| چکیده انگلیسی مقاله |
Extended Abstract
Introduction and Objectives: The poultry industry is currently a significant contributor to the Iranian economy. This industry plays a crucial role in terms of household food consumption, employment opportunities, attracting capital, and its contribution to overall production. However, this activity is also considered high-risk, and any action that can minimize the associated risks will be greatly welcomed. Such measures will help stabilize production and income fluctuations for the producers, ultimately benefiting the consumers as well. One critical factor to consider is the mortality rate in poultry farms, which can be minimized through efficient management and proper implementation of necessary measures. Multiple elements can influence the extent of losses in poultry farms, particularly in the East Azerbaijan province, which is highly involved in the poultry industry. This province accounts for around 11% of egg production and 3% of chicken meat production in the country in 2022, making it the third-largest producer of eggs and the eighth-largest producer of meat chicken, with an annual production of 98 thousand tons of eggs and over 82 thousand tons of meat chicken. This study aims to economically investigate how managerial, technical, and technological factors impact the losses in broiler chicken farms in East Azerbaijan province.
Material and Methods: In this research, initially, a team of poultry experts and specialists identified a range of factors, spanning managerial, technical, and technological aspects, that impact the frequency and probability of losses in broiler chicken farms. Subsequently, the necessary data was gathered by administering a questionnaire to the broiler chicken farms. The average mortality was taken as the threshold variable. To data analysis and study the factors affecting mortality rate, the Logit model was estimated. The required data was completed through a questionnaire from 162 broiler chicken farms throughout the province.
Results: The study revealed that broiler chicken farms in the province experienced losses ranging from 3% to 12%, with an average loss of 7%. This average is lower than the country's average loss of 10%. According to the findings, a mere 37% of poultry farm managers have enrolled in the training programs offered by the veterinary office and agriculture-jihad organization. Therefore, it is suggested that providing incentives to encourage poultry farmers to take part in these courses would be beneficial, along with improving the overall quality of the training programs. The likelihood ratio (LR) confirmed the overall significance of the regression. The R2 values were computed and ranged from 0.457 to 0.712, which are acceptable. The model's overall validity was highlighted by the fact that the prediction accuracy was estimated to be more than 85%. The LM Green statistic demonstrates that there is no heteroscedasticity in the model. The logit model estimation findings indicate that certain factors have a significant impact on decreasing losses in broiler chicken farms in the province. In terms of managerial factors, education, participation in scientific meetings, Experience, and taking measures to control insects and rodents play a significant role. Regarding technical factors, variables such as poultry capacity, number of halls, fencing, and type of grain and ration have a significant effect. Additionally, among the technological factors, the heating system, cooling system, type of feeding system, type of drinking system, and water hardness also have a significant effect. In the meantime, the most efficient approach involves implementing the required actions to manage insects and rodents in poultry farms. This control method has the potential to reduce losses by 64%. Installing a fence and implementing an automated plate feeding system can effectively reduce losses by more than 44%. The use of a jet heater heating system and powdered grain also reduces the possibility of losses by 40% each. Additionally, implementing a cooling system has proven to be highly efficient in reducing losses by up to 36%. By implementing a nipple-based drinking system and applying scientific ration formulation, the losses are reduced by over 20%. The number of hatchery halls, the distance of the poultry farm from other breeding units, the hardness of the water used, and the capacity of the poultry farm are also other technical and technological factors that affect the reduction of losses. Further findings from the study indicate that the probability of reducing losses in larger poultry farms is higher than in smaller units.
Conclusion: Based on the results, various aspects of the managerial, technical, and technological factors have different effects on the probability of mortality reduction. It is recommended that managers of poultry farms take into account these factors to effectively reduce the mortality rate. Furthermore, findings have revealed that not only the use or non-use of technical equipment in poultry farms is important, but the specific type of system or equipment used can also play a significant role in reducing losses. This is even though according to the obtained results, the raised issues are not observed at the optimal level in poultry farms. |