Genetic Resilience in Indigenous Chickens: A Strategic Animal Genetic Resource for Climate-Smart Smallholder Poultry Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

In Sub-Saharan Africa, the smallholder agricultural sector harbors a rich genetic repository of indigenous village chicken ecotypes, which are vital to rural livelihoods in different agroecological regions. Despite being highly exposed to the adverse effects of climate change, including temperature extremes, shifting disease patterns, and resource scarcity, these local genetic resources have consistently demonstrated remarkable resilience. Their innate adaptability to harsh and fluctuating agroecological conditions positions them as a strategic asset for climate-resilient agriculture, offering clear advantages over imported breeds that often lack such environmental robustness. The intensification of climatic fluctuations—exhibited through reduced water availability, erratic precipitation patterns, rising ambient temperatures, unpredictable seasonal cycles, diminishing feed sources, and the proliferation of novel pathogens and parasites—has severely disrupted traditional poultry production systems. Nevertheless, certain indigenous chicken phenotypes, such as the naked neck variety, exhibit considerable resilience owing to their unique physiological, behavioral, and morphological adaptations to challenging environments. This review emphasizes the critical need to identify, develop, and promote these resilient subpopulations through intra-population selection and proactive, community-oriented breeding initiatives. By merging climate-smart breeding technologies with indigenous knowledge systems, both the productivity and survivability of village chickens can be significantly enhanced. Facilitating the proliferation of these climate-adapted genetic resources is central to reinforcing rural household resilience, securing food and nutritional stability, and sustaining livelihoods amid growing climatic adversities. The review advocates for the urgent transformation of poultry systems by mainstreaming resilient indigenous chicken ecotypes into adaptive strategies for climate-resilient agriculture.