Livestock feed production or animal feed production refers to the process of producing animal feed from raw agricultural products. Feed produced by manufacturing is formulated to meet specific animal nutrition requirements for different species of animals at different life stages. Animal feed is food given to domestic animals in the course of animal husbandry.
The livestock feed production industry has been largely promoted as one of the most profitable agribusinesses to venture into. This is because the producer does not undergo the risk and high costs of raising farm animals, which could usually cost a lot of money to run, probably get sick, or even worse.
As a livestock farmer you can as well produce your own feed. Africa, especially Nigeria, has a major impact in the worldwide production and distribution of livestock feed. In 2018, for instance, the Nigerian animal feed sector was rated the 40th largest in the world, which is 11 steps ahead of its position in the previous years. This shows that Nigerian farmers are quickly getting involved more in the sector, because of the opportunities that abound in it.
About 1 billion tonnes of animal feed is sold worldwide, whereas Nigeria alone was estimated to have produced approximately 3.8 million metric tons of animal feed in 2014 alone. The Nigerian Institute of Animal Science statistics also shows that Nigeria hit 5.3 million metric tonnes (MT) of animal feed in 2015, as it produced 3.2 million metric tonnes (MMT) of eggs, 1.1 million metric tonnes (MMT) of chicken meat, 647,750 metric tonnes of aquaculture, 265,000 metric tonnes of pork, 53,000 metric tonnes of milk, and 41,250 metric tonnes of beef, amongst others. News Diary