{"id":13385,"date":"2026-06-20T12:27:30","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T12:27:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.iita.org\/news-item\/innovative-app-for-chicken-feed-nearly-doubles-profits-in-pilot-test-with-farmers-in-tanzania\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T21:39:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T21:39:08","slug":"innovative-app-for-chicken-feed-nearly-doubles-profits-in-pilot-test-with-farmers-in-tanzania","status":"publish","type":"news-item","link":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/innovative-app-for-chicken-feed-nearly-doubles-profits-in-pilot-test-with-farmers-in-tanzania\/","title":{"rendered":"Innovative app for chicken feed nearly doubles profits in pilot test with farmers in Tanzania"},"content":{"rendered":"<em>IITA supported pretesting of app that resulted in considerable reduction in costs of feed  and an increase in the average weight for broilers<\/em>\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.feedcalculator.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">FeedCalculator<\/a>, an app that generates affordable quality feed recipes for poultry from locally available ingredients, has the potential to be a game changer for poultry farmers as results from its pilot testing saw a near doubling of profits.\n\n<figure id=\"attachment_14738\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14738\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/single-spark4_o.png\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-14738\" src=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/single-spark4_o-300x190-1.png\" alt=\"Picture of chicken feed made following calculations from the app.\" width=\"300\" height=\"190\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-14738\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chicken feed made following calculations from the app.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\nThe app was co-created by leading Dutch nutritionists  and livestock experts in partnership with farmers in developing countries  and was tested by the NGO called BRAC  and IITA in Tanzania. It will be available this December in the Google Play Store  and will be free for all smallholder poultry farmers all over the world.\n\nThe pretest results showed that broilers fed using recipes suggested by the app had on average 15% higher weight  and that the app on average reduced the cost of feed by 31% compared to regular commercial feed. This resulted, on average, to 80% higher profit due to lower feed costs  and higher weight of the birds.\n\nThe farmers involved in the study divided their broilers into two batches  and fed one half with the usual feed  and the other with the self-prepared FeedCalculator mix  and after six weeks compared animal growth  and feed costs. A total of 4,400 birds were involved in the study.\n\nFrederick Baijukya, a scientist at IITA  and coordinator of the N2Africa project, said most of the farmers the project works with,  and especially women, also keep poultry. \u201cOne of their challenges is the low productivity from the chicken due to poor nutrition. The farmers didn\u2019t have the technology to make good feed formulation. We, therefore, selected Single Spark, as they have a state-of-the-art technology, which can be used to formulate animal feed. And so we started the pilot.\u201d\n\nThe pilot was held in three regions in Tanzania (Gmboto, Tegeta, Kim andolu) with 19 farmers. Staff from IITA  and BRAC were first trained on the app  and they trained the farmers taking part in the pilot study.\n\nJazira Rashid, BRAC Program Organizer, said: \u201cThe farmers were very excited about this knowledge. You buy your raw materials by the quantities prescribed  and you just mix it. It is much cheaper.\u201d\n\n\u201cDue to FeedCalculator I improved my produce  and doubled my income in just 6 weeks,\u201d said Amina Shemsi, one of the poultry farmers that took part in the pilot study. Halima Mustapha, another poultry farmer using the app concurred: \u201cBy using the knowledge of the FeedCalculator, my chicks are growing faster. They are heavier  and healthier compared to before.\u201d\n\nSingle Spark, the company behind the app, noted that many livestock farmers have serious difficulties making a profit from their livestock due to costly feed. Peter Meijer, from Single Spark, says that on average 70% of the production costs of poultry go to feed as farmers buy costly commercial (imported) feed. A cheaper option is to buy locally mixed feed but the quality is unknown  and often poor. Empowering farmers to make their own feed recipe is the solution.\n\n\u201cFeed formulation is very complex. Mixing high-quality balanced feed with the right energy levels, for the lowest price  and for the whole year is complex. And that is why we developed the FeedCalculator.\n\n\u201cAfter several tests  and pilots  and with the support of BRAC  and IITA, it is now time for farmers all over the world to benefit from it. We ask other NGOs to join our mission of empowering farmers to produce their own affordable, quality feed,\u201d Meijer said.\n<h2>How the app works<\/h2>\nThe app simply asks farmers to enter: (i) animal breed, (ii) age of animals, (iii) number of animals,  and (iv) all the available local ingredients  and prices. Based upon this data, the app calculates the most cost-efficient feed mix using algorithms of leading feed experts. The app is free for poultry farmers with less than 1000 chickens. Larger farmers will need to pay a fee of $50 per year or $10 per two months. The app can be downloaded from the Google Play Store or for more information see <a href=\"https:\/\/www.feedcalculator.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">www.feedcalculator.com<\/a>.","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>FeedCalculator, an app that generates affordable quality feed recipes for poultry from locally available ingredients, has the potential to be a game changer for poultry farmers as results from its pilot testing saw a near doubling of profits.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":13386,"template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"tags":[282],"science-area":[],"program":[],"location":[27],"news-type":[],"hub":[],"crop":[],"impact-areas":[],"item-year":[195],"class_list":["post-13385","news-item","type-news-item","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-tanzania","location-tanzania","item-year-195"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Innovative app for chicken feed nearly doubles profits in pilot test with farmers in Tanzania - IITA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/innovative-app-for-chicken-feed-nearly-doubles-profits-in-pilot-test-with-farmers-in-tanzania\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Innovative app for chicken feed nearly doubles profits in pilot test with farmers in Tanzania - IITA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"FeedCalculator, an app that generates affordable quality feed recipes for poultry from locally available ingredients, has the potential to be a game changer for poultry farmers as results from its pilot testing saw a near doubling of profits.