Nutreco, a Dutch producer of animal nutrition, fish feed, and processed meat products, has received a US$4.8 million grant to establish feed mills in hard-to-reach communities in Africa.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant is one of the foundation’s first investments in the animal feed space, and it will be used to accelerate the implementation of localised, sustainable complete feed production in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Due to inefficiencies and infrastructure challenges, compound feed production in Africa is limited, and feed production facilities are expensive to install.
As a result, according to Nutreco, small-scale livestock farmers face reduced margins and uncertain futures unless they gain access to quality animal feed.
The $4.8 million grant will directly fund 21 Hendrix4U complete feed production projects in Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, and Uganda at first.
According to Nutreco, Hendrix4U is a “factory-in-a-box” for rural areas that ensures access to quality compound feed production for small-scale producers in a financially sustainable manner.
In addition to the facilities themselves, feed-producing distributors gain access to training and education in those markets.
They will learn how to evaluate raw materials in terms of quality and nutritional value in order to validate the use of local crops for specific animal nutrition applications.
They will also be taught how to reduce the risk of mycotoxin contamination in compound feed components, as well as feed mill management, finance, and business acumen, among other things.
