Feed Intervention
TechSheet 9
TechSheet #09 (Version: 16 Sep 2014)
Intervention type
>> Supplementation and supplemental nutrition > Compound multi-nutrient supplements
Balanced concentrate supplements
Need pics + captions in this column
Description
Caption for pics

Balanced concentrates are nutrient-dense supplement to
lower-quality basal feeds. They are formulated to supply a
high level of nutrients to support growth and reproduction.

They are a compound mixture of high-quality feed
ingredients such as cereal by-products, oilcakes, grains,
roots/tubers, molasses, minerals and vitamins.

Many concentrate mixtures contain urea as a non-protein
nitrogen source to partially replace more expensive oil cake
protein sources.

The amount of concentrates added to the basal diet depends
on the quality of the basal diet and the nutritional needs of
the animals. For example, high levels of concentrate
supplementation are need for high milk yields.

Balance concentrates can be purchased or, if suitable
ingredients can be found locally, made by the farmers.

Balance concentrates are usually in the form of powder/mash
or pellets.
Key benefits

Concentrate supplements improve the overall diet, based on
low-medium quality basal feed such as grasses and crop
residues. At low levels they improve the utilization of lowquality basal diets. At high levels they provide the necessary
nutrients for high production such as high milk yields.

Only small amounts of concentrate supplementation are
needed if added to high-quality basal diets such as young
grass and legumes forages.

Homemade concentrate mixtures are economic and make
good use of locally available crop by-products.
Key limitations1


High price of commercial concentrates.

Using concentrates effectively requires a good understanding
of the nutritional needs of animals.
Fluctuating prices of the ingredients needed to make
balanced concentrates. Also, the formulation of concentrate
mixtures requires a high level of knowledge and expertise.
TechFit is a tool to prioritize and select animal feed interventions. It was developed by ILRI under the leadership of Alan Duncan. It
has been further refined and developed with inputs from many individuals in and beyond CGIAR. This is one of a series of feed
intervention ‘TechSheets’ developed alongside the TechFit tool to provide summarized information on different interventions
included in the tool. Werner Stür led the development of the TechSheets. This sheet was prepared by Anandan Samireddypalle.
TechFit is supported by the CGIAR Research Program on Livestock and Fish. ilri.org/techfit

There are cases where the
quality
of
commercial
concentrates is substandard and
it is difficult to verify quality
unless there is good regulation
and quality control.
This document is licensed for use under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.
June 2015
Where does this intervention fit?
Potential to overcome feed limitations
Score
 Feed scarcity during dry season :
very high
 Feed scarcity during cropping season :
medium
 Low feed availability :
medium
 Poor feed quality :
very high
Applicability to livestock
Score
Cattle/buffalo
Sheep/goats
Pigs
 Breeding (cow-calf) :
low
 Fattening :
very high
 Dairy :
very high
 Breeding :
low
 Fattening :
very high
 Breeding (sow-piglets) :
 Fattening :
very high
very high
Applicability to farming system
Score
 Pastoral (extensive grazing systems) :
low
medium
 Agro-pastoral/extensive mixed systems :
 Intensive mixed crop-livestock system :
 Landless livestock producers :
high
very high
Requirement for resources
Score
 Land :
Requirement of
 Water :
none
none
 Labour :
medium
 Cash/credit :
 Access to inputs :
very high
very high
 Knowledge/skills :
high
For more information:
 Aichi Kitalyi, Ben Lukuyu, Josephine Kirui and Joy Kabirizi. Mixing and feeding homemade dairy
concentrates. East African Dairy Development Leaflet Number 6.
https://cgspace.cgiar.org/bitstream/handle/10568/12522/MixingDairyConcentrates.pdf?sequen
ce=2

Feedipedia: Animal feed resources information system. INRA, Cirad and FAO.
http://www.feedipedia.org/node/679
This document is licensed for use under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.
June 2015
This document is licensed for use under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.
June 2015