Feed block technology in West Asia and North Africa

Abstract

Feed Block Technology is gaining interest worldwide. Rendering numerous agro-industrial by-products useful for livestock feeding, extending their use for long periods, and reducing the use of common concentrate feed without decreasing the animal performance, thus improving farmer's income are the main arguments justifying the interest devoted to this cost-effective alternative supplement. Feed blocks have the potential to ensure a balanced, synchronized, and fractionated supply of essential nutrients to animals on poor diets. They may therefore improve the digestion of fibrous feedstuffs. They may be used also as a carrier of several anthelmintic products for grazing and to improve the nutritive value of tanniniferous browse species. Although research studies confirmed these advantages, numerous end-users mostly farmers ignore or are still not familiar with this technology. Farmer farmer-participatory approach was found as an efficient way to overcome this situation. This booklet addresses a review of the role of the Mashreq and Maghreb Project. which is coordinated by the International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) hosted by eight countries from West Asia and North Africa (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria), in the development and transfer of feed block technology to farmers. An overview of locally available feed sources, a description of feed block technology, and achievements in these countries are reported and discussed along with this review. Future needs to guarantee the sustainability of this technology are mentioned.