Technology Transfer in the Poultry Industry

A problem associated with increased production is increased manure, the improper disposal of which may lead to water and air pollution. To determine the extent of the problem, future growth in the livestock industry was extrapolated to the year 2005. From this, total nutrient deposition from livestock and chemical fertilizers in terms of nitrogen (N) and phosphate (P$\sb2$O$\sb5$) was estimated to determine the assimilation capacity for these nutrients on permanent agricultural land for each country. The analysis indicated that a group of countries will face acute problems in absorbing the manure that will be produced by the year 2005 given permanently available agricultural land. A survey of manure mitigation strategies is reported and a wide range of institutional mechanisms that some countries have implemented to mitigate potential problems are discussed. The work concludes with the application of a three-stage induced institutional framework, following the work of Hayami and Ruttan (1985) and Runge (1987) to the historical developments of the poultry industry so as to aid policy makers to understand the trade-offs between increased poultry production and the environment.