before it leads to major catastrophe. Leaders in the poultry sector are challenged to again show their innovation and intellectual and moral courage by re-designing the poultry sector as an example for the whole food chain to ensure global food security, a sustainable socio-economic future for both rich and poor and the survival of civilized society.

Most nutritional studies with minerals have been carried out using dietary supplements, with little attention given to the role of those commonly found in drinking water. This is important since underground water supplies, which may contain high concentrations of dissolved salts, is a common source of drinking water for poultry in many countries. Recent evidence suggests that some minerals may exert adverse effects on the performance of growing broilers and laying hens when present in drinking water at concentrations similar to those found in other sources. Commercially farmed birds already receive a balanced diet and if they are also receiving high levels of nutrient as salt in the water in the form of sodium and chloride ions, then the performance of the birds may be negatively affected.

Inadequate supply, exorbitant prices and diversion towards using cereal grains for biofuel production, particularly maize, has led to a constant search for alternative energy sources for poultry and other non-ruminant species. The abundant availability of cassava in certain regions makes it a good alternative to maize and other cereal grains. Cassava root meal is rich in carbohydrate but low in protein and all other nutrients, whereas, cassava leaf meal is a moderate source of protein. Results of studies to evaluate the replacement of cereals with cassava products in poultry feed show wide variability due to differences in origin, variety, plant maturity at harvest, ecological conditions of plant growth and processing methods. Cassava products contain a wide range of cyanogenetic glycosides, particularly linamarin and lotaustralin. The level of hydrocyanic acid released from the cyanogenetic glycosides limits the utilization of cassava, but with proper processing, the dietary inclusion level of cassava meal can be increased for economic poultry production. This paper reviews the nutrient composition of cassava and its uses as a substitute for more conventional ingredients in poultry diets.

The major structural changes that have occurred in poultry production and marketing in recent decades have been driven by the growing consumer demand for cheap animal protein. As a result, a strong and internationally integrated poultry industry has evolved that utilizes economies of scale and advanced technology. In developing countries, however, the majority of poultry are still kept by smallholders in less intensive systems. For these households, poultry has served as both a safety net and a means to acquire assets and move out of poverty.

However, increasing external pressures on the poultry sector arising from social, economic and environmental factors are strengthening the trend towards intensification. It seems likely that poultry production will continue to serve two needs: supporting livelihoods of poor rural households and as a source of lean meat for growing populations in non-agricultural areas. It is less clear where and for how long small scale commercial poultry systems will serve as a tool for poverty reduction. This paper examines the evidence and proposes conditions that may support or discourage smallholder poultry development.

The World’s Poultry Science Journal is indebted to Prof J.A. Castello, Prof D.K. Flock, Dr D. Grastilleur, Dr S. Cherepanov and Prof N. Yang for the translations of these summaries.

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) Type A subtype H5N1 is a viral zoonotic disease that has infected and killed birds and humans since late 2003. Cambodia's experience with HPAI since the disease was discovered on a farm outside Phnom Penh in January 2004 reveals important aspects of how a developing country, with limited resources and capabilities, has responded to a crisis that has global public health implications and, vice-versa, how this global response in turn affected Cambodia. Qualitative research methodologies consisting of mostly one-on-one semi-structured interviews by Sophal Ear across various government offices, the private sector and the non-governmental sectors, and online surveys sent to individuals deeply involved in HPAI work in Cambodia can render interesting insights related to livelihood issues. Results from these methodologies suggest there is a non-alignment of interests among the government, donors, implementing agencies and rural smallholder farmers that have important implications for effectiveness of disease mitigation measures and livelihood impacts.

Among various factors affecting broiler meat quality, the genetic attributes play an imperative role. The growth hormone gene imparts anabolic effects on skeletal muscle growth and myostatin. The growth and differentiation factor-B gene negatively regulates the myogenesis to determine the body mass. This review concerns the role of growth hormone, myostatin and other such important candidate genes affecting development and differentiation of skeletal muscles. The relationships of higher weight gain with meat quality traits with pH, water holding capacity, extract release volume, collagen solubility, texture and muscle proteins has been ascertained. It is inferred that fast growing broilers give relatively poor meat quality. It is concluded that there is a strong need for genetic manoeuvring regarding silencing of myostatin gene for better qualitative and quantitative broiler meat yields.

Smallholder family poultry is affected by many technical factors including low bio-security, restriction to live bird markets, inadequate sources of inputs and services especially sources of technical information as well as by lack of genetically improved breeds. The free-range or scavenging system results in high chick mortality and intestinal worm infestation. The productivity and profitability of this sector, it is argued, is affected more by lack of knowledge among producers, marketers, extension service, researchers and government policy makers and a non-supportive educational system which looks down upon smallholdings and provides a negative incentive to their development.