Quail may help to alleviate hunger in development countries

摘要

Japanese quail production in India is increasing rapidly. There is a ready market for affordable protein foods, especially when they are as tasty and versatile as Japanese quail meat and eggs. Many people in developing countries go to bed hungry asa result of poverty and they are likely to suffer from malnutrition and/or micronutrient deficiencies. Energy and protein may be in short supply, especially where the consumption of animal protein is meagre. For three and a half decades, there has been phenomenal growth in the Indian poultry industry - annual growth rate has been 7-10 percent in egg production and 15-20 percent in broiler production. Annually, 35 billion eggs and 4 million broilers of marketable age are now produced in that country. Protein hunger has been alleviated to a considerable extent by the 33 eggs and 770g poultry meat produced per capita of the Indian population. Over the last 20 years, the Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) has been introduced into the Indian sub-continent as an alternative avian species in the progressing poultry industry and to help alleviate chronic protein deficiency.