Duck Production for Food Security

Poultry meat and eggs are one of the most widely consumed animal origin food in various parts of the world, across a wide variety of cultures, traditions and religions. In 2016 the duck population (Anas spp.) throughout the world reached 1.24 billion and 1.1 billion (89 percent) were in Asia. The production of meat and duck eggs is still lower than chickens, but ducks make a significant contribution in providing high-quality nutritional food needs. The consumption of duck eggs accounts for around 10-30% of total egg consumption in China and Southeast Asia. Duck eggs contain all essential amino acids required by the human diet and are a good source of vitamins and minerals. Due to lower water content, they are more nutrient than chicken eggs. Asian is the leading continent in duck meat production with a share of 82.2%, followed by Europe with 12.4%. Asia has also the highest increase of total and of per capita duck meat by 308% and 244%, respectively. Almost 10 percent of poultry meat in Asia is compared to 4.1% in the world. People consume the duck meat because of their high nutritional value with complete essential amino acid composition and good fatty acid composition with a high percentage of polyunsaturated fatty acids and a balanced ratio between omega-6 fatty acids and omega-3. Large-scale duck production requires more efforts for higher efficiency and improving product quality by breeding, nutrition and management in accordance with animal welfare requirements and environmental protection. Family duck farmers (small-scale production) with limited capital contribute significantly to food security, poverty alleviation, and the ecologically sound management of natural resources. Farmers must have more access to obtain good duck breed, appropriate technology, and service support, which can substantially increase productivity, income, and food security.