{"id":18131,"date":"2026-06-20T13:02:01","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T13:02:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.iita.org\/news-item\/chicken-is-becoming-the-affordable-favored-source-for-meat-and-eggs-in-burundi-while-also-driving-a-business-boom\/"},"modified":"2026-07-28T16:45:31","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T16:45:31","slug":"chicken-is-becoming-the-affordable-favored-source-for-meat-and-eggs-in-burundi-while-also-driving-a-business-boom","status":"publish","type":"news-item","link":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/chicken-is-becoming-the-affordable-favored-source-for-meat-and-eggs-in-burundi-while-also-driving-a-business-boom\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicken is becoming the affordable, favored source for meat and eggs in Burundi, while also driving a business boom"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Photo:
Photo: Maurice Murishi with the three to five days old chicks.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the quiet village of Buringa in Gihanga Commune, Bubanza Province, a 59-year-old entrepreneur and livestock farmer, Maurice Murishi, is changing the face of poultry farming in Burundi. What began as a small poultry business is now a thriving enterprise that is improving lives and incomes across several provinces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople shifted to chicken as their primary source of meat due to the national shortage of beef,\u201d Maurice explains. \u201cSince then, the demand has increased tremendously.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But as the demand grew, local poultry breeds struggled to keep up. Existing chicken breeds were disease-prone and of low productivity, making it hard for farmers to meet market needs. That changed when the Great Lakes Accelerated Innovation Delivery Initiative Rapid Delivery Hub (AID-I GLR)<\/a>, locally known as the Kugwiza Project, stepped in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With support from local partners like Confederation des Associations des Producteurs Agricoles pour le Developpement (CAPAD), Association de Coop\u00e9ration et de Recherche pour le D\u00e9veloppement (ACORD<\/a>), Welthungerhilfe (WHH<\/a>), and International Livestock Research Institute) ILRI<\/a>, the project introduced an innovative small pack approach, distributing a few high-quality chicks per household to demonstrate the benefits of the disease-resistant poultry breed called SASSO. This strategy allowed farmers to test the breed in their own environments, sparking rapid adoption and word-of-mouth demand. According to Maurice, the new breed has been a game-changer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe SASSO breed is well-suited to our local climate, resists disease, and can be raised in both zero-grazing and open-grazing systems,\u201d he says. \u201cOur customers love it!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maurice\u2019s poultry business has grown rapidly since he started working with the project. In 2022, he sold just over 10,000 chicks. By 2023, that number had climbed to more than 12,000, and in 2024, it more than doubled. From January to\u00a0March 2025 alone, he had already sold more than 21,000 chicks to local intermediary traders working across Kugwiza-supported zones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The small-pack approach proved revolutionary. By distributing just five chicks per household; four hens and one rooster; along with starter kits of feed and medicine, the project enabled farmers to see tangible results quickly. \u201cGiving a few chicks per household was an innovation,\u201d Maurice notes. \u201cIt allowed people to test the breed in real-time and created high demand. I want to replicate this model in other areas where I have operations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To meet this growing demand, Maurice developed a network of four young intermediaries operating in the provinces of Bubanza, Cibitoke, Gitega, and Ruyigi. These young entrepreneurs buy two-month-old chicks and sell them to farmers in rural areas, helping expand access while generating income for themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Photo:
Photo: Two-month-old chicks at Maurice\u2019s poultry house, ready to be distributed to intermediaries for wider dissemination to farmers.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe marketing strategy was initiated by the Kugwiza Project,\u201d Maurice explains. \u201cIt encouraged us to work with intermediaries and offer them profit margins so they could expand distribution in underserved areas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of these intermediaries is 27-year-old Paul Nsabiyumva from Mutaho Commune in Gitega Province. Paul began selling chicks in 2021, but it wasn\u2019t until the SASSO breed was introduced that his business took off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI heard about SASSO through CAPAD, and they connected me with Maurice in Bujumbura,\u201d says Paul. \u201cI traveled to meet him, and in 2024, I started ordering SASSO chicks to sell in Mutaho and Bugendana.