The Conference

The major structural changes that have occurred in poultry production and marketing in recent decades have been driven by the growing consumer demand for cheap animal protein. As a result, a strong and internationally integrated poultry industry has evolved that utilizes economies of scale and advanced technology. In developing countries, however, the majority of poultry are still kept by smallholders in less intensive systems. Increasing competition between the intensive industrial, small to medium scale commercial and the traditional smallholder productions systems will inevitably have social, economic and environmental implications.