The multi-million dollar grant will fund the roll-out of several small-scale feed solutions which will help African livestock farmers increase the profitability of their farms.
Animal nutrition company Nutreco has received a USD 4.8 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which it claims will accelerate the implementation of localised, sustainable complete feed production in sub-Saharan Africa, driving forward the Dutch firm’s Feeding the Future programme.
Compound feed production across the continent is some of the lowest in the world, and some of the most expensive due to inefficiencies and infrastructure challenges. As a result, small-scale livestock producers face declining incomes and uncertain futures, unless they gain access to quality animal feed.
As the middle-class of Africa grows and many Africans start to have access to more disposable income, the demand for meat and dairy products will continue to grow.
The USD 4.8 million grant will directly fund 21 Hendrix4U complete feed production projects initially in Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Uganda. Hendrix4U provides a ‘factory-in-a-box’ for rural areas ensuring access to quality compound feed production for small-scale producers, in a “financially sustainable way” according to Nutreco.
The 37 Hendrix4U projects in total, which all include a full-service package for small-scale feed production, will not only improve local feed value chains, but also critically improve the profitability of over 15,000 poultry and dairy producers, Nutreco claims.
Source: Newfoodmagazine
