Sustainability of Pakistan's Poultry Sector

When consumers pick up a pack of chicken from the market, they rarely think about the small farmer behind it. Yet across Pakistan, especially in rural Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, that farmer is under severe financial pressure. On paper, Pakistan’s poultry sector appears to be a remarkable success story. It has emerged as the world’s 11th largest poultry producer, expanding at an annual growth rate of nearly 7.3%. The industry provides livelihoods to around 1.5 million people and contributes more than 40% of the country’s total meat supply, making it a cornerstone of both rural employment and national food security.

However, behind these promising statistics lies a growing crisis for small-scale producers who operate with limited capital and thin profit margins. Their biggest challenge is feed cost, which now consumes an overwhelming 70-80% of total production expenses. Farmers repeatedly say that dana (feed) has become the main reason their businesses are becoming unsustainable. The prices of maize and soybean meals, the two most critical ingredients in poultry feed, have risen sharply over the past year. Maize alone absorbs nearly 65% of Pakistan’s total corn output because of its dominant role in poultry rations.

The pressure intensified after the lifting of restrictions on GMO soybean imports in late 2024, which revived poultry expansion but also stimulated stronger demand for maize as feed production increased. Domestic maize demand is expected to reach 9.1 million tonnes in 2025–26, surpassing available supply and naturally driving prices upward.

Adding to this burden, the 2026 Federal Excise Duty of Rs10 per day-old chick has created fresh uncertainty. Industry leaders warn that this tax discourages hatchery operations, reduces chick availability, and raises production costs further. For small farmers, this is not merely a tax, it is a direct threat to survival, pushing many toward closure and ultimately increasing chicken prices for Pakistani households.

Markets, Disease, and Financial Exclusion

For Pakistan’s small poultry farmers, rising feed prices are only one part of a much larger crisis. Another major challenge is the long-standing arhti or middleman system, which keeps farmers locked in weak bargaining positions. Most small-scale producers lack direct access to urban wholesale markets, cold-chain transport, or retail networks. As a result, they are forced to sell live birds and eggs to brokers at prices determined entirely by intermediaries. The farmer bears the production risk, but the middleman captures the market power.

This trap becomes even more damaging during periods of oversupply. In early 2026, egg prices in Pakistan dropped sharply when exports to Gulf countries slowed due to regional conflict and disrupted trade routes. Stocks originally destined for Middle Eastern markets were redirected into domestic channels, creating a sudden glut in local markets. When supply flooded wholesale mandis, farmgate prices crashed, leaving many small farmers selling below cost. Since brokers control transport, timing, and final sale negotiations, farmers had virtually no leverage to protect their margins.

Disease adds another layer of vulnerability. For many poultry farmers, the constant fear is not only price collapse but the sudden appearance of Newcastle Disease, Gumboro, Avian Influenza, or Fowl Typhoid. A major 2025 field study covering 140 poultry farms across Pakistan highlighted how frequent these outbreaks remain in small and medium operations. The study linked disease prevalence to poor hygiene, overcrowded sheds, reuse of rice husk litter, and weak feed management practices. Importantly, it was found that better-educated farmers experienced fewer outbreaks and used antimicrobials more responsibly, reducing both mortality and resistance risks.

Yet in many rural districts, trained veterinarians are scarce. Farmers often turn to unqualified local practitioners who prescribe antibiotics without diagnosis, leading to treatment failure and sometimes mass mortality. The economic consequences can be devastating, especially for households whose poultry shed is their main income source.

Weak biosecurity further magnifies the problem. Many small farms operate in open sheds or backyard systems where birds remain exposed to wild birds, rodents, contaminated visitors, and unsafe water sources. Basic practices such as footbaths, equipment disinfection, litter replacement, and controlled shed access are often missing, either because farmers cannot afford them or lack training. Climate shocks make these weaknesses worse. During the 2025 floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, thousands of poultry birds died, and dozens of livestock shelters were destroyed, exposing how fragile rural poultry infrastructure remains in the face of disasters.

