Addressing feed gap using resilient forage-based feed options and densification: A perspective from Tunisia with wider applicability

In the face of animal feed insecurities, the present
perspective focuses on Tunisia and explores the
potential of locally available materials - such as,
forages and by-products - to increase quality feed
supply in the country. Forage production from a mix of
forage species (triticale, oats, fenugreek, and vetch) in
different proportions to pellet production using a mix
of grains of maize, barley and soybean and locally
available feed ingredients such as date palm
byproducts, grain brans, tomato plant, saline-tolerant
local alfalfa, among others are being increasingly used
by small and medium farmers. Business models
through public-private partnerships that include feed
densification technologies like pelletization provide a
novel solution to spatially configure feed supply in the
north and demand sink in southern Tunisia where
agroecological conditions are arid. With appropriate
and effective policy and enabling environment, these
adaptive strategies that build local resilience have
applicability in Tunisia and beyond.