Sustainability Challenges, Transition Dynamics, and Collapse of Small-Scale Poultry Farming Systems: Economic, Technical, and Environmental Perspectives

Year : 2026 | Volume : 03 | Issue : 02 | Page : 38 46
By

Md. Emran Hossain,

  1. Professor, Department of Animal Science and Nutrition, Chattogram Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Khulshi, Chattogram-4225, Bangladesh

Abstract

Small-scale poultry farming plays a vital role in food security, income generation, and rural livelihoods globally. However, the sector is experiencing a rapid decline driven by interconnected economic, biological, environmental, and institutional challenges. This review synthesizes recent evidence and develops a systems-based framework to explain the depletion of small-scale poultry farms in the country. A dominant driver is the persistent cost–price imbalance, where rising input costs, particularly feed, are not matched by farm-gate prices, resulting in sustained negative profit margins. Market inefficiencies, including the dominance of intermediaries and weak bargaining power of farmers, further reduce income stability. Biological constraints, especially recurrent outbreaks of Avian Influenza and other infectious diseases, contribute to high mortality and production uncertainty, exacerbated by inadequate biosecurity and veterinary services. Climate-related stressors such as heat, humidity, and extreme weather events intensify these vulnerabilities by reducing productivity and increasing disease susceptibility. Additionally, technical limitations, including poor farm management and limited adoption of improved practices, further constrain production efficiency. Institutional and financial barriers, such as limited access to credit, absence of insurance mechanisms, and weak policy implementation, undermine the resilience of smallholders. These drivers interact to create a cycle of economic loss, reduced production, and eventual farm exit, leading to supply instability, price volatility, and broader socio-economic impacts. The review highlights that the depletion of small-scale poultry farms is not an isolated phenomenon but a systemic failure requiring integrated solutions. Strengthening value chains, improving biosecurity, enhancing climate resilience, and promoting technology adoption, including molecular biotechnology tools, are critical pathways for sustainable sectoral recovery.

Keywords: Climate stress, economic constraint, environmental pressure, poultry, smallholder farming, sustainability

[This article belongs to International Journal of Sustainability ]

How to cite this article: Md. Emran Hossain. Sustainability Challenges, Transition Dynamics, and Collapse of Small-Scale Poultry Farming Systems: Economic, Technical, and Environmental Perspectives. International Journal of Sustainability. 2026; 03(02):38-46.
How to cite this URL: Md. Emran Hossain. Sustainability Challenges, Transition Dynamics, and Collapse of Small-Scale Poultry Farming Systems: Economic, Technical, and Environmental Perspectives. International Journal of Sustainability. 2026; 03(02):38-46. Available from: https://journals.stmjournals.com/ijsu/article=2026/view=256502

