Poultry farm distribution models developed along a gradient of intensification

Efficient planning of measures limiting epidemic spread requires information on farm locations and sizes (number of animals per farm). However, such data are rarely available. The intensification process which is operating in most low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), comes together with a spatial clustering of farms, a characteristic epidemiological models are sensitive to. We developed farm distribution models predicting both the location and the number of animals per farm, while accounting for the spatial clustering of farms in data-poor countries, using poultry production as an example. We selected four countries, Nigeria, Thailand, Argentina and Belgium, along a gradient of intensification expressed by the per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP). First, we investigated the distribution of chicken farms along the spectrum of intensification. Second, we built farm distribution models (FDM) based on censuses of commercial farms of each of the four countries, using point pattern and random forest models. As an external validation, we predicted farm locations and sizes in Bangladesh. The number of chicken per farm increased gradually in line with the gradient of GDP per capita in the following order: Nigeria, Thailand, Argentina and Belgium. Interestingly, we did not find such a gradient for farm clustering. Our modelling procedure could only partly reproduce the observed datasets in each of the four sample countries in internal validation. However, in the external validation, the clustering of farms could not be reproduced and the spatial predictors poorly explained the number and location of farms and farm sizes in Bangladesh. Further improvements of the methodology should explore other covariates of the intensity of farms and farm sizes, as well as improvements of the methodology. Structural transformation, economic development and environmental conditions are essential characteristics to consider for an extrapolation of our FDM procedure, as generalisation appeared challenging. We believe the FDM procedure could ultimately be used as a predictive tool in data-poor countries.