Nutropia advances integrated poultry and feed ambitions in Ethiopia

ETHIOPIA – Ethiopian poultry and feed company Nutropia is advancing plans to build a vertically integrated poultry business, including local feed production, as it seeks to increase access to affordable chicken meat and strengthen the country’s domestic protein supply.

Nutropia is developing a greenfield compound-feed mill in Debre Birhan with a production capacity of 3 tonnes per hour. 

The project is being positioned as the foundation for a broader integrated poultry operation linking feed production with contract farmers, broiler production and processing.

The company’s wider ambitions date back to a 2018 agreement with Israeli livestock turnkey specialist Agrotop to develop a large-scale poultry integration project in Ethiopia. 

The planned operation was designed to eventually produce 24,000 tonnes of chicken meat annually and include parent-stock farms, six broiler farms, a hatchery, a slaughterhouse and poultry feed mill.

The project was initially expected to begin with an investment of €20 million (US$23.3 million), with the first phase targeting 4,700 tonnes of poultry meat annually. 

The integrated model was intended to supply affordable chicken to Ethiopia while creating opportunities to serve markets in East Africa and the Middle East.

Nutropia has framed affordable animal protein as central to its business model. 

When the Agrotop project was announced, the company said limited access to affordable chicken meat was contributing to malnutrition and undernutrition in Ethiopia.

The company is now also seeking to strengthen the feed side of the value chain. 

According to its current project profile, the Debre Birhan feed mill will support local feed production and farmer integration, aiming to improve feed availability, stabilise prices, and strengthen Ethiopia’s poultry value chain.

The project is being developed with technical support from Shanghai ZhengChang, which is providing expertise for the design, construction, commissioning and operational setup of the feed mill. 

Nutropia plans to combine feed production with contract-farmer integration and eventually expand downstream into broiler farming and processing.

Ethiopia’s poultry market offers room for expansion

The investment comes as Ethiopia’s poultry industry continues to develop from a relatively low base, creating opportunities for companies that can improve feed supply, production efficiency and market access.

Nutropia says its long-term ambition is to become one of the top 10 poultry and feed companies in Africa and the Middle East. 

Its model reflects a broader shift towards integrated poultry production, where control over feed, farming and processing can help companies improve consistency and manage costs.

For Ethiopia, expanding domestic feed manufacturing could also reduce reliance on fragmented feed supplies while giving commercial poultry producers and contract farmers more predictable access to formulated diets.

The company’s development therefore extends beyond increasing chicken production. 

By building feed manufacturing into its wider poultry strategy, Nutropia is seeking to strengthen multiple stages of the poultry value chain, from feed supply and farmer integration to production and processing.

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