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Livestock Feed Pelleting: Small-scale feed production using local agricultural by-products

Farm-to-Feed Innovation: Turning local by-products into affordable, high-quality livestock feed

Small-scale Feed Production Using Local Agricultural By-products is an integrated feed production technology combining locally available agricultural and agro-industrial resources, balanced feed formulations, training, and appropriately selected processing equipment. Feed ingredients are selected according to their availability and livestock nutritional requirements, then ground, mixed and, where appropriate, pelletized. Processing configurations can range from grinder-and-mixer units to complete grinder-mixer-pelletizer lines, depending on production scale, available infrastructure, energy supply, and business needs. The technology supports both commercial feed production and feed-processing-as-a-service models. A recommended small-scale pelletizer has a processing capacity of approximately 500 kg/hour and costs about USD 3,000. Local feed can be produced at approximately 34% lower cost than comparable imported feed concentrates, while allowing businesses to establish processing units adapted to local market conditions.

2

This technology is pre-validated.

9•8

Scaling readiness: idea maturity 9/9; level of use 8/9

Cost vs. revenue

Data reliability of this estimate:: 85 %

Return on investment 9 %

Every USD invested returns USD 0.09 net income.

Detailed financial information ›

IP

Open source / open access

Problem

  • High dependence on expensive imported livestock feed: Reliance on imported feed concentrates increases production costs and reduces the competitiveness of local livestock and feed businesses.
  • Seasonal feed shortages: Climate variability and prolonged droughts reduce feed availability, making it difficult for livestock producers and feed businesses to maintain a reliable supply.
  • Low utilization of agricultural and agro-industrial by-products: Locally available by-products remain underutilized despite their potential as affordable feed ingredients and value-added products.
  • Limited access to appropriate feed processing solutions: Farmers, cooperatives, and feed enterprises often lack suitable feed formulations, technical capacity, and appropriately scaled processing equipment for efficient local feed production.
  • Limited development of local feed processing businesses: Weak local processing capacity limits opportunities for feed production, processing services, equipment manufacturing, and related businesses.

Solution

  • Lower-cost local feed production: Uses locally available agricultural and agro-industrial resources to produce nutritionally balanced feed, reducing reliance on costly imported concentrates and improving business competitiveness.
  • More reliable feed supply: Processing and preserving locally available feed resources helps businesses and livestock producers maintain feed availability during periods of seasonal scarcity.
  • Value addition to local resources: Converts underutilized agricultural and agro-industrial by-products into marketable livestock feed products, creating additional value from locally available resources.
  • Locally adapted feed processing units: Combines feed formulation, training, and appropriately scaled equipment to establish processing units adapted to available resources, production capacity, infrastructure, and market demand.
  • New feed-related business opportunities: Supports commercial feed production, feed-processing services, local equipment manufacturing, supply, maintenance, and related services.

Key points to design your business plan

End User Business

Small-scale Feed Production Using Local Agricultural By-products enables livestock producers, cooperatives, and feed enterprises to establish locally adapted feed production businesses using agricultural and agro-industrial by-products. The approach can reduce dependence on costly imported feed, improve feed availability, and create opportunities for local feed production and processing services.

  • Assess local feed resources and market demand by identifying suitable agricultural and agro-industrial by-products, their availability, seasonality and cost, alongside demand and prevailing feed prices in the target market.
  • Work with ICARDA to design a locally adapted production system, including balanced feed formulations, appropriate processing steps, equipment configuration, production capacity, and training based on local resources, infrastructure, energy availability, and business needs.
  • Right-size the investment according to expected production volumes and market demand. Processing configurations may range from grinding and mixing units to complete grinder-mixer-pelletizer lines rather than requiring a standardized equipment package.
  • Assess business viability using local operating conditions, including ingredient, labor, energy, maintenance and transport costs. Local feed production has demonstrated costs approximately 34% below comparable imported feed concentrates.
  • Build the required technical and business capacity in feed formulation, equipment operation and maintenance, feed quality management, sourcing, and business management.
  • Monitor production costs, equipment utilization, feed quality, customer demand and profitability to guide adjustments and future business expansion.

Manufacturer / Equipment Supplier

The technology creates opportunities for local manufacturers and equipment suppliers to develop appropriately scaled feed-processing equipment for livestock producers, cooperatives, feed enterprises, and processing-service businesses.

