According to agriculture and animal production experts who spoke to Sky News Arabia Economy, the fodder crisis, which has intensified for reasons such as the repercussions of the war in Ukraine and the high price of the dollar, is dealt with by the government in 3 ways:
• Locally extract fodder from several crops • Develop new types in research centers • Increase the production capacity of factories.
In this regard, the manager of the Armant Feed Factory in Luxor Governorate, southern Egypt, Dr. Mohamed Abdel Rahman, said that the factory, which was established 25 years ago, can produce 8,000 tons of fodder per year and aims to produce 15 thousand tons with the operation of a second shift per day.
Fodder is produced from “yellow maize”, “wheat bran”, “bagas cane”, “cotton cake”, “molasses”, “dried beet tubers”, “limestone” , “urea table salt” and “agricultural sulfur” . .
production challenges
This speed needed to double production is fraught with challenges, as Abdul Rahman explains, including finding local alternatives, such as adding materials to sugarcane waste instead of imported soybeans from abroad. at high prices, such as beet waste, and the collection of 500 to 1,000 tons. each year from date seeds, in addition to adding cotton seeds and gaining slaves.
And when it is necessary to import, groundnut flour is imported from Sudan due to its geographical proximity to Egypt. This reduces its cost and prices. Indeed, a contract has been signed with a Sudanese company to supply peanut flour at the rate of 300 tons per month, and peanut flour contains more protein than soybean, according to the Egyptian official.
Food manufacturing steps
The production process inside the factories passes, according to Mohamed Abdel Rahman, through the following stages:
• Transfer the bagasse “remains of cane after its juice”. • Grind it before the filtering process and then isolate the soft materials. • Add new material before storing it. • Calculate the materials on the scale and mix them in the mixer. • Transfer them to the press. • Add steam twice for sterilization and to facilitate the manufacturing process, and it is achieved in the form of hot fingers. • It is sent to the cooling stage. • Finally, pack it and transport it to warehouses and farmers.
Develop new species
Egypt cultivates 340,000 acres of sugar cane, of which the harvest of 240,000 acres goes to sugar extraction factories, which is equivalent to 8 million tons, resulting in an annual amount of between 820 and 840 tons of sugar, according to Dr. Ayman Al-Ash. , Director of the Sugar Crops Research Institute affiliated with the Agricultural Research Center.
Palm and new sources
As Egypt is a pioneer in the cultivation of the palm, particularly in the governorates of Aswan and the New Valley, it has sought new ways of making fodder from this crop, explains Sayed Abdel Mohsen, researcher at the Center for agricultural research.
He explains that among the great benefits of the palm tree is the extraction of its fodder, by harvesting the palm kernels and then chopping them, with the addition of other agricultural materials, and they are used to feed livestock animals, calves and even birds.
In televised statements, Dr. Tariq Suleiman, head of the livestock and poultry sector at the Ministry of Agriculture, said the animal feed crisis has emerged since last October due to the war in Ukraine. , and that senior leaders have been discussing this to seek solutions, including assigning scientists from the Center de Recherche Agronomique to design new types of water-efficient fodder.
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