The final barrier is finance. Poultry farming requires continuous cash flow for chicks, feed, medicines, vaccines, electricity, and labor. However, most rural farmers remain excluded from formal credit because they lack land titles, collateral, or the documentation banks require. Many therefore rely on informal moneylenders charging exploitative rates, which traps them in cycles of debt. Although government schemes such as the Punjab Agriculture Loan Scheme offer subsidized and interest-free loans for poultry units, awareness remains low and application procedures are often too technical for small farmers. Without easy credit, insurance, and financial literacy support, one disease outbreak or market crash can erase years of hard work overnight.

Climate Change and the Fight for Survival in Pakistan’s Poultry Sector

Climate change has emerged as one of the most serious long-term threats facing Pakistan’s small-scale poultry farmers. The country is already on the front lines of global climate vulnerability, and poultry production systems, especially in rural and peri-urban areas, are highly exposed to rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, and extreme weather events. For poultry farmers, climate stress is not an abstract environmental issue; it directly affects bird survival, feed efficiency, disease incidence, and farm income.

Sudden heatwaves reduce feed intake, slow bird growth, and sharply increase mortality, particularly in broiler units operating in poorly ventilated sheds. At the same time, unseasonal rainfall and flooding damage poultry housing, spoil feed stocks, contaminate drinking water, and create ideal conditions for bacterial and viral outbreaks. The devastating 2025 floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa clearly demonstrated how climate disasters can wipe out thousands of birds within days while also destroying shelters and rural veterinary infrastructure. Most small farmers simply do not have climate-resilient sheds, cooling systems, drainage, or emergency savings to recover from such losses.

Despite these risks, there are encouraging examples of targeted support. In October 2025, the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) launched a livelihood restoration initiative in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The project provides poultry birds, feed kits, and hands-on training to vulnerable households, while parallel livestock support is being extended through goat distribution and silage management programs. Such interventions demonstrate that even modest investments in training, inputs, and asset replacement can significantly strengthen rural resilience.

The broader lesson is clear: Pakistan’s small poultry farmers remain essential to national food security, yet they cannot continue carrying this burden alone. A forward-looking poultry policy must integrate climate-smart housing, early warning systems, veterinary outreach, subsidized vaccines, affordable credit, and farmer training. If smallholders are strengthened, Pakistan protects not only rural livelihoods but also the affordability of protein for millions of households.

Conclusion

Pakistan’s poultry sector may be expanding rapidly, but its long-term sustainability depends on the survival of the small-scale farmers who form its foundation. These producers are far more than suppliers of chicken and eggs; they are critical actors in rural livelihoods, employment generation, and the country’s nutritional security. Yet the article clearly shows that they are trapped in a cycle of rising feed costs, middlemen exploitation, recurring disease outbreaks, weak biosecurity, financial exclusion, and increasing climate vulnerability.

The challenges are interconnected. Expensive maize and soybean feed raises production costs, while disease and poor veterinary outreach increase mortality risks. Market distortions created by brokers reduce farmers’ bargaining power, and the absence of affordable credit prevents investment in better housing, cooling, and biosecurity systems. Climate shocks such as floods and heatwaves then magnify every existing weakness. Together, these pressures threaten not only farm incomes but also the affordability of poultry protein for ordinary Pakistani households.

The way forward requires a smallholder-centered poultry policy that combines farmer training, disease surveillance, accessible veterinary services, climate-resilient infrastructure, subsidized vaccines, and simple credit and insurance products. Strengthening direct market linkages and farmer cooperatives can also reduce dependence on middlemen. Protecting small poultry farmers ultimately means protecting rural resilience, public nutrition, and Pakistan’s broader food security future.

Please note that the views expressed in this article are of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of any organization.

The writer is affiliated with the Department of Pathology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad Pakistan and can be reached at ahsanullahakhterzai@gmail.com

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