Poultry feed seminar held for livestock farmers in Sunyani

A Poultry feed seminar has been organised for livestock farmers, mainly poultry farmers in Sunyani, the Bono Regional capital.

The seminar, which brought together more than 100 farmers, was aimed at producing quality feed for the country's poultry and fish sectors.

Organised by Intraco Ltd, a supplier of feed concentrates, in partnership with Sky Agro and Aquaculture Solutions Ltd, it was also aimed at boosting the country's feed industry.

Intraco, a Belgium-based company, said it was investing in the country's livestock feed industry to increase the local production of feed to reduce importation.

The farmers were schooled in nutrition feed production, phases of feed production, heat stress management, biosecurity products, how to maintain their farms and birds, among others.

Decreasing

At the seminar last Wednesday, the Africa Area Sales Manager of Intraco Ltd, Steven Van, said the African countries, including the country’s feed sector, kept decreasing, while the country's youthful population was increasing.

He said the country needed more protein to feed its increasing youthful population, since the majority of the country's population was interested in protein such as eggs, poultry meat and fish.

He said after understanding the local needs, based on the available raw materials and the technical infrastructure, the Intraco-team worked out premixes and concentrates that meet the specific requirements of customers, offering a tailor-made solution using quality ingredients to produce feed.

"With distribution partners across the globe, we are the trusted feed producer of poultry, ruminant and pig feed for farmers as well as a partner for local feed mills when it comes to premium quality feed and corresponding solutions," he said.

Mr Van said the company was committed to supporting the country to produce enough local livestock feed to make the country self-reliant.

Quality feed

He expressed the need for poultry farmers to use quality raw materials or poultry feed to feed their livestock for good products.

Mr Van said Intraco always conducted nutritional analyses on the local raw materials on site to enable them to provide customised feed formulations directly to their clients.

"At Intraco, we understand that there is no one-size-fits-all solution for livestock feeding. We offer responsible and tailor-made solutions based on quality ingredients and expert advice," he said.

Mr Van advised livestock farmers to prevent people from entering their farms to reduce the risk of infecting their farms with diseases.

Feed production

The Chief Executive Officer of Sky Agro and Aquaculture Solutions Ltd, Alfred Agbetsise, said the seminar was organised to educate farmers about the maximisation of feed production, using Intraco, a Belgium company's five per cent layer concentrate.

He said using the Intraco five per cent layer concentrate was the best application in feed production.

Mr Agbetsise explained that the Intraco products would help them to increase their poultry eggs production. Additionally, he said the use of the product would increase the size of their eggs.

A participant, who is the CEO of Swift Farms, Nana Ama Owusuaa, told the Daily Graphic that one of the major challenges in the poultry industry was the lack and high cost of feed.

In that regard, she said farmers sometimes resorted to substandard feeds, which does not help the health of their poultry to lay eggs.

Nana Owusuaa expressed the hope that the introduction of the Intraco products would help reduce their frustrations and improve their farming activities.

Writer's email: biiya.ali@graphic.com.gh