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since then, Paul has witnessed firsthand the benefits of the new breed. Not only do SASSO chickens resist common diseases, but they also lay an average of six eggs per week when well fed, thus doubling the productivity of traditional breeds. Prices have skyrocketed. A two-kilogram chicken that sold for 35,000 Burundian francs (BIF, equivalent to USD 11.66) in 2021 now goes for BIF 70,000 (USD 23.33), while the price of an egg has increased from BIF 800 (USD 0.26) to BIF 1,000 (USD 0.33). In a rare win-win for both producers and consumers, despite this price increase, chicken still remains more affordable than beef, which costs BIF 40,000 per kilo (USD 13.3).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And neither has the rise in price stemmed the business boom. Quite the opposite. A boost. \u201cAs demand is still rising, I\u2019m planning to take a loan to expand my business,\u201d Paul says. He also plans to diversify. \u201cI even want to start selling chicken feed to meet the growing needs of farmers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The benefits of the Kugwiza Project go beyond distributors and entrepreneurs. In Birimba village, also in Gitega Province, Jovith Ngendakumana, a 45-year-old mother of six, has transformed her family\u2019s income thanks to the SASSO breed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPreviously, my children raised local chickens for fun,\u201d she explains. \u201cThen I attended a community meeting organized by CAPAD and ILRI, where we learned about the SASSO breed that resists disease and has good egg production.\u201d In terms of meat and egg production, SASSO is amongst the best poultry hybrid breeds for smallholder farming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Jovith
Jovith has received SASSO chicks to test and has just started to breed and market the hens.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jovith received five chickens, four hens and one rooster, along with feed and medicine. Within four months, her hens are giving her increased production for household consumption and income generation. She sold part of her egg harvest, using the income to buy more chicks and invest in her farm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith the profits, I bought 30 chicks from Paul,\u201d she says. \u201cSoon, I\u2019ll be getting a continuous and sustainable egg production and income to help me pay school fees, buy household essentials, and even invest in new activities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The popularity of SASSO has also sparked interest among Jovith\u2019s neighbors. At least 12 families \u2013 mostly young people \u2013 have visited her home, seen the results, and begun poultry farming themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Kugwiza Project changed my family\u2019s life,\u201d she says. \u201cThanks to this breed, I can buy salt, oil, and notebooks for my children. May God bless this project, and please expand it to reach other women-led households in other provinces.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suppliers like Maurice Murishi have embraced the small-pack model, integrating it into their marketing strategies to reach more farmers. “The approach is a win-win,” Maurice adds. \u201cFarmers see quick results, and we suppliers benefit from the growing demand. Now, I\u2019m recruiting more intermediaries to expand into new zones using the same method.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the chicken market thriving and young people seizing new business opportunities, the disease-resistant SASSO breed has not only brought better meat and egg production but also revitalized rural economies and strengthened Burundi\u2019s livestock value chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the poultry hybrid breed system in Burundi is not yet fully developed. As a result, SASSO day-old chicks must still be imported from outside the country, since there is currently no local capacity to maintain parent stock. This dependency makes the supply chain fragile and poses a challenge for sustainable growth. Chick suppliers like Maurice Murishi remain reliant on importers to keep their businesses running. Fortunately, farmers do not attempt to produce their own chicks from grown chicks but instead continue to obtain healthy stock from trusted suppliers like Maurice. For long-term resilience and efficiency, Burundi must deliberately invest in establishing facilities to produce and maintain the locally adapted and productive poultry parent stocks, as well as in producing quality feed and vaccines essential for maintaining bird health and productivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the quiet village of Buringa in Gihanga Commune, Bubanza Province, Maurice Murishi, a 59-year-old entrepreneur and livestock farmer, is changing the face of poultry farming in 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