Investigating the Impacts of Urban Poultry Farming on Household Welfare using Propensity Score Matching Technique: A Case Study of Shire Town in Northern Tigray Region, Ethiopia

Abstract

This study examines the socioeconomic and nutritional impacts of urban poultry farming on household welfare in Shire Town, Tigray, Ethiopia. Using a mixed-methods approach, it combines quantitative data from 306 household surveys with qualitative insights from focus group discussions and key informant interviews. Analytical methods such as Propensity Score Matching and logit regression were applied to assess the causal effects of poultry farming on income, dietary diversity, health, and education outcomes. The results show that urban poultry farming significantly boosts household income, which supports essential expenditures like food, healthcare, and education. Poultry-farming households demonstrated better dietary diversity and more frequent consumption of protein-rich foods, along with improved health status and reduced medical costs. Educationally, these households had higher school enrollment rates and faced fewer financial barriers. Despite these benefits, challenges, including high feed costs, disease outbreaks, limited veterinary services, and market access constraints, affect productivity and growth. The study highlights urban poultry farming’s role as a sustainable livelihood strategy and recommends improvements in veterinary care, feed affordability, market infrastructure, and supportive urban policies, with suggestions for further research on health impacts and gender dynamics.