Experts from parts of Africa are discussing ways of localizing animal feed production for the livestock industry.

The international conference on Animal Nutrition which ended over the weekend in Kumasi focused on producing feed at a reduced cost.

There are concerns continued importations of fish meal and other products place a burden on local farmers. Feed is the major input cost in livestock faming in Ghana and other developing countries.

The search for alternatives to conventional sources of supply has become imperative.

Increasing cost of commercial fish feed has compelled many small-scale pond fish farmers in Ghana to resort to agro-industrial by-products, kitchen and other waste matter as feed.

Some fish farmers alternate commercial feed with raw farm products. In the preparation of the farm-made feed, nutritional composition receives little or no attention.

According to Professor Steve Amissah of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), most of the Ghanaian feeds are not rightly formulated.

“The feed must have all the ingredients including lipids and protein for the growth of the fish,” he said.

Experts at the conference  discussed key ways of improving various feeds for use by farmers at affordable prices.

Ultimately, the move is expected to improve food security on the African continent.

Nigerian fish nutrition expert, Professor Oyedapo Adewale Fagbenro, said the time for Africa to be self-reliant in feed production is now.

“Do we need to import for human and then import for animals when they are varieties of feed materials that are wasted and underutilised," he noted.

Prof Fagbreno said it is necessary African countries focus on recycling waste and reducing cost adding, “If Africa has political independence, they should also have animal feed industry independence”.

The conference is part of efforts to take a holistic decision to tackle the challenge.

Aquaculture is a priority on Ghana’s economic development agenda since it is a major source of protein.

A national policy on the subject was adopted in July 2013, with the objective of increasing aquaculture production from 40,000 tons at the time to 130,000 tons by 2018.

The country also has large quantities of potential raw materials for feed development

Against this background, the two-day international conference was held under the theme, “Agro By-products in Animal Feed Production in West Africa.”

Participants will collate data on agro by-products for dissemination to other parts of the sub-region

Scientists, manufacturers and traders of animal feed are attending to share experiences in animal feed value chain.