HPP Exhibitions, the organizers of global flower event, IFTEX, which is annually held in Nairobi, have announced the Kenya Poultry Expo, planned for May 23-25 2023 at the Sarit Centre in Nairobi.
The event, according to exhibition manager Michelle Mwangi, will bring together players in the poultry industry under one roof to give the country a chance to share emerging technologies in the sector, and put the industry into perspective as a key player in the country’s economy.
The Expo, she says, will showcase the latest technologies and practices of poultry farming covering production, genetics, nutrition, feed, health, marketing, operations and cost management and other critical factors for successful investment in the sector.
“Demand for poultry products is on the rise in Kenya driven by an emerging middle-class created in existing and new urban settlements as a result of devolution,” Ms Mwangi said.
Demand for poultry products
She also noted that the growing retail sector made up of eatery branches, fast food outlets, and restaurants has also created a readily available outlet for chicken and eggs completing the chain and fueling the demand.
“To feed the appetite, an estimated 1.5 million birds are slaughtered weekly from a population of some 35 million fowls being fed to meet the increasing demand, which is why efforts need to be put in place to enhance Kenya’s poultry productivity,” she added.
The Expo, according to HPP Exhibitions, will directly and indirectly, open up great prospects for employment opportunities especially in the rural areas; which continue to hold great untapped potential.
Ms Mwangi said that contrary to popular belief that only chickens are reared for commercial poultry-farming purposes, turkeys, geese, guinea fowls and the ‘infamous’ quail are all important components of the poultry farming enterprise.
“The apparent shift to white meat due to health concerns continues to fuel a sharp increase in demand for poultry products necessitating the need for an exhibition to showcase these various birds’ rearing technologies and practices required for a successful venture,” she said.
Poultry-farming
She said 75 per cent of chicken kept by farmers is usually the indigenous chicken variety, 22 per cent is made up of broilers and layers and 1 per cent is the breeding stock.
But due to the high demand and resilience of the “kienyeji” chicken, the market has seen a growing interest in the development of the variety.
This has been led by the Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organization (Kalro) which is breeding the Improved Kienyeji, Kuroilers, Rainbow, Rooster Kenbro and Sasso among others, to satisfy the demand.
“While, on one hand, chicken appears to be every farmer’s choice, the turkey, on the other hand, earns more money and is the bird with a rising demand at the consumer end,” Ms Mwangi said, adding that that the Expo will provide more interesting facts on this concept, among others pertinent to poultry-farming.
