This paper discusses the village chicken upgrading programme in Malawi. It looks at the objectives of the programme, its implementation, the problems faced and how it can be improved. The village chicken upgrading programme started in the early 1950s. Its main aim is to improve egg and meat production from indigenous chickens through crossbreeding using the Black Australorp. The programme is hampered by many problems such as ill defined objectives and implementation strategies, lack of proper poultry husbandry skills, inconsistent and poor supply of birds, lack of cheap feed of reliable quality, prevalence of diseases, poor livestock extension services and lack of easily accessible veterinary services. Potential solutions and recommendations for improving the project are suggested.
