Committed, co-dependent or cautious? Shared perceptions of biosecurity among Bangladesh's chicken producers

In Asia, intensive poultry production is increasing and at constant risk of infectious disease transmission. Major risk factors include varying levels of biosecurity implementation, which typically depend on each individual's perception. This study aimed to explore the range of perceptions of common farming practices shared among broiler chicken farmers in Bangladesh in 2019. Combining qualitative and quantitative approaches, we used the Q-methodology to identify and characterise groups of farmers with similar perceptions of biosecurity and farm management. First, 40 opinion statements were generated based on 16 semi-structured interviews and a focus group discussion. Topics included advantages and disadvantages of farming practices, their feasibility and cost-effectiveness, and sources of information. Another 30 farmers were then invited to distribute these opinion statements on a sorting grid (ranging from 'not at all like me' to 'very much like me'), depending on how much they identified with each of them. Finally, principal component and factor analysis were applied to group farmers according to the sorts obtained. Three factors, representing 54% of the total variance, were extracted and used to characterise 3 groups of farmers. The first group comprised 11 participants who appreciated the benefits of biosecurity and were happy to invest both time and money (the 'Committed'). The 8 participants contributing to the second group were less confident and relied mostly on external sources of advice. They did not consider themselves better decision-makers and were easily influenced by other stakeholders, especially through patron-client relationships with feed dealers (the 'Codependent'). The last group included 6 participants who were very concerned about infectious diseases and refused any interference by feed dealers (the 'Cautious'). This study identified 3 groups of farmers with differing perceptions, for which tailored interventions, addressing group-specific needs, can be designed to improve biosecurity and farm management in Bangladesh's poultry production.