Livestock feed production facility

 Project Focus: Diversifying the farming system / Income generation

Estimated cost: 46.000 Euros

 

CONTENT

1.0 Information on applicant organization

2.0 Project context

2.1 Justification

2.2 Objectives

2.3 Beneficiaries

2.4 Project impact

2.5  Sustainability and appropriation mechanism                                                                                                                      

2.6  Marketing strategy

2.7  Management community

2.8  Service providers

Appendix 2:

Chede Muambong Farmers Cooperative Society Certificate

Appendix 4:

Development Plan

 

TABLES:

Table 1-     Logical framework

Table 2-     Project implementation

Table 3-     Budget

Table 4-     Budget contribution by partners

 

Annexes:

–          Attestation of ownership

–          Site map of project

–          Infrastructure development plan

–          Proformas

–          Tenders

–          Attestation of project account

–          Proof of beneficiary contribution

 

A. INFORMATION ON APPLICANT ORGANISATION.

 

1. Identity

1.1 Name: Chede Muambong Farmers Cooperative Society

1.2 Head office: Muambong, Bangem Sub-Division, Kupe Muanenguba Division, South West Region, Cameroon.

Tel:     22 12 52 99

77 73 52 70

79 54 89 29

  1.3 Head office: Muambong, Bangem Sub- Division, Kupe Muanenguba Division, South West Region.

Email: chede@chede.org

Website:  www.chede.org

1.4 Geographical scope:   Kupe-Muanenguba division

1.5 Activities: Support farmer organizations in terms of production, value addition and marketing of products.

 

2.0. Project Context:

Chede Muambong Farmers Cooperative Society (Chede Muafcoop) Ltd is currently implementing in Muambong, through its Community Development Committee, a sizeable piggery project supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) the extension of which project will require for its long-term sustainability the continuous production of animal feed within the locality. Accordingly, Chede Muafcoop is requesting ACEFA to support this present animal feed-production project in order to ensure the sustainability of the UNDP-supported piggery project and other similar livestock projects in Kupe Muanenguba Division. All forms of animal production, growth and reproduction, require livestock feed everyday. The key to abundant animal production is the availability of cheap and balanced feed. Feed dictates how many animals you can grow and how fast they can mature for the market. Feed input is about 80-90% the cost of producing pigs, chicken, and rabbits among others, depending on your location. The feed is manufactured by feed companies and distributed by middle men who are situated far away thus leading to increase in the prices of these products. This project will enable us formulate feed from scratch using the available (local) raw materials and through this, we will be able to save 30-40% of the cost of affording for commercial feed.

2.1. Justification:

The most important justification for the present project is the need to guarantee the economical sustainability of the UNDP-supported piggery project mentioned above, and to encourage other farmer organizations in the Division to diversify into livestock activities with the assurance that they will have a reliable local source of animal feed. Traditionally, pigs are a source of high protein, their feed can be produced from agricultural by-products unsuitable for human consumption. The increasing demand for pork and the importance of feed requires a practice-oriented approach. Nevertheless, animal feed production is the most limiting factor in relation to livestock production, as it may be in short supply to being very expensive. Furthermore, small scale rural farmers cannot compete with the large scale, peri-urban, and vertically integrated systems using the same type of feed resources (i.e., imported grain cereals and protein sources). In order to succeed, these farmers need to develop alternative pig production systems, mainly based on the use of locally available feed resources, preferably produced in the same farm, and avoiding as much as possible any processing that will increase the cost of production. An additional justification for this project is the urgent need for alternative methods of feed production considering the expensive and/or lack of availability of animal feed. Again, the limited availability of feed producing units within the South West region calls for an urgent need to establish one, for the sustainable production and extension of UNDP sponsored livestock projects within the region. The abundant availability of local materials suitable for feed production requires livestock feed to be cheap, but this is not the case. There is the need for serious producers to step into producing some or all of their own feeds, the necessity for this project.

