title: An ecohealth assessment of poultry production clusters (PPCs) for the livelihood and biosecurity improvement of small poultry producers in Asia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Poultry production cluster (PPC) programs are key strategies in many Asian countries to engage small commercial poultry producers in high-value production chains and to control infectious poultry diseases. This study assessed the multiple impacts of PPCs through a transdisciplinary ecohealth approach in four Asian countries, and drew the implications for small producers to improve their livelihoods and reduce the risk of spreading infectious diseases in the poultry sector.
  
  
  METHODS
  The data collection combined both quantitative and qualitative methods. It comprised: formal structured household survey questionnaires, measuring the biosecurity level of poultry farms with a biosecurity score card; and key informant interviews. Descriptive statistics were used to process the quantitative data and a content analysis was used to process the qualitative data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  This research found that poultry farms in clusters do not necessarily have better economic performance than those outside PPCs. Many farmers in PPCs only consider them to be an advantage for expanding the scale of their poultry operations and improving household incomes, and they are less concerned about-and have limited capacities to-enhancing biosecurity and environmental management. We measured the biosecurity level of farms in PPCs through a 14-item checklist and found that biosecurity is generally very low across all sample sites. The increased flies, mosquitoes, rats, and smells in and around PPCs not only pollute the environment, but also cause social conflicts with the surrounding communities.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This research concluded that a poultry cluster, mainly driven by economic objectives, is not necessarily a superior model for the control of infectious diseases. The level of biosecurity in PPCs was found to be low. Given the intensity of poultry operations in PPCs (farms are densely packed into clusters), and the close proximity to residential areas of some PPCs, the risk of spreading infectious diseases, in fact, increases. Good management and collective action for implementing biosecurity measures are key for small producers in PPCs to address common challenges and pursue health-based animal production practices.
authors.affiliation: College of Humanities and Development Studies, China Agricultural University, Qinghua Donglu 17, Beijing, 100083 China.
authors.forename: Libin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Indonesian Center for Agriculture Socio Economic and Policy Studies, J1 Ahmad Yani 70, 16161 Bogor, Indonesia.
authors.forename: Edi
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Basuno
authors.affiliation: Center for Agricultural Policy, Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development, Hanoi, Vietnam.
authors.forename: Tuan
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Mahasarakham University, Maha Sarakham, 440000 Thailand.
authors.forename: Worapol
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Aengwanich
authors.affiliation: Indonesian Center for Agriculture Socio Economic and Policy Studies, J1 Ahmad Yani 70, 16161 Bogor, Indonesia.
authors.forename: Nyak
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ilham
authors.affiliation: College of Humanities and Development Studies, China Agricultural University, Qinghua Donglu 17, Beijing, 100083 China.
authors.forename: Xiaoyun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
keywords: Biosecurity; Ecohealth; Infectious diseases; Livelihood; Poultry production cluster (PPC); Small producers