The national fodder policy focuses on promoting the fodder manufacturing industry side by side with a gradual reduction of barley subsidy, Al-Eqtisadiah daily reported on Tuesday.

Cattle breeders say the barley prices, on the rise despite the government subsidy, are prompting traditional breeders to quit the profession or cut down the size of their ventures.

However, there is a reported disagreement between government departments regarding the implementation of the national strategy. Some departments argue that supporting feed industries instead of paying subsidies to imported barley would lead to higher prices and harm breeders. Supporters of governmental assistance to feed industries, on the other hand, view that the price rise would be temporary, as the prices could be stabilized with the formation of a breeders’ cooperative society, which would guarantee continuous and steady supply of the feed to farmers at reasonable prices.

Many investors in the feed industry hope that the proposed government’s assistance will encourage investments in the sector. They demand the Saudi Agricultural Development Fund to finance small and medium sized cattle feed companies that could operate in agricultural regions.

Feeding on advanced compound feed is estimated to save SR115 on each single animal over its growing period of five months, besides saving a large quantity of water, a cattle feed expert said. A lamb that grows between 20 and 47 kg over a period of 108 days would consume 130 kilograms of industrially manufactured feed priced SR75, said the expert, who did not want to disclose his name. On the other hand, a breeder depending on barley or other traditional feeds needs 240 kg of barley at the price of SR190 over a period of 150 days to get the same weight, he added. The price of barley is calculated on the basis of the normal market price.

He said that each of the 10 million livestock in the Kingdom needed 300 cubic meters of water annually if they were fed on barley and hay, putting the total at three billion cubic meters of ground water annually.

Currently, the compound feed industry in the Kingdom supplies 120 truckloads accounting for 15 percent of the total need of the local markets.