Community-based management as a driver of adoption of village poultry improvement technologies: empirical evidence from Benin

In most developing countries, village poultry are raised in a scavenging system which gives the impression that all the birds in the village belong to the same flock. Therefore, actions targeting the entire community (Community-Based Management, CBM) could better contribute to improving the productivity of village poultry, notably through the adoption of technologies similar to those used in intensive poultry. The objective of this paper was to assess the effect of CBM, as well as the socioeconomic and institutional factors, on the adoption of village poultry improvement technologies. This was addressed using a logit model and data collected on 405 village poultry-keepers in Benin. Results indicate that the adoption of village poultry technologies depends on the availability of village poultry vaccinators (VPVs) and breeders’ experience (education level and participation in CBM). Farmers from experimental villages are also more willing to adopt various technologies. This indicates that when farmers have the information and technical support through an approach based on the community, i.e. CBM, they can change their behavior, overcome traditional ways of poultry farming. Furthermore, the adoption of the technologies is successful when the strategies used are based on the involvement of private veterinarians for the supply of VPVs.