Mathematical Equations for Reducing Water Pollution Problems among Poultry Production Clusters in Nong Khai Province, Thailand

Poultry production clusters (PPC) in Nong Khai raise layer chickens in the poultry houses constructed over fish ponds. Layer farmers use chicken manure to feed their fish. However, unbalance between chicken raising and the size of fish pond or number of fish results in low water quality, which affects fish production and the community’s public water resource. In this field study, data was collected from layer farms in three poultry production clusters in Nong Khai province in the northeast of Thailand (a total of 90 farms) between April and August 2013. Data collected consisted of observations of dissolved oxygen (DO) values of water in the fish ponds, the number of egg-laying chickens raised above the fish ponds, the number of fish and size of the fish ponds. When all of these four observations were analyzed, mathematical equations for calculating the number of chickens raised, the number of fish per one rai (1600 m2), and the size of pond suitable for the number of chickens and fish were obtained as follows: 1) number of fish/rai = 5796 + 1097(size of pond) (R2 = 0.71), 2) number of chicken/rai = 513 + 223(size of pond) (R2 = 0.48) and 3) size of pond =-0.328474 + 0.000262(Fish) + 0.00117(Chicken) (R2 = 0.40). When pond = desired pond size, fish = number of fish to be raised and chicken = number of chickens to be raised.

An ecohealth assessment of poultry production clusters (PPCs) for the livelihood and biosecurity improvement of small poultry producers in Asia

Background:Poultry production cluster(PPC)programs are key strategies in many Asian countries to engage small commercial poultry producers in high-value production chains and to control infectious poultry diseases.This study assessed the multiple impacts of PPCs through a transdisciplinary ecohealth approach in four Asian countries,and drew the implications for small producers to improve their livelihoods and reduce the risk of spreading infectious diseases in the poultry sector.Methods:The data collection combined both quantitative and qualitative methods.It comprised:formal structured household survey questionnaires,measuring the biosecurity level of poultry farms with a biosecurity score card;and key informant interviews.Descriptive statistics were used to process the quantitative data and a content analysis was used to process the qualitative data.Results:This research found that poultry farms in clusters do not necessarily have better economic performance than those outside PPCs.Many farmers in PPCs only consider them to be an advantage for expanding the scale of their poultry operations and improving household incomes,and they are less concerned about-and have limited capacities to-enhancing biosecurity and environmental management.We measured the biosecurity level of farms in PPCs through a 14-item checklist and found that biosecurity is generally very low across all sample sites.The increased flies,mosquitoes,rats,and smells in and around PPCs not only pollute the environment,but also cause social conflicts with the surrounding communities.Conclusion:This research concluded that a poultry cluster,mainly driven by economic objectives,is not necessarily a superior model for the control of infectious diseases.The level of biosecurity in PPCs was found to be low.Given the intensity of poultry operations in PPCs(farms are densely packed into clusters),and the close proximity to residential areas of some PPCs,the risk of spreading infectious diseases,in fact,increases.Good management and collective action for implementing biosecurity measures are key for small producers in PPCs to address common challenges and pursue health-based animal production practices.