🐄 Section 1 — Animal Setup
🌾 Section 2 — Feed Ingredients
Locally available Tunisian feeds are pre-checked. Uncheck feeds you cannot source, or add others.
💰 Section 3 — Budget (Optional)
Formulate balanced feed rations for Holstein-Friesian dairy cattle, Barbarine & Queue Fine de l’Ouest sheep, Local Tunisian goats using berseem hay, barley, soybean meal and locally available Tunisian feeds. Prices in TND.
Locally available Tunisian feeds are pre-checked. Uncheck feeds you cannot source, or add others.
Tunisia's livestock sector is centered on dairy cattle (approximately 700,000 head), sheep (over 7 million, including the famous Queue Fine de l'Ouest breed), goats (1.5 million), and a modern poultry industry. The dairy sector is concentrated in the northern regions (Beja, Jendouba, Bizerte, Ariana) where rainfall and forage conditions are favorable, producing approximately 1.4 billion liters of milk annually. The sheep sector is economically and culturally important, with the Eid al-Adha (Eid el-Kebir) festival creating a major seasonal demand spike. Tunisia's feed industry is well-developed, with over 200 licensed feed mills producing compound feeds, overseen by the Office de l'Elevage et des Paturages (OEP) and the Groupement Interprofessionnel des Viandes Rouges et du Lait (GIVLait). The country imports significant quantities of feed ingredients, particularly soybeans, maize, and barley, making the sector sensitive to international market fluctuations.
Tunisia's feed ingredient supply combines domestic forage and grain production with significant imports. Barley is the traditional and most widely used feed grain, grown in the semi-arid central and southern regions and supplemented by imports during drought years. Wheat bran and wheat middlings from the country's extensive milling industry are among the most commonly used concentrate ingredients for dairy cattle and sheep. Soybean meal is imported and used extensively in poultry and dairy concentrate feeds. Olive cake (grignon d'olive) from Tunisia's large olive oil industry is used as a low-cost roughage and energy supplement for sheep and cattle, particularly during the dry season. Sugar beet pulp from the domestic sugar industry provides valuable fiber and energy for dairy rations. Oat and triticale forages, grown during winter, provide high-quality green feed for dairy cattle in the north. Sulla (Hedysarum coronarium) is a unique Mediterranean legume forage widely cultivated in the Tell region, providing excellent quality hay and green feed. Cactus pads (Opuntia ficus-indica) are extensively used as a drought-resilient feed source for sheep in the central and southern semi-arid zones, providing both energy and water during dry periods. Concentrated feed blocks (aliments de betail) containing barley, wheat bran, and mineral supplements are commercially produced and widely used for sheep supplementation.
Feed costs in Tunisia are heavily influenced by rainfall patterns and international grain prices, with drought years causing dramatic increases in both domestic grain prices and demand for imported feed ingredients. The government plays an active role in stabilizing feed costs through the Office des Cereales, which manages strategic grain reserves and regulates barley and wheat bran prices. During drought emergencies, the government subsidizes barley imports and distributes subsidized feed concentrates through regional OEP offices and the network of private feed dealers. Sheep fattening for Eid al-Adha creates a seasonal demand peak in feed ingredients during the months preceding the festival, typically pushing prices higher. Dairy farmers benefit from the relatively stable pricing of commercial compound feeds produced by major feed companies. Cost-saving strategies include cultivating winter forages (oats, sulla, vetch) to reduce purchased concentrate requirements during the October-to-May growing season, utilizing olive cake and cactus during the summer dry period, and purchasing barley and other grains during the post-harvest period (June to July) for storage. Feed ingredients are traded through the central market system in Tunis and regional markets in Sousse, Sfax, and Beja. The UTAP (Union Tunisienne de l'Agriculture et de la Peche) farmers' union negotiates collective purchasing arrangements for its members, and dairy cooperatives facilitate access to compound feeds at negotiated prices.