Opportunities and Constraints for Urban Broiler Production in Harare, Zimbabwe

Urban broiler production in Harare has the potential to grow and contribute largely to the growth of Zimbabwe’s poultry industry. However, the firm is not characterized. This research aimed to characterize broiler production in Harare and provide evidence-based recommendations for sustainable urban broiler production, considering its importance. A multi-stage sampling approach was used to get the respondents who produced broilers. The respondents were then interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. The results showed that women dominated (56.82%) urban broiler production. The average age of respondents was 36.21 years. Local authorities did not bother respondents, except for just 1% of respondents who encountered complaints from neighbors. Resources like day-old chicks (DOC), feeds, veterinary medicine, and vaccines were readily available from local companies and agents. Three-phase feeding was mostly preferred (72.73) to two-phase feeding (27.27%) systems. Broiler batch sizes differed significantly (p < 0.05) across the three residential suburbs included in the study. Spent bedding and chicken manure were used to fertilize the backyard gardens (51.14%), dumped as litter (40.91%), or sold (7.95%). About 92% of the respondents used Information Communication and Technology (ICT) tools to market broilers. Respondent's homes (54.12%), local shops (18.88%), restaurants (17.21%), schools (5.69%), and supermarkets (4.10%) were the market channels for broilers in Harare. Almost all respondents (99%) expressed interest in expanding their enterprises. The challenges reported were all related to a lack of financial and technical support. Supportive policies could unlock the potential of urban broiler production in Harare