A three-day training on poultry farming was conducted from the 4th – 6th of March, 2024 in the Eastern Highlands Province by the U.S Agency for International Development (USAID).
The training was conducted through the USAIDs PNG Lukautim Graun Program (LGP) together with the Doers Agro Services.
A total of 36 participants, most of whom were women leaders and representatives from cluster groups, CBOs, the Provincial Department of Agriculture and Livestock and several small to medium enterprises attended the training.
Most participants were selected from the Financial Literacy Training (FLT) that was conducted by USAID LGP for the Bismarck Corrido sites from 2022 to 2023.
The training aims to equip participants to have basic knowledge of poultry farming, and good practices in waste management to mitigate and monitor waste while ensuring a safer and cleaner environment.
According to USAID, the participants were taught the whole process of poultry farming, starting from the construction of a chicken house, producing supplementary feed, chicken feed rationing, ensuring clean water is available for chickens, to marketing linkages, and identifying suitable market approaches beside other basic skills required for poultry farming.
Director of Doers Agro Services, Kami Pesko, said the program is to enable participants to use the knowledge acquired in the training to manage poultry projects as a micro-enterprise in their respective communities.
“You must take hold of the opportunity, the knowledge and even the skills provided in this training to build your capacity, your family, and the organizations you represent as this will eventually contribute to the development of this country,” Pesko urged participants.
In assisting participants to venture into poultry farming, a total of 20 cartons of chicks were distributed by USAID PNG LGP.
Participant, Betty Iveho, Manager of Sunshine Women Business Group said; “The training has broadened my knowledge on the best practice of poultry farming. Now I can go into poultry farming from the carton chicklets that I will receive after the training, thank you USAID”.
Eastern Highlands is the third province to have a poultry project rollout after Madang and Morobe.