Prioritizing sustainability strategies for duck farming: The consensus Delphi approach

Abstract

Exploring the sustainability concerns and the solutions there of was the objective of this study. Anonymous opinions from all the stockholders and consensus on the practices to be stopped, that can be continued and need to be taken up afresh was drawn through a three stage Delphi methodology. The important constraints of duck farming as observed in Delphi analysis were those associated with health care management, general management, social, economic, marketing, policies and environmental in nature. The solutions for these constraints gave an insight into the strategies to be adopted for attaining sustainability. These strategies were discussed from three important perspectives of sustainability analysis viz. practices to be stopped, practices that can continue and new practices to be taken up. The important practices to be stopped were the unscientific health care, unorganized credit system and environmental practices. The practices that can continue were the training initiatives in duck farming, promotional programmes on organic farming and integrated farming, maintaining duck farmer registry and strengthening the government hatcheries. The new practices to be taken up were mandatory vaccination, strict surveillance and monitoring, forming a labour pool, organized market system, converting farm and slaughter waste into bio-fertilizer, and establishing a full-fledged disaster management cell.