Evaluating farm size and technology use in poultry production in Kuwait

SUMMARY: Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) conducted a survey study in 2017 to assess the status of production and technologies used in broilers, layers, broiler breeders and other poultry species (such as ducks and quails) in Kuwait. Survey data were collected from 42 specialised poultry farms and poultry holdings in 11 mixed agriculture farms, using a questionnaire. Most of the specialised poultry farms (57.14%) are concentrated in the Al-Wafra area in the southern part of Kuwait (close to the border of Saudi Arabia). Most of the specialised poultry farms (59.52%) included in the study were broiler farms for meat production; 30.95% of the farms were layer farms for table-egg production, and 9.52% of the farms were broiler breeder farms for hatching egg production. Technology levels, adopted by most of the poultry farms were scored as ‘medium’. Large size poultry farms used high technology, e.g. the implementation of integration systems. Recommendations from the survey included: vertical improvement through R & D and technology transfer, enhanced funding for research aimed towards the development of the sector and technology, providing grants to the producers and streamlining the subsidies tied up with quality and horizontal expansion by increasing land space and encouraging large- scale integrated poultry farming.