2.2.    Objectives:

To set up a feed processing facility adaptable to local production conditions in order to ensure regular and economical supply of animal feed to the ongoing UNDP-supported piggery project in Muambong and others to be established in future by other farmer groups in Kupe Muanenguba Division.

To reduce production cost within the range of 30-40%, by producing good quality compound feed at affordable prices using local materials

To transfer relevant knowledge, skills and technology concepts to small and intermediate livestock farmers and ditto animal feed producing units.

Output 1.        Setup a production unit adaptable to local production condition.

The major constraint to livestock feed production is the scarcity of feed which is due in one part to the absence of appropriate technology adaptable to the transformation of local material to complete rations. An appropriate feed plant will be ideal, which will embody these aspects;

Technical aspects: receipt of raw material; transport system; storage; cleaning; drying; blending; grinding; mixing; and weighing.

Nutritional aspects: ration formulation from different raw materials; quality feed stuffs; utilization of waste and byproducts and preparation of compound feeds.

Production aspects: feed unit with a production capacity of 10-15 tons/month.

Output 2:       Reduce production cost within the range of 30-40%.

 . The abundant availability of local materials suitable for feed production requires livestock feed to be cheap, but this is not the case. The key to abundant animal production is availability of cheap and balanced feed. Most ( 75%) feed manufacturers are located in the Littoral region about 150km from this project site(Kupe Muanenguba division).They buy their raw materials grains and oil cakes from the south west, west and northwest regions. They incure cost of transportation and labour, his profit and interest on money borrowed, possible kick backs which are all billed into his invoice. More cost is also incurred on the importation of vitamins and premix at exorbitant prices, cost of grinding and mixing the fed among others. The manufacturer has to add his own costs and profit, the distributor has to make-up or increase the price to cover his cost of handling and profit. The feed user pays all these cost.

All these and many more cost will be reduced to a bare minimum through the establishment of a feed mill in target zone, use of local materials, and the ability to produce your own feed.

Output 3.        Capacity building.

Training in practical feed production is the way forward to free from ever increasing feed prices by utilizing feedstuffs in our environment at a cheaper price. Hither to, information on local feeds for livestock is scanty, if not available, due to some of these constraints; how to formulate feed ingredients, how to process some difficult feed stuffs like blood, soybean and bone. This project will address the relevance of transfer of knowledge, skills and technology concepts to small and intermediate livestock farmers and ditto animal feed producing units. It will also tackle more efficiently the problems regarding the optimum utilization of locally available feed stuffs, which are unsuitable for human consumption. Through training producers will be able to identify, recognize and analyse opportunities and problems, taking into account constraints and utilize possibilities concerning livestock production and the use of local feed stuffs. As a result of the training, producers will be able to manage or supervise or guide pig production from backyard systems to intensive, intermediate scale pig farming methods.

Output 4. Identify local stakeholders and raw materials.

The need for this project to create a sustainable source of raw material is extremely vital if the objectives are to be met. Accordingly the projects management arrangements will give pride of place to the organization of farmer groups having a stake in piggery farming. The Chede network of farmer groups that is well established will be able to organize its members and non members, in the sustainable production of raw materials for the feed mill unit.

Again the Chede-IITA partnership for the testing, multiplication and propagation of some researched cultivars of starchy  crops (plantain, banana, and cassava), all of which are the necessary raw materials for the production of animal feed is an added advantage to boost the production of high yielding raw materials and eventually the implementation of this project. Propagate with women groups’ through group farmers, breeder protein maize and soybeans, which constitute the main component of the feed.

2.3  Beneficiaries:

The main beneficiaries of this project are the members of the Chede Muambong Farmers Cooperative Society (consisting of: poor peasant farmers, women, unemployed youths-school leavers and retired or retrenched workers who are members of the cooperative society) and over the long term, farmers who are wiling to carryout piggery farming on a small or medium scale with emphasis being given to women who are the main growers of pigs on a small scale (backyards). The first pilot beneficiary of this project will be the ongoing Chede-UNDP piggery farm in muambong.