Members projects
Multi-sector partnership to improve quality of life for small poultry farmers in Alagoas, Brazil
Company : Novus International
Groups : Globoaves, largest provider of day-old chicks and fertilized eggs; Sabrae, state agency for micro business development; University of UNEAL, researching bioavailability of local feedstuffs.
In 2010, Novus entered into a multi-sector partnership designed to offer small-scale family poultry farmers in the state of Alagoas, Brazil in the northeast region of Brazil as a way to produce more affordable protein and improve the quality of life for their families and local community. The objective of the five-year program is to provide 16,000 families with a starting allocation of chickens, know-how and training to enable them to build a sustainable livelihood and increase affordable food availability in the region.
Novus does not only provide funding. It also contributes knowledge training to farmers about poultry nutrition and animal husbandry and sponsors a student at UNEAL to assess the quality of indigenous plants in feed production to enable farmers to use local raw materials at lower cost than imported feedstocks.
During 2010, Novus completed training of the first group of field training agents and assisted in selecting the first farm families to participate in the project. One hundred families received approximately one hundred chickens each and their task was to nurture the chickens until they reached market weight (around 2.5kg). Some families then improved their own quality of life by using their chickens as a source of nutritious protein for themselves. Others were able to sell chickens in the local market, thereby producing a much-needed source of income for the families in the project, and affordable food for those buying the chickens. This project will continue in the coming year with a goal of expanding the program to include hundreds of additional families in 2011.
This innovative model developed by Globoaves and Novus is proving to be a significant contribution to helping to develop a sustainable source of food and income for the low-income communities of northern Brazil. Opportunities to re-apply this approach have already been identified and talks have been initiated with neighboring local governments. This is one of many ongoing projects and collaborations in which Novus engages to make a contribution to local and global economies.