Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute of Iran

Revival of the Arian Chicken Line and Its Entry into the National Poultry Production Chain after 20 Years

The "National Program for the Revival of the Arian Chicken Line" was initiated in June 2020. This initiative, led by the Ministry of Agriculture Jihad and involving 20 governmental and private institutions, aimed at:

a) protecting and preserving the valuable Arian chicken line

b) increasing self-sufficiency in the national poultry meat supply by reviving the Arian chicken line and integrating it into the production chain

c) improving poultry meat health by promoting the consumption and use of chickens at appropriate ages and weights (chicken sizes).

Despite numerous challenges, the Arian chicken line was successfully revived and reintroduced into the national poultry production chain in 2021. By 2020, just nine months after the program's initiation, the Arian chicken line played a crucial role in countering the impact of sanctions and preventing a crisis in poultry production by supplying over 150,000 grandparent broiler chickens (60% of the country's needs) and 837,000 parent broiler chickens (9% of the country's needs). Furthermore, in 2021, the supply of 360,000 grandparent broiler chickens (100% of the country's needs) and 6.3 million parent broiler chickens (50% of the country's needs) paved the way for achieving complete self-sufficiency in broiler parent production.