  • Work with ICARDA to assess local processing needs and adapt equipment accordingly, including equipment type, capacity, and energy requirements. Local manufacturers can be trained to develop equipment suited to identified production conditions.
  • Develop manufacturing or assembly capacity for appropriate grinders, mixers, pelletizers, and related equipment. Experience in Mali demonstrates the feasibility of locally manufacturing a complete feed-processing line.
  • Ensure equipment quality and reliability through skilled technicians, appropriate manufacturing capacity, equipment testing, and quality control.
  • Develop after-sales services, including installation support, operator training, maintenance, repair, and reliable access to spare parts.
  • Build the market through demonstrations and partnerships with producer organizations, feed enterprises, research and extension institutions, government programs, and development projects.

Distributor / Service Provider

The technology creates opportunities for enterprises and cooperatives to provide feed-processing services, allowing livestock producers to access appropriate processing without individually investing in complete production units.

  • Work with ICARDA to design a locally appropriate service model, including the processing configuration, capacity, feed formulations, operator training, and services required by target livestock producers.
  • Locate processing services close to livestock production areas and feed resources, considering customer demand, transport requirements, and the seasonal availability of agricultural and agro-industrial by-products.
  • Offer processing services adapted to customer needs, including grinding, mixing and, where appropriate, pelletizing.
  • Plan for reliable service delivery through trained operators, equipment maintenance, spare parts, energy supply, and appropriate storage and logistics for seasonal feed ingredients.
  • Set service fees based on operating costs and equipment utilization to maintain affordability for livestock producers while ensuring business viability.
  • Expand customer adoption through demonstrations, training and partnerships with farmer organizations, livestock producer networks, government programs, and development projects.

Positive impacts: 16

Target Groups Positive Impacts
Young women smallholder livestock producers in remote areas
  • Reduces feed-related workload: Access to processed, ready-to-use feed can reduce the time and physical effort required for manual feed preparation. 
  • Improves access to affordable feed: Locally produced feed provides an alternative to costly imported concentrates, particularly during seasonal feed shortages. 
  • Creates livelihood opportunities: Decentralized feed production and processing services create opportunities to participate in income-generating activities. 
  • Strengthens resilience: Improved access to locally produced feed helps livestock producers cope with seasonal feed scarcity and declining grazing resources.
Women in resource-poor farmer organizations and cooperatives
  • Strengthens participation in local feed enterprises: Cooperative production and processing models create opportunities for women to participate in feed production, service delivery, and business management. 
  • Builds technical and business capacity: Training and ToT strengthen skills in feed formulation, equipment operation, feed quality management, and business management. 
  • Improves access to processing services: Shared processing units enable members to access grinding, mixing and, where appropriate, pelletizing without individually investing in equipment. 
  • Improves access to balanced feed: Local processing helps cooperatives make better use of available by-products to supply feed during periods of scarcity.
Young members of resource-poor farmer organizations and cooperatives
  • Creates rural employment opportunities: Feed production, equipment operation and maintenance, logistics, and processing services provide potential employment opportunities. 
  • Supports entrepreneurship: Decentralized feed production and service models create opportunities for youth-led enterprises. 
  • Develops technical and business skills: Training builds capacities in feed formulation, equipment operation and maintenance, feed quality management, and business development. 
  • Strengthens local value chains: Youth can participate in feed production, equipment manufacturing and maintenance, ingredient sourcing, and processing services.
Remote smallholder livestock producers
  • Improves feed availability during seasonal shortages: Processing and storing locally available feed ingredients can improve access to livestock feed when grazing resources are limited. 
  • Valorizes local by-products: Agricultural and agro-industrial by-products are converted into nutritionally balanced livestock feed instead of remaining underutilized. 
  • Reduces dependence on costly imported feed: Locally produced feed provides an alternative to imported concentrates and reduces exposure to external feed markets. 
  • Strengthens climate resilience: Greater availability of alternative feed resources can reduce dependence on increasingly constrained grazing lands and strengthen the resilience of livestock production systems.

 

More...
Unintended impacts: 8
Mitigations: 8
Barriers: 8
Mitigations: 8

Climate adaptability: Highly adaptable

Can be adapted to different agroecological contexts by using locally available agricultural and agro-industrial by-products for livestock feed production.

Farmer climate change readiness: Moderate improvement

Helps farmers maintain livestock productivity during feed shortages by converting locally available agricultural by-products into livestock feed.

Biodiversity: Positive impact on biodiversity

Helps reduce pressure on natural grazing lands by providing an alternative livestock feed from locally available by-products.

