sell them to the KRs via NGOs. The support services for the KRs are primarily the
poultry workers; women trained and equipped to vaccinate poultry against the most
common poultry diseases. The vaccine is procured through Veterinary Hospitals or at
the local market. Feed sellers procure various feed ingredients available at the local
market or supplied by the supporting NGO and sells compound feed or feed
ingredients to the poultry keepers. The egg seller is to buy eggs from the producers
and sell to the market and is expected to transport fertile eggs from model breeders to
the mini hatcheries. The beneficiaries along with KRs are also supported with training
and micro-credit. The model was gradually modified from the experience. For
example, KRs started with 10-15 birds operating under a semi-scavenging system,
later choices were extended to ‘case rearers’ with 36 or more laying birds in a cage
system (Dolberg 2001)5. The development pathway of the model comprises several
phases of experimentation along with the expanded adoption of the innovated
technology country-wide6.
Figure 1
Source: http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/subjects/en/infpd/documents/econf bang/fig 1 .jpg
5 At one stage the model allowed the KRs the flexibility to choose additional/alternative production
enterprise from the limited number of available technologies such as laying birds (10-15), or chick
rearers using day old chicks (200-300), and/or poultry worker.
6 . At the end of April 1999, NGOs had identified a total of 132,321 beneficiaries against a target of
107,400 for fiscal year 1998-1999. As of April 1999, 22,901 beneficiaries had availed micro credit
amounting to Tk 59,977,000.