References

  1. Zeng R, Abate MC, Cai B, Addis AK, Derebe Dereso Y. A systematic review of contemporary challenges and debates on Chinese food security: integrating priorities, trade-offs, and policy pathways. Foods. 2025 Mar 19;14(6):1057, doi: 10.3390/foods14061057.
  2. Ramukhithi TF, Nephawe KA, Mpofu TJ, Raphulu T, Munhuweyi K, Ramukhithi FV, Mtileni B. An assessment of economic sustainability and efficiency in small-scale broiler farms in limpopo province: a review. Sustainability. 2023 Jan 20;15(3):2030, doi: 10.3390/su15032030.
  3. Mgbenka RN, Mbah EN, Ezeano CI. A review of smallholder farming in Nigeria: Need for transformation. International Journal of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development Studies. 2016 May;3(2):43–54, doi: 10.5829/idosi.aerj.2015.5.2.1134.
  4. Hedman HD, Vasco KA, Zhang L. A review of antimicrobial resistance in poultry farming within low-resource settings. Animals. 2020 Jul 24;10(8):1264, doi: 10.3390/ani10081264.
  5. Wong JT, de Bruyn J, Bagnol B, Grieve H, Li M, Pym R, Alders RG. Small-scale poultry and food security in resource-poor settings: A review. Global Food Security. 2017 Dec 1;15:43–52, doi: 10.1016/j.gfs.2017.04.003.
  6. Meuwissen MP, Feindt PH, Slijper T, Spiegel A, Finger R, De Mey Y, Paas W, Termeer KJ, Poortvliet PM, Peneva M, Urquhart J. Impact of Covid-19 on farming systems in Europe through the lens of resilience thinking. Agricultural Systems. 2021 Jun 1;191:103152, doi: 10.1016/j.agsy.2021.103152.
  7. Rijsberman F. The key role of the meat industry in transformation to a low-carbon, climate resilient, sustainable economy. Meat Science. 2017 Oct 1;132:2–5, doi: 10.1016/j.meatsci.2017.04.013.
  8. Dumas SE, Lungu L, Mulambya N, Daka W, McDonald E, Steubing E, Lewis T, Backel K, Jange J, Lucio-Martinez B, Lewis D. Sustainable smallholder poultry interventions to promote food security and social, agricultural, and ecological resilience in the Luangwa Valley, Zambia. Food security. 2016 Jun 1;8(3):507, doi: 10.1007/s12571-016-0579–5.
  9. He Z. Sustainable development of livestock and poultry scale‐breeding based on integration control of resource losses and external environmental costs. Environmental Progress & Sustainable Energy. 2020 Nov;39(6):e13528, doi: 10.1002/ep.13528.
  10. J. Atapattu, T. D. Nuwarapaksha, S. S. Udumann, and N. S. Dissanayaka, “Integrated Farming Systems: A Holistic Approach to Sustainable Agriculture,” Springer, pp. 89–127, 2024, doi: 10.1007/978-981-97-7517-0_4.
  11. National Research Council, Division on Earth, Life Studies, Committee on Twenty-First Century Systems Agriculture. Toward sustainable agricultural systems in the 21st century. National Academies Press; 2010 Jul 25. doi: 10.17226/12832.
  12. Losacco C, Pugliese G, Forte L, Tufarelli V, Maggiolino A, De Palo P. Digital transition as a driver for sustainable tailor-made farm management: An up-to-date overview on precision livestock farming. Agriculture. 2025 Jun 27;15(13):1383. doi: 10.3390/agriculture15131383.
  13. Anim-Jnr AS, Sasu P, Bosch C, Mabiki FP, Frimpong YO, Emmambux MN, Greathead HM. Sustainable small ruminant production in low-and middle-income African countries: Harnessing the potential of agroecology. Sustainability. 2023 Oct 26;15(21):15326, doi: 10.3390/su152115326.
  14. Vishnoi S, Goel RK. Climate smart agriculture for sustainable productivity and healthy landscapes. Environmental Science & Policy. 2024 Jan 1;151:103600. doi: 10.1016/j.envsci.2023.103600.
  15. Kleyn R, Ciacciariello M. Putting sustainable poultry production into perspective. World’s Poultry Science Journal. 2025 Apr 3;81(2):343–57, doi: 10.1080/00439339.2024.2446290.
  16. Vaarst M, Steenfeldt S, Horsted K. Sustainable development perspectives of poultry production. World’s poultry science journal. 2015 Dec 1;71(4):609–20, doi: 10.1017/S0043933915002433.
  17. Pérez-Lombardini F, Siqueiros-García JM, Solorio-Sánchez FJ, Galindo F. Integrating social dynamics in the participatory modeling of small-scale cattle farmers’ perceptions and responses to climate variability in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems. 2024 Jan 5;7:1321252. doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2023.1321252.
  18. Horrigan L, Lawrence RS, Walker P. How sustainable agriculture can address the environmental and human health harms of industrial agriculture. Environmental health perspectives. 2002 May;110(5):445. doi: 10.1289/ehp.02110445.
