The US Grains Council is planning a training program in Tunisia for the feed industry. The program is planned to last for three years and it has already guaranteed a grant of $1,3 million.

The US Grains Council is starting to work on a training program to grow the feed industry in Tunisia and nearby regions in addition to expanding export opportunities, says global strategies director. According to a report at FeedNavigator, the initial training program stemmed from a $600,000, 18-month grant from the US State Department, focused on feed production in Tunisia, said Kurt Shultz, senior director of global strategies with the US Grains Council (USGC). But in February, the trade organization also received a $1,3 million grant from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to expand the program regionally and for a three-year period. The program in Tunisia will look to provide training to about 10 to 12 members of the country’s feed industry, who will then start to cascading training program, he said.“We will make them trainers,” he said. “And using those people as a larger group of trainers, we hope to work with the regional feed industry.” “The idea has been in process for a long time, we’ve been working with feed millers in the region for 25 years in different capacities,” he said. “A grant become available to do something specific to the country of Tunisia and that’s when the idea became- how can we engage with our office there?” The feed industry in Tunisia and the Middle East and North Africa, is of interest, he said. Those regions have high feed costs.Some of the expense relate to the need to import feed grains, said Shultz. However, there are also several costs associated with feed milling. The training program seeks to address integration and ways to improve efficiency in feed production, he said. “This meant to target those issues and highlight those areas where performance can be improved,” he added.