Hatching Hope
Chinese poultry expert shares artificial hatching technology in burundi
sindayigaya Evariste, owner of Safe Chicken Farm in the suburb of Bujumbura, capital of Burundi, felt nervous each time his hens hatched chicks. Though he and his workers tried to provide the best environment for the hens, only a small portion of chicks would hatch. In Burundi, there are many other poultry farmers like Evariste who are suffering without artificial hatching technologies and have to rely on hens to hatch chicks.
Burundi boasts the perfect climate for poultry industry development with mild temperature all year round and almost no extreme weather conditions. However, owing to the lack of technologies and professional expertise, the success ratio of chick hatching is quite low, with imported eggs being 50 percent and domestic eggs only 35 percent. This also directly leads to high poultry prices, influencing the pockets of locals.
But this challenge could soon be a thing of the past. The fourth group of Chinese agricultural experts to Burundi was recently dispatched to the country by the Chinese Government to help with its agricultural development. Zhao Ke, a poultry development expert, is one of them.
Zhao, 40, had worked as a veterinarian in Nanyang Animal Disease Prevention and Control Center in central China’s Henan Province for 17 years. In April 2017, he applied for a course to learn how to become a foreign-aid professional organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China. The course and his interest in training finally bore fruit when he got the opportunity to go to Burundi on an assistance mission.
“I have never worked in Africa before. But I often heard of the continent from my colleagues who worked there and I also hoped to get an opportunity,” Zhao told Chinafrica. “I hope I can use my expertise and do something beneficial.”
Addressing the challenge
Zhao reached Burundi on March 14 this year. Once there, he started to investigate long-lasting problems affecting local poultry farmers like Evariste. Owing to the high failure rate, local farmers are now reluctant to hatch chicks. Imported baby chicks from countries such as Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda are quite expensive for local farmers. In addition, to import chicks, farmers also need to obtain import permits and go through the inspection and quarantine procedures, adding costs to poultry raising.