Abstract:
Food security is a global concern and diversification of poultry farming
provides a promising avenue to address the challenge. This desk study aims to explore
the potential of rearing turkey birds as an alternative poultry species to enhance food
security as well as employment in the rural community. This could be a strategic
approach to strengthen the rural food security and economy. Turkey farming is a
promising business idea that could be implemented in Tank Cascade Systems (TCS)
to empower the rural community. Turkey birds grow faster like broilers and are ready
for the table within a short time. Turkey farming is more popular for meat production
than egg production. Turkey meat provides valuable proteins and vitamins and is a
good source of minerals. However, turkey farming has not been fully exploited to see
the production potential in Sri Lanka. They adapt to a wide range of climatic condi-
tions and can be raised successfully with a well-fed system. The combination of basic
low input-low output, subsistence level growers, and all combinations up to the large-
scale commercial production, provides opportunities to minimize the poverty and
malnutrition. Employment, poverty alleviation, and improved nutrition are all poten-
tial benefits that support the sustainable development of the rural setup. In that con-
text, turkey farming is an alternative and attractive economic activity, especially for
the rural women and poor population in the TCS. Food security could be optimized
through increased protein availability and diversification of protein sources by incor-
porating turkey farming with the existing poultry production systems. Therefore, in-
tegrating turkey farming into the agriculture landscape can contribute to resilient and
secure food security in the rural community.
