Assessment of the supply and quality of broiler chicken diets from selected feed mills in Tanzania

A study was conducted to evaluate the supply and nutrient composition of broiler feeds from selected feed millers in the Morogoro, Pwani, and Dar es Salaam regions of Tanzania. Nineteen feed mills were assessed, and a representative from each region was interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Feed samples from each feed mill representing starter, grower, and finisher diets were collected for proximate analysis. The study showed that the average broiler feed production (tonnes/year) per feed mill was approximately 12,000 for Morogoro, 15,400 for Pwani, and 35,000 for Dar es Salaam. Feed production was mainly constrained by inadequate supply and low quality of ingredients, high costs of production equipment, restricted market access, and limited capital investment. The major feed ingredients listed were maize, maize bran, cottonseed cake, sunflower seed meal, soybean meal, and fish meal, while the micro ingredients included blood meal, salt, limestone, dicalcium phosphate, and premixes. Ingredients were mostly sourced from contract suppliers and local markets. The majority of feeds were processed in mash form, while a few were pelleted. There was considerable variation in the nutrient composition of the feeds of different producers. In most of the feeds examined, crude protein (CP), metabolizable energy (ME), and amino acids were below the recommended levels for broiler chickens; fat, Mg, and Na were at the recommended levels; and P, Ca, Mn, Fe, and Zn exceeded the recommended levels. Starter feeds were more costly than grower and finisher feeds, and pelleted feeds were more costly than mash feeds. The feed ingredient prices were high between October and March and lower during the June to July crop harvesting season. In general, commercially processed feeds from different companies showed large variations in nutrient composition; the majority had values below the recommended standards for broiler chickens, while some exceeded and few attained these standards.