Koudijs Ghana celebrated Feb. 6 the start of the development of its first compound animal feed factory in Ghana and in West Africa. Located on a 500 acre-site in Tema, near Accra, the new factory will be one of the largest compound feed production plants in Ghana, with a production capacity reaching 90,000 tons a year.

The inauguration was attended by Carola Schouten, the Dutch minister of agriculture, nature and food; Dr. Nurah Gyiele, Ghana's minister of state in charge of poultry, and Ron Strikkerthe, Dutch ambassador in Ghana.

Hugo Visscher, general manager of Koudijs Ghana, said the construction of this plant underlines the strategy of Dutch Royal De Heus, owner of Koudijs Ghana, to bring its local animal feed and husbandry knowledge to fast-growing and developing countries. Where it has previously built up a strong market position in Ghana, he said, it is now time to start local production to further enhance this leading position.

“The combination of global knowledge and local presence is one we strongly believe in," Visscher added. "Sharing this knowledge locally feeds the performance of our customers’ business but also that of the local and regional economy.”

Koen de Heus, chief executive officer of Royal De Heus, expressed his pleasure at the new factory’s ground-breaking ceremony, describing it as a major addition to Koudijs.

He stated: “Through our export division, Koudijs Animal Nutrition, De Heus has been an active contributor towards the development of a more robust agricultural sector in Ghana for the past decade. Today, we bolster this relationship and commit ourselves to feeding the performance of the Ghanaian agricultural sector. De Heus invests in the construction of this advanced, multipurpose animal feed production plant for Koudijs Ghana Ltd. to demonstrate our confidence in the Ghanaian economy in general and in aqua and livestock farmers specifically.”

As Schouten explained, “We must find multiple ways to be sustainable -- sourcing locally, minimizing food loss and reusing waste -- at a national and international level. Koudijs Ghana supports these philosophies.”

In his address, Gyiele noted his satisfaction with the fact that Royal de Heus brings so much knowledge to Ghana's agriculture sector and said this is underlined by starting the development of a modern, Koudijs-branded feed plant. “We hope this project would rekindle our resolve to achieve greater heights in the agro-industrial development. Let us embrace the project and ensure that maximum benefits are derived when the project starts to turn out output and services.”

Schouten and Gyiele took part in the ground-breaking ceremony by initiating construction of the factory’s foundations.

Royal de Heus, founded in 1911, is a multinational family company that has expanded to become one of the largest players in the animal feed industry. With locations in the Netherlands, Vietnam, Brazil, Poland, the Czech Republic, Serbia, Spain, Portugal, South Africa, Myanmar, India and Indonesia and joint ventures in Egypt, Ethiopia, Russia and China, the company reached a key position globally. De Heus is also active in more than 75 countries through the export of concentrates and premixes, the main ones being in Eastern Europe, Africa, the Middle East and South America. Globally, the company has more than 6,000 employees. Its head office is located in Ede, Netherlands.