Carbon footprint: A bit less carbon released

Promotes locally produced livestock feed from agricultural by-products, reducing reliance on imported feed and associated transport emissions.

Environmental health: Moderately improves environmental health

Promotes the productive use of agricultural and agro-industrial by-products through a circular resource-use approach.

Water use: Same amount of water used

The feed processing steps do not significantly change water use compared with existing livestock feed production practices.

Scaling Readiness describes how complete a technology's development is and its ability to be scaled. It produces a score that measures a technology's readiness along two axes: the level of maturity of the idea itself, and the level to which the technology has been used so far.

Each axis goes from 0 to 9 where 9 is the “ready-to-scale” status. For each technology profile in the e-catalogs we have documented the scaling readiness status from evidence given by the technology providers. The e-catalogs only showcase technologies for which the scaling readiness score is at least 8 for maturity of the idea and 7 for the level of use.

The graph below represents visually the scaling readiness status for this technology, you can see the label of each level by hovering your mouse cursor on the number.

Read more about scaling readiness ›

Scaling readiness score of this technology

Maturity of the idea 9 out of 9

Uncontrolled environment: validated

Level of use 8 out of 9

Used by some intended users, in the real world

Maturity of the idea Level of use
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Key recommendations

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Positive impact 16

Target Groups Positive Impacts
Young women smallholder livestock producers in remote areas
  • Reduces feed-related workload: Access to processed, ready-to-use feed can reduce the time and physical effort required for manual feed preparation. 
  • Improves access to affordable feed: Locally produced feed provides an alternative to costly imported concentrates, particularly during seasonal feed shortages. 
  • Creates livelihood opportunities: Decentralized feed production and processing services create opportunities to participate in income-generating activities. 
  • Strengthens resilience: Improved access to locally produced feed helps livestock producers cope with seasonal feed scarcity and declining grazing resources.
Women in resource-poor farmer organizations and cooperatives
  • Strengthens participation in local feed enterprises: Cooperative production and processing models create opportunities for women to participate in feed production, service delivery, and business management. 
  • Builds technical and business capacity: Training and ToT strengthen skills in feed formulation, equipment operation, feed quality management, and business management. 
  • Improves access to processing services: Shared processing units enable members to access grinding, mixing and, where appropriate, pelletizing without individually investing in equipment. 
  • Improves access to balanced feed: Local processing helps cooperatives make better use of available by-products to supply feed during periods of scarcity.
Young members of resource-poor farmer organizations and cooperatives
  • Creates rural employment opportunities: Feed production, equipment operation and maintenance, logistics, and processing services provide potential employment opportunities. 
  • Supports entrepreneurship: Decentralized feed production and service models create opportunities for youth-led enterprises. 
  • Develops technical and business skills: Training builds capacities in feed formulation, equipment operation and maintenance, feed quality management, and business development. 
  • Strengthens local value chains: Youth can participate in feed production, equipment manufacturing and maintenance, ingredient sourcing, and processing services.
Remote smallholder livestock producers
  • Improves feed availability during seasonal shortages: Processing and storing locally available feed ingredients can improve access to livestock feed when grazing resources are limited. 
  • Valorizes local by-products: Agricultural and agro-industrial by-products are converted into nutritionally balanced livestock feed instead of remaining underutilized. 
  • Reduces dependence on costly imported feed: Locally produced feed provides an alternative to imported concentrates and reduces exposure to external feed markets. 
  • Strengthens climate resilience: Greater availability of alternative feed resources can reduce dependence on increasingly constrained grazing lands and strengthen the resilience of livestock production systems.

 

