Nine Tunisian feed manufacturers took part in a train-the-trainer program recently held at Auburn University. The U.S. Grains Council program is designed to equip industry leaders with the technical information and practical experience needed to teach their peers how to improve their poultry and feed operations back home.

The training helps these trainers address production inefficiencies across the Middle East and North Africa and positions U.S. coarse grains and co-products to capture growing feed demand.

The council leveraged a U.S. State Department grant to establish a Center for Feed Manufacturing in Tunis, Tunisia, housed at the National Institute of Agronomy of Tunisia. Since fall 2017, the program has offered curricula in feed manufacturing and animal nutrition for the Tunisian feed industry accompanied by interactive hands-on training in the center’s feed mill. The industry members trained at Auburn will serve as trainers for this center, furthering the educational opportunities available locally.

“Market development is a core component of the council’s efforts to find new opportunities for exporting U.S. coarse grains and co-products globally,” said Ramy Taieb, USGC regional director for the Middle East and Africa. “This program focuses on helping the Tunisian feed industry realize its tremendous potential for growth, which will lead to increased demand for grains and create more opportunities for U.S. farmers and exporters to capture additional market share.”

The Tunisian program was designed to follow a train-the-trainer model. All participants must complete an online program in feed manufacturing and animal nutrition before enrolling. Developed in partnership with Iowa State University, almost 200 students have completed the online course to date. The curriculum itself is taught by leading Tunisian feed industry professionals, who have participated in advanced feed manufacturing courses in the United States.

“The feed manufacturing and animal nutrition expertise at our partnering organizations - including Iowa State University, the Northern Crops Institute and Auburn University - ensure the trainers are provided with the most innovative, yet relevant, feed manufacturing and management practices,” Taieb said. “The skills essential for teaching have also been embedded into all training programs, ensuring these trainers are effective when they facilitate their course curriculum at the center.”

More than 190 feed industry professionals will have undergone in-classroom training at the Center for Feed Manufacturing in Tunisia before the State Department grant ends in April 2020.

The council is using funds from USDA’s Section 108 program to expand this program into a regional hub for training for the Middle East and Africa region over the next three to four years. Twenty feed manufacturers from Algeria participated in the first expanded training program at the Center in December 2019.

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