Value addition key to up poultry meat earnings

Employees carry on their work of slaughtering and preparing chicken meat for customers in Chwele chicken factory in Bungoma County. [Mumo Munuve, Standard]

In Kenya today, 80 per cent of chickens produced and consumed are mainly from indigenous or backyard populations, widely referred to as "kienyeji."

The population of indigenous chickens is believed to be 40-50 million in this country. Households mainly rear the indigenous breed with little or no input apart from shelter at night.