  19. Noll D, Fischer-Kowalski M. The role of science in facilitating a sustainability transition of the small ruminant farming system on the Greek island of Samothraki. DIGITAL BOOK OF PROCEEDINGS.:304.
  20. Hazell P, Wood S. Drivers of change in global agriculture. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 2008 Feb 12;363(1491):495–515, doi: 10.1098/rstb.2007.2166.
  21. Dumont B, González-García E, Thomas M, Fortun-Lamothe L, Ducrot C, Dourmad JY, Tichit M. Forty research issues for the redesign of animal production systems in the 21st century. Animal. 2014 Aug;8(8):1382–93, doi: 10.1017/S1751731114001281.
  22. Priyashantha H, Vidanarachchi JK. Perspectives on value chain transformation towards resilient animal-source food systems in Sri Lanka. Cogent Food & Agriculture. 2024 Dec 31;10(1):2384329, doi: 10.1080/23311932.2024.2384329.
  23. Röös E, Wood A, Säll S, Hatab AA, Ahlgren S, Hallström E, Tidåker P, Hansson H. Diagnostic, regenerative or fossil-free-exploring stakeholder perceptions of Swedish food system sustainability. Ecological Economics. 2023 Jan 1;203:107623. doi: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2022.107623.
  24. Chen C, Yang J, Gao J, Chen W. An observation over the rural-urban re-connecting process based on the Alternative Food Network (AFN) in China——From the perspective of ‘social capital’. Habitat International. 2022 Dec 1;130:102708, doi: 10.1016/j.habitatint.2022.102708.
  25. Nkansah-Dwamena E. Why small-scale circular agriculture is central to food security and environmental sustainability in sub-saharan Africa? The case of Ghana. Circular Economy and Sustainability. 2024 Jun;4(2):995–1019. doi: 10.1007/s43615-023-00320-y.
  26. Michalk DL, Kemp DR, Badgery WB, Wu J, Zhang Y, Thomassin PJ. Sustainability and future food security—A global perspective for livestock production. Land Degradation & Development. 2019 Mar;30(5):561–73, doi: 10.1002/ldr.3217.
  27. Abbasi IA, Shamim A, Shad MK, Ashari H, Yusuf I. Circular economy-based integrated farming system for indigenous chicken: Fostering food security and sustainability. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2024 Jan 10;436:140368, doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.140368.
  28. Thornbush M. Urban agriculture in the transition to low carbon cities through urban greening. AIMS Environmental Science. 2015;2(3):852, doi: 10.3934/environsci.2015.3.852.
  29. Garcia SM, Rosenberg AA. Food security and marine capture fisheries: characteristics, trends, drivers and future perspectives. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 2010 Sep 27;365(1554):2869-80, doi: 10.1098/rstb.2010.0171.
  30. Binder CR. Transition of the Swiss phosphorus system towards a circular economy. InInternational Phosphorous Workshop 9 2019 Jul 9, doi: 10.3390/su10061980.
  31. Situmeang R, Mazancová J, Roubík H. Technological, economic, social and environmental barriers to adoption of small-scale biogas plants: Case of Indonesia. Energies. 2022 Jul 13;15(14):5105, doi: 10.3390/en15145105.
  32. Sanon VP, Ouedraogo R, Toé P, El Bilali H, Lautsch E, Vogel S, Melcher AH. Socio-economic perspectives of transition in inland fisheries and fish farming in a least developed country. Sustainability. 2021 Mar 9;13(5):2985, doi: 10.3390/su13052985.
  33. Shrimpton EA, Sarmah T, Balta-Ozkan N, Malki S, Jelloul A, Ouikhalfan M, Nilahyane A, Kouisni L, Huo D. Unpacking drought impacts and adaptive strategies in Morocco–perspectives from small-scale farmers. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. 2025 Jul 28:105732, doi: 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2025.105732.
  34. Sandhu H. Bottom-up transformation of agriculture and food systems. Sustainability. 2021 Feb 18;13(4):2171, doi: 10.3390/su13042171.
  35. Farkas JZ, Kőszegi IR, Hoyk E, Szalai Á. Challenges and future visions of the Hungarian livestock sector from a rural development viewpoint. Agriculture. 2023 Jun 7;13(6):1206, doi: 10.3390/agriculture13061206.
  36. Duić N, Urbaniec K, Huisingh D. Components and structures of the pillars of sustainability. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2015 Feb 1;88:1–2. doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.11.030.
Regular Issue Subscription Original Research
Volume 03
Issue 02
Received 05/05/2026
Accepted 05/06/2026
Published 10/07/2026
Publication Time 66 Days

Login

My IP

PlumX Metrics

Support