Unintended impact 8

Target Groups Potential Unintended Impacts Mitigation Measures
Young women smallholder livestock producers in remote areas
  • Unequal access to the technology: Women and young producers may have less access to feed-processing services, technical training, equipment, or finance, limiting their participation and benefits.
  • Increased workload: Participation in feed production activities could add to existing livestock and household responsibilities if workloads are not considered during implementation.
  • Ensure inclusive access: Prioritize women and youth in beneficiary selection, training, demonstrations, processing services, and appropriate financing mechanisms.
  • Consider workload in implementation: Promote accessible processing services and appropriately scaled equipment, and encourage equitable distribution of production and management responsibilities within households and producer organizations.
Women in resource-poor farmer organizations and cooperatives
  • Unequal participation and benefit sharing: Better-resourced or more influential members may dominate decisions and access to equipment, services, training, or income opportunities. 
  • Limited organizational capacity: Weakly structured farmer organizations may face difficulties managing shared equipment, accessing finance, or operating sustainable feed-processing services.
  • Strengthen inclusive governance: Establish transparent rules for access to equipment and services, benefit sharing, and decision-making, while promoting meaningful participation of women in management and leadership.
  • Strengthen organizational capacity: Support farmer organizations in governance, business management, equipment management, and, where required, formal registration and access to finance.
Young members of resource-poor farmer organizations and cooperatives
  • Limited entrepreneurship opportunities: Young members may participate mainly as equipment operators or laborers without opportunities to develop, manage, or own feed-related enterprises.
  • Business discontinuity: Limited working capital and the seasonal availability of agricultural and agro-industrial by-products may interrupt production and threaten the viability of youth-led businesses.
  • Support youth entrepreneurship: Combine technical training with business planning, financial management, enterprise development, and opportunities to manage feed production or processing services.
  • Plan for seasonal sourcing and finance: Facilitate appropriate financing and storage arrangements that allow enterprises to procure and store suitable by-products when they are available.
Remote smallholder livestock producers
  • Unequal access to processing services: Processing units may be concentrated in more accessible areas or managed by better-resourced groups, leaving remote producers underserved.
  • Infrastructure and technical-service constraints: Unreliable energy supply and limited access to equipment maintenance, spare parts, and technical support may disrupt feed production and reduce long-term use.
  • Promote decentralized and locally adapted services: Locate feed-processing services close to livestock-producing communities and work with ICARDA to select equipment configurations and energy solutions adapted to local conditions.
  • Strengthen local support systems: Build local capacity for equipment operation and maintenance and strengthen access to spare parts, technical assistance, manufacturers, suppliers, and extension services.

Barriers 8

Target Groups Primary Adoption Barriers Actionable Mitigation Measures
Young women smallholder livestock producers in remote areas
  • Financial barrier: Limited access to finance may restrict access to feed-processing equipment or affordable processing services.
  • Capacity barrier: Limited access to technical training, extension services, and practical knowledge can constrain participation in local feed production and processing activities.
  • Improve affordable access: Facilitate appropriate financing for individual or collective investment and promote shared feed-processing services where equipment ownership is not viable.
  • Strengthen local capacity: Provide accessible demonstrations, ToT, and practical training on feed formulation, processing, equipment use, and feed quality management.
Women in resource-poor farmer organizations and cooperatives
  • Organizational barrier: Limited organizational and business capacity can constrain access to finance and the effective management of shared feed-production units and services.
  • Governance barrier: Limited participation of women in decision-making may restrict equitable access to training, equipment, processing services, and business opportunities.
  • Strengthen farmer organizations: Build capacity in governance, business management, equipment management, and financial planning, and support formal registration where required to access finance or public support.
  • Promote inclusive governance: Strengthen women's participation in leadership, technical training, and business management, with transparent rules governing access to equipment, services, and benefits.
Young members of resource-poor farmer organizations and cooperatives
  • Business capacity barrier: Limited entrepreneurial and management skills can constrain the development of viable feed production and processing-service businesses.
  • Seasonal working-capital barrier: Limited finance and storage capacity can restrict procurement of agricultural and agro-industrial by-products when they are seasonally available.
  • Develop technical and entrepreneurial capacity: Combine training in feed formulation and equipment operation with business planning, financial management, and enterprise development.
  • Support seasonal sourcing and finance: Facilitate appropriate credit and storage arrangements to enable procurement and conservation of suitable by-products when available.
Remote smallholder livestock producers
  • Infrastructure barrier: Unreliable energy supply and limited access to appropriate equipment, maintenance, spare parts, and technical support can constrain operation of local feed-production systems.
  • Service-access barrier: Long distances to processing units and technical services may limit adoption by remote livestock producers.
  • Adapt the production system to local conditions: Work with ICARDA to assess local needs and identify suitable equipment configurations, processing capacity, and energy solutions rather than deploying a standardized production line.
  • Develop decentralized support and processing services: Establish locally accessible feed-processing services and strengthen local capacity for equipment operation, maintenance, spare-parts supply, and technical assistance.

