The rapidly increasing imports of cereals (and to a lesser extent of oil meal) for incorporation in compoundfeeds in developing countries responds to the application of classical systems established in and for developed countries. Compound feedstuff production has risen at an average annual rate of approximately 15 percent since the mid-seventies. The number of feed factories has risen very rapidly although their installed capacities are more often than not under-utilised

Apart from the fact that there is competitionbetween man and animal for the use of cereals in developing countries these tendencies make them more dependant upon imports (the total value of annual imports reached several billions of dollars in recent years). In sane cases governmental subsidies for compound feed production may even discourage efforts aimed at increasing domesticfeed production and the search for alternative feeds. In this context FAO has on various occasions been requested by developing countries to assist in seeking effective substitutes for grain in animal feeding.

This expert consultation aimed at:

analysingthe present place of concentrate feeds in animal feeding systems in developing countries

- proposing alternatives to imported feed ingredients or compound feeds

- analysingthe present place of the feed mill industry, identifying the problems arising from its development and considering the role it should have in the future

making recommendations for the development of animal production systems more based on locally available feed resources