🐄 Section 1 — Animal Setup
🌾 Section 2 — Feed Ingredients
Locally available Moroccan feeds are pre-checked. Uncheck feeds you cannot source, or add others.
💰 Section 3 — Budget (Optional)
Formulate balanced feed rations for Atlassi cattle, Beni Guil & Sardi sheep, Béni Arouss goats using berseem hay, barley, sunflower cake and locally available Moroccan feeds. Prices in MAD (Dirham).
Locally available Moroccan feeds are pre-checked. Uncheck feeds you cannot source, or add others.
Morocco's livestock sector is a vital component of the agricultural economy, with cattle, sheep, goats, and poultry production spread across the country's diverse agroecological zones. The country has approximately 3.5 million cattle, 22 million sheep, and 6 million goats, and a highly developed poultry industry producing over 700,000 tonnes of white meat annually. The dairy sector, centered in the Gharb, Doukkala, Chaouia, and Tadla regions, produces over 2.5 billion liters of milk annually. Morocco's feed industry is one of the most developed in Africa, with over 100 licensed feed mills producing compound feeds, led by companies including Alf Sahel, Cicalim, and Afriquia Gaz Animal Feed Division. The Plan Generation Green emphasizes livestock value chain development, including improved feeding practices and domestic feed ingredient production. The traditional pastoral system in the eastern and southern regions faces challenges from drought and rangeland degradation.
Morocco benefits from a diverse feed ingredient base combining domestic production with strategic imports. Barley is the traditional and most widely used grain for livestock in Morocco, grown extensively in the rainfed areas of the Chaouia, Saiss, and eastern regions. Wheat bran from the country's extensive wheat milling industry is one of the most commonly used dairy and sheep feed ingredients. Sugar beet pulp from Morocco's sugar industry (COSUMAR) provides a valuable energy-rich byproduct for dairy cattle rations. Sunflower meal from the domestic oilseed industry offers protein supplementation. Imported soybean meal is the primary protein source for the poultry industry. Olive cake (grignon) from Morocco's large olive oil industry is used as a low-cost roughage supplement for sheep and cattle, though it requires careful inclusion rate management. Alfalfa (lucerne) is grown under irrigation, particularly in the Tadla, Souss, and Haouz regions, providing premium quality forage. Maize silage is increasingly adopted by modern dairy farms. Cactus pads (Opuntia) serve as a drought-resilient feed source in the semi-arid zones, providing water and energy to small ruminants. Cereal stubble grazing after harvest is a traditional and economically important feed resource across the major grain-producing plains.
Feed costs in Morocco's livestock sector are significantly impacted by the country's variable rainfall patterns, which create pronounced inter-annual variation in domestic barley and forage production. In drought years, barley prices can double or triple, and the government typically responds by reducing or eliminating import duties on animal feed ingredients. Farmers can manage costs by establishing on-farm reserves of barley and hay during good production years, investing in alfalfa and improved pasture establishment for long-term forage security, and using industrial byproducts (sugar beet pulp, olive cake, wheat bran) that have more stable pricing than grain. The government provides drought relief support including subsidized barley imports and feed distribution through regional agriculture offices during severe drought events. Feed ingredient markets operate in all major cities, with Casablanca, Fes, and Meknes being particularly important trading centers. Cooperative purchasing through COPAG and other dairy cooperatives helps smallholder dairy farmers access compound feeds at negotiated prices. The National Federation of Breeders and Livestock Producers (FIVIAR) advocates for policies to stabilize feed costs, including strategic grain reserves and favorable import tariff regimes during drought periods.