Poultry Genetics for Sustainable Impact in Smallholder Systems

Combining poultry genetics, smallholder systems and development, this book addresses a challenge in global livestock development: why decades of progress have translated into limited benefits. It presents breeding as a long-term public investment that must be aligned with environmental realities, farmer priorities and sustainable commercialization. Combining poultry genetics, smallholder production systems and agricultural development, this book addresses one of the central challenges in global livestock development: why decades of progress in poultry genetics have translated into limited and uneven benefits for smallholders and rural producers, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. This book situates chicken breeding within the full system in which it operates: production environments, delivery and replacement systems, institutional capacity, markets and governance. Rather than presenting breeding as a purely technical activity, it frames it as a long-term public investment that must be aligned with environmental realities, farmer priorities and sustainable commercialization pathways. It covers genetic strategy design, multiplication, registration, commercialization and long-term sustainability across tropical and low-input systems while drawing lessons relevant to public breeding programs globally. Although the focus is on chickens, many of the principles discussed have applications across livestock species. Bridging the gap between genetic improvement and farmer-level impact, this book is an important resource for researchers and students of livestock genetics, smallholder systems and agricultural development, as well as development practitioners and policy makers. Combining poultry genetics, smallholder production systems and agricultural development, this book addresses one of the central challenges in global livestock development: why decades of progress in poultry genetics have translated into limited and uneven benefits for smallholders and rural producers, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. This book situates chicken breeding within the full system in which it operates: production environments, delivery and replacement systems, institutional capacity, markets and governance. Rather than presenting breeding as a purely technical activity, it frames it as a long-term public investment that must be aligned with environmental realities, farmer priorities and sustainable commercialization pathways. It covers genetic strategy design, multiplication, registration, commercialization and long-term sustainability across tropical and low-input systems while drawing lessons relevant to public breeding programs globally. Although the focus is on chickens, many of the principles discussed have applications across livestock species. Bridging the gap between genetic improvement and farmer-level impact, this book is an important resource for researchers and students of livestock genetics, smallholder systems and agricultural development, as well as development practitioners and policy makers.