Masango watches as his chickens feed. The dream is to have about 500 chickens by May 2022. This demonstration chicken project is sustainable, easier and cheaper to run for local farmers. Chickens are a good source of proteins and household income.

The Chicken Development Project

HPDZ intends to demonstrate to the Nyazura community that it is possible to raise local chickens at a larger scale because they require less money, consume food from locally grown grains and are resistant to common chicken diseases. The market for these so-called “Road-Runners” is readily available locally as both young chicks (2-3 months) as well as adults. The hens lay a maximum of 20 eggs before sitting on them for incubation, a process that takes three months. One hen can be allowed to have three hatchings before being released to return to egg laying three weeks later. Their main disadvantage is that they take 6 months to mature. This limitation can be overcome by the concept of “economies of scale.” The bigger the number of chickens the greater the returns. Masango is aiming at raising between 500-1000 chickens in twelve months from May 2021. In order to prevent diseases, the project will combine the use of traditional herbal and modern medicines. The target of the demonstration project are young people who are leaving the farming communities for urban areas in search of employment. Unfortunately, there are not many employment opportunities for these mostly unskilled young men and women.