Special Edition: Feed developments in the Middle East and Africa
Blue Revolution
Earlier this year, we reported on how Skretting, Nutreco’s fish feed division, is lending its expertise to a new tilapia feed plant in Kenya run by animal and human nutrition product developer, Unga Holdings.
“We are not investing capital in the facility, but provide knowledge and expertise on feed formulation, production and marketing,” Mark Woldberg, corporate spokesperson for Nutreco, told us previously.
The factory has the capacity to produce 5,000 tons of high quality extruded floating fish feed annually for the East African market, he said. It will targeting tilapia production first and then the growing catfish market
Skretting is one of many players involved in the setting up of the extruded feed plant in Nairobi, developed as part of the Dutch public/private partnership, FoodTechAfrica that is looking to stimulate fish farming - a blue revolution - in East Africa.
Dutch companies Ottevanger Milling Engineers and Almex Extrusion designed and manufactured the facility’s equipment.
Some 14 public and private entities, in total, are involved in FoodTechAfrica. The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs provides co-financing to the consortium’s activities.
Meanwhile, in July this year, Aller Aqua announced that its new fish feed facility would open in Zambia in the autumn. The company is looking at feed ingredient quality as a way to support the growth of farmed catfish and tilapia in Africa.
Aquaculture production has been expanding in several African countries, but especially for catfish in Nigeria, siad the company. However, feed quality remains a limiting agent.