Repositioning Cooperative Poultry Farming as a Vocation for the Unemployed Youths

The widespread impact of the Coronavirus pandemic has led to substantial job losses, prompting increased pressure on policymakers, scholars, and non-governmental organizations to generate sustainable employment opportunities for young individuals, particularly within economically disadvantaged communities. This investigation focuses on the feasibility of integrating unemployed youth into established commercial broiler value chains as a means to address the employment gap resulting from the pandemic. Its objective is to raise awareness among governments, institutions, and stakeholders regarding the hurdles faced by young people aspiring to engage in chicken production. To assess the current status of small-scale poultry farming in the studied region, interviews were conducted with small-scale poultry producers in Umhlathuze Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, along with experts from Owen Sithole College of Agriculture. Insights gathered from participants indicate various obstacles to poultry production in the area, such as insufficient digital, limited space, skill-shortage, restricted market access, low profitability, and instances of theft. Consequently, a proposed solution, the 'Collective Farming Model,' is advocated. Moreover, the authors contend that the efficacy of this model hinges significantly on its apprenticeship-based learning system, validated through successful implementation in a prototype initiative.