USAID supports training on poultry farming in Eastern Highlands Province.
News Highlights March 22, 2024
U.S Agency for International Development (USAID) through its PNG Lukautim Graun Program (LGP) works to enhance the opportunity for women in Papua New Guinea (PNG) to participate in, contribute to, and benefit equitably from economic opportunities provided. This is part of USAID’s efforts in assisting women and Community Based Organisations (CBOs) along the conservation’s sites along the Bismark Forest Corridor to prosper, succeeding as entrepreneurs, and being enabled in PNG’s growing economy. As part of this initiative, Eastern Highlands is the third province to have a poultry project rollout after Madang and Morobe. To kick start the Poultry Program in the EHP, USAID PNG LGP in partnership with DOERS Agro Services conducted a three-day training on poultry farming from March 4-6. A total of the 36 participants, consisting of 13 females and 23 males attended the training; most of whom were women leaders and representatives from cluster groups, CBOs, Provincial Department of Agriculture and Livestock and several small to medium enterprises attended the training. Most of the participants who attended the poultry training were selected from the list of attendees from Financial Literacy Training (FLT) that was conducted by USAID LGP for the Bismarck Corrido sites from 2022 to 2023.
The aim of the poultry training was to equip participants to have basic knowledge of poultry farming as well as knowledge on good practices in waste management especially in mitigation and monitor waste while ensuring safer and clean environment. The participants were taught the whole process in poultry farming, starting from the construction of a chicken house, producing supplementary feed, chicken feed rationing, ensuring clean water is available for chicken, to marketing linkages, and identify suitable market approaches beside other basic skills required for poultry farming. Director of Doers Agro Services, Kami Pesko urged the participants to put into practice the skills and knowledge acquired at the training to venture into small business activities.
“You must take hold of the opportunity, the knowledge and even the skills provided in this training to build your capacity, your family, the organizations you represent as this will eventually contribute to the development of this country,” Mr Pesko told participants.
Participant, Betty Iveho, Manager Sunshine Women Business Group said “The training has broadened my knowledge on the best practice of poultry farming. Now I can go into poultry farming from the carton chicklets that I will receive after the training, thank you USAID”.
USAID PNG LGP ensured that participants did not leave empty handed after the training. To assist them venture into poultry farming, a total of 20 cartons of chicklets were distributed among the participants, mainly the CBOs, Community Women’s groups, Conservation groups. The participants are expected to use the knowledge acquired in the training to manage poultry projects as a micro enterprise in their respective communities. The beneficiaries will also use simple savings and budgeting knowledge to generate income from the poultry project and increased profit to enable savings. Trained participants will be able to demonstrate basic poultry knowledge to raise chickens to sell to generate income to be used as a seed capital to open group accounts with an aim to save money to venture into other Micro Small Medium Enterprise activities.
