The Local Chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) in Traditional Farming Systems: Between Indigenous Knowledge, Rural Resilience and Sustainable Productivity

In a global context marked by food security challenges, sustainability concerns, and the need for local adaptation, traditional poultry systems play a strategic role in the rural economies of Africa. These low-input systems rely heavily on orally transmitted local knowledge and are rooted in technical and cultural autonomy. This study aims to characterize traditional poultry practices, assess their impact on zootechnical productivity, and identify potential improvement levers through a combined approach integrating traditional wisdom and scientific innovation. The methodology is based on a comprehensive literature review of peer-reviewed articles from major academic databases including SCOPUS, Web of Science, Chemical Abstracts Services, Google Scholar, and African Journals Online. Findings reveal that traditional poultry systems are predominantly characterized by free-range management, feeding based on locally available resources, phytotherapeutic health care, and natural reproduction. These practices contribute to strong resilience and the preservation of local chicken strains, with women playing a central role in their transmission and implementation. However, zootechnical and productive performances remain limited: low annual egg production, slow growth rates, high juvenile mortality, rudimentary infrastructure, and the absence of formal genetic selection, vaccination, and veterinary services. As such, traditional poultry systems offer a foundational platform on which simple improvements (such as enriched feeding, sheltering, and basic vaccination) can be introduced without disrupting sociocultural norms. A well-balanced integration of empirical knowledge and validated technical innovations could help reconcile productivity with sustainability. Traditional poultry farming thus represents a resilient, culturally embedded, and economically viable production model. To enhance its impact, it is essential to document, preserve, and improve this knowledge through participatory and context-specific approaches. This area offers a strategic opportunity for policies that promote inclusive, sustainable, and equitable poultry value chains.