Poultry farming drives sustainability 

With the Bag2theFuture competition hosted by Making More Health (MMH) every year, the Animal Health team collaborated with the NGO Healthy Entrepreneurs to support the smallholder farmers in rural areas. The group's focus was to introduce a sustainable approach to poultry farming and helping the farmers manage their poultry business efficiently. With that, The Village Poultry Project was created to pilot in Homa Bay, Kenya.

Poultry farming is a boon to the rural livelihood in Africa. Owing to smaller investments and flexible land space requirements, it brings tremendous value to the community. For the farmers, the income generated from rearing poultry presents a significant share of household income and provides an inexpensive protein source for their families. As it continues to be one of the most lucrative options, it does come with its share of limitations, such as  contagious diseases and gaps in business processes.  

Having previously worked on poultry farming projects during veterinary school, Boehringer Ingelheim employee Ellen Lapuck, Senior Scientist Clinical R&D Animal Health, had a lead that could be pursued in collaboration with the company’s Making More Health initiative. Forming a small team with Peter Bracken, Arif Haq, and David Chemirmir, The Village Poultry Project for East Africa was formed. This project fits into the initiative of the Bag2theFuture competition like a piece in a jigsaw puzzle.

"Poultry farming has a lot of potential to improve the economic livelihoods of village farmers. We realized there is an opportunity to train farmers to give them confidence in running a poultry business,” says Ellen Lapuck. “With the Village Poultry Project we will introduce comprehensive healthcare protocols for the flock and enhance the farmers' business acumen in order to ensure a solid foundation from which they can run a new poultry business.” Over time, the group expanded, adding more members within the organization from different parts of Africa. Dr. Billy Apola, Dr. Moses Arokoyo, and Dr. Joseph Kipkemoi joined the force bringing their expertise on board for a sustainable impact.

The Village Poultry Project: shaping a sustainable mindset 

The goal of the team was clear; to bring new ideas to the table that could empower farmers and help them to help themselves by introducing a sustainable model of working. “With the Village Poultry Project, we wanted to concentrate our efforts into introducing an integrated approach that focuses on improving poultry health and alongside, providing tools and interactive pieces of training to teach the farmers to run their poultry business efficiently. The highlight of this program for me was that it aimed at giving entrepreneurship a boost in remote areas,” says Arif Haq, Head of Legal and Compliance Middle East, Turkey, and Africa. 

The journey to bring long-lasting and viable transformation  will begin with setting up community run poultry houses for egg laying chicken. Simultaneously, the farmers will receive business trainings and workshops through a unique curriculum developed together with Ashoka Fellow Blessing Mene, who supports agricultural entrepreneurs in remote areas. 
The sessions will include topics like record keeping, business management, marketing, and group dynamics. Due to COVID-19, what started in Uganda as a pilot, moved to Homa Bay, a town in Kenya, which offered access to virtual infrastructure and a very supportive on-ground team in Boehringer Ingelheim Kenya ensuring continuity of these sessions. “Being a part of an organization that focuses on animal health, we feel it is our responsibility to make livestock farming sustainable by maximizing the potential of these farmers,” concludes Ellen. “To achieve this, we aim to train around 80-100 farmers in poultry husbandry. Following that, we will select a small group to run a new poultry business.”  

Making More Health support

Poultry farming impacts livelihoods and protein consumption in rural communities positively. The Village Poultry Project: East Africa, in collaboration with the Bag2Future initiative by Making More Health (MMH) and the Healthy Entrepreneurs teams in Homa Bay County, will play an important role in supporting the local community. The project will also contribute actively to the MMH activities since it can improve livelihoods in areas that lack resources or access to information, which are vital for any animal husbandry activity. “This project is a very sustainable and tangible best practice example. It is based on the co-creation of MMH with social entrepreneurs, NGOs and communities and contributes to systemic solutions that go much beyond single one-time solutions.” adds Manuela Pastore, Global Head of MMH community activation.

About Making More Health

Making More Health is a global initiative by the pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim in cooperation with Ashoka, a non-governmental organization. Aiming to improve health for humans, animals and communities worldwide Making More Health pursues a multitude of approaches to finding solutions and tailoring these solutions to specific projects.