Cost of the investment
Sum of all fixed and operational expenses.. 		USD 44,250
Per ton of feed produced
Gross revenue
Sum of all income before subtracting costs. 		USD 48,438
Per ton of feed produced
Net income
Gross revenue minus total cost. 		USD 4,188
Per ton of feed produced
Return on investment
Percentage of income earned for each dollar invested, calculated as:
(income ÷ cost of investment) × 100 		9 %
year

References:

Tested & adopted
Adopted
Tested
Testing ongoing
Egypt Equatorial Guinea Ethiopia Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burundi Burkina Faso Democratic Republic of the Congo Djibouti Côte d’Ivoire Eritrea Gabon Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Cameroon Kenya Libya Liberia Madagascar Mali Malawi Morocco Mauritania Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Republic of the Congo Rwanda Zambia Senegal Sierra Leone Zimbabwe Somalia South Sudan Sudan South Africa Eswatini Tanzania Togo Tunisia Chad Uganda Western Sahara Central African Republic Lesotho
Countries where the technology is being tested or has been tested and adopted
Country Testing ongoing Tested Adopted
Ethiopia –
Mali –
Tunisia –

This technology can be used in the colored agro-ecological zones. Any zones shown in white are not suitable for this technology.

Agro-ecological zones where this technology can be used
AEZ Subtropic - warm Subtropic - cool Tropic - warm Tropic - cool
Arid – – –
Semiarid –
Subhumid – – – –
Humid – – – –

Source: HarvestChoice/IFPRI 2009

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that are applicable to this technology.

Sustainable Development Goal 1: no poverty
Goal 1: no poverty

Reduces livestock feeding costs, improves livestock productivity, and increases farmers' income through locally produced feed.
Sustainable Development Goal 2: zero hunger
Goal 2: zero hunger

Strengthens year-round livestock feed availability, improving livestock productivity and contributing to food security.
Sustainable Development Goal 5: gender equality
Goal 5: gender equality

Reduces the time and physical labour traditionally associated with animal feeding, creating opportunities for women to engage in other productive activities.
Sustainable Development Goal 8: decent work and economic growth
Goal 8: decent work and economic growth

Creates business and employment opportunities through feed processing, equipment manufacturing, and feed pelleting services.
Sustainable Development Goal 12: responsible production and consumption
Goal 12: responsible production and consumption

Promotes the productive use of agricultural and agro-industrial by-products through circular resource use and local feed production.
Sustainable Development Goal 15: life on land
Goal 15: life on land

Strengthens livestock resilience to drought by providing locally produced feed from agricultural and agro-industrial by-products.

The technology is implemented by first identifying suitable local by-products and developing balanced feed formulations, then designing a small-scale processing unit adapted to local production needs, infrastructure, energy availability, and business conditions.

Step 1 – Identify locally available by-products: Identify suitable agricultural and agro-industrial by-products and assess their availability, seasonality, nutritional value, and cost.

Step 2 – Develop balanced feed formulations: Combine selected by-products with other necessary feed ingredients according to livestock nutritional requirements and locally available resources.

Step 3 – Design the appropriate processing unit: Select the type, capacity, and combination of equipment according to local conditions. Depending on production needs, infrastructure, energy availability, and investment capacity, the unit may include a grinder, mixer, pelletizer, or a simpler equipment configuration.

Step 4 – Build technical and business capacity: Train operators and farmer organizations in feed formulation, equipment operation and maintenance, feed quality management, and business management.

Step 5 – Produce and store the feed: Grind and mix the formulated ingredients and, where appropriate, pelletize the feed. Store the processed feed under suitable conditions to maintain its quality and availability.

Step 6 – Establish the production or service model: Use the unit for feed production and sale or provide feed-processing services to farmers and cooperative members.

Step 7 – Monitor and adapt operations: Monitor feed quality, production costs, equipment performance, ingredient availability, energy supply, and market demand, and adjust the formulation or processing system as needed.

Last updated on Sep 16, 2026

International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA)
 Udo Rudiger
Commodities
Small livestock
Sustainable Development Goals Details ›
Sustainable Development Goal 1: no poverty
Sustainable Development Goal 2: zero hunger
Sustainable Development Goal 5: gender equality
Sustainable Development Goal 8: decent work and economic growth
Sustainable Development Goal 12: responsible production and consumption
Sustainable Development Goal 15: life on land
public.components.sdgs.motre
Category
Practices
Value chain step
Production Pre-production
Tested/adopted in Details ›
Tested & adopted
Adopted
Tested
Testing ongoing
Where it can be used Details ›

This technology can be used in the colored agro-ecological zones.

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Livestock Feed Pelleting: Small-scale feed production using local agricultural by-products

https://e-catalogs.taat-africa.org/com/technologies/livestock-feed-pelleting-small-scale-feed-production-using-local-agricultural-by-products

Last updated on 16 September 2026, printed on Sep 18, 2026

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