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/innovative-app-for-chicken-feed-nearly-doubles-profits-in-pilot-test-with-farmers-in-tanzania\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"IITA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/IITA.CGIAR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-29T21:39:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/single-spark4_o.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"649\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@IITA_CGIAR\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Dur\u00e9e de lecture estim\u00e9e\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/news-item\\\/innovative-app-for-chicken-feed-nearly-doubles-profits-in-pilot-test-with-farmers-in-tanzania\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/news-item\\\/innovative-app-for-chicken-feed-nearly-doubles-profits-in-pilot-test-with-farmers-in-tanzania\\\/\",\"name\":\"Innovative app for chicken feed nearly doubles profits in pilot test with farmers in Tanzania - IITA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/news-item\\\/innovative-app-for-chicken-feed-nearly-doubles-profits-in-pilot-test-with-farmers-in-tanzania\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/news-item\\\/innovative-app-for-chicken-feed-nearly-doubles-profits-in-pilot-test-with-farmers-in-tanzania\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/single-spark4_o.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-20T12:27:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-29T21:39:08+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/news-item\\\/innovative-app-for-chicken-feed-nearly-doubles-profits-in-pilot-test-with-farmers-in-tanzania\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/news-item\\\/innovative-app-for-chicken-feed-nearly-doubles-profits-in-pilot-test-with-farmers-in-tanzania\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/news-item\\\/innovative-app-for-chicken-feed-nearly-doubles-profits-in-pilot-test-with-farmers-in-tanzania\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/single-spark4_o.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/single-spark4_o.png\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":649},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/news-item\\\/innovative-app-for-chicken-feed-nearly-doubles-profits-in-pilot-test-with-farmers-in-tanzania\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/news-item\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Innovative app for chicken feed nearly doubles profits in pilot test with farmers in Tanzania\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"IITA\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"International Institute of Tropical Agriculture\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/IITA-Logo-finalll.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/IITA-Logo-finalll.png\",\"width\":1788,\"height\":591,\"caption\":\"International Institute of Tropical Agriculture\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/iita.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/IITA.CGIAR\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/IITA_CGIAR\",\"http:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/iita\",\"http:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/IITAPUBLISHING\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Innovative app for chicken feed nearly doubles profits in pilot test with farmers in Tanzania - IITA","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/innovative-app-for-chicken-feed-nearly-doubles-profits-in-pilot-test-with-farmers-in-tanzania\/","og_locale":"fr_FR","og_type":"article","og_title":"Innovative app for chicken feed nearly doubles profits in pilot test with farmers in Tanzania - IITA","og_description":"FeedCalculator, an app that generates affordable quality feed recipes for poultry from locally available ingredients, has the potential to be a game changer for poultry farmers as results from its pilot testing saw a near doubling of profits.","og_url":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/innovative-app-for-chicken-feed-nearly-doubles-profits-in-pilot-test-with-farmers-in-tanzania\/","og_site_name":"IITA","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/IITA.CGIAR","article_modified_time":"2026-06-29T21:39:08+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":649,"url":"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/single-spark4_o.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@IITA_CGIAR","twitter_misc":{"Dur\u00e9e de lecture estim\u00e9e":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/iita.org\/news-item\/innovative-app-for-chicken-feed-nearly-doubles-profits-in-pilot-test-with-farmers-in-tanzania\/","url":"https:\/\/iita.org\/news-item\/innovative-app-for-chicken-feed-nearly-doubles-profits-in-pilot-test-with-farmers-in-tanzania\/","name":"Innovative app for chicken feed nearly doubles profits in pilot test with farmers in Tanzania - IITA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/iita.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/iita.org\/news-item\/innovative-app-for-chicken-feed-nearly-doubles-profits-in-pilot-test-with-farmers-in-tanzania\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/iita.org\/news-item\/innovative-app-for-chicken-feed-nearly-doubles-profits-in-pilot-test-with-farmers-in-tanzania\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/single-spark4_o.png","datePublished":"2026-06-20T12:27:30+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-29T21:39:08+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/iita.org\/news-item\/innovative-app-for-chicken-feed-nearly-doubles-profits-in-pilot-test-with-farmers-in-tanzania\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"fr-FR","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/iita.org\/news-item\/innovative-app-for-chicken-feed-nearly-doubles-profits-in-pilot-test-with-farmers-in-tanzania\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/iita.org\/news-item\/innovative-app-for-chicken-feed-nearly-doubles-profits-in-pilot-test-with-farmers-in-tanzania\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/single-spark4_o.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/single-spark4_o.png","width":1024,"height":649},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/iita.org\/news-item\/innovative-app-for-chicken-feed-nearly-doubles-profits-in-pilot-test-with-farmers-in-tanzania\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/iita.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/iita.org\/news-item\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Innovative app for chicken feed nearly doubles profits in pilot test with farmers in Tanzania"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/iita.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/iita.org\/","name":"IITA","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/iita.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/iita.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"fr-FR"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/iita.org\/#organization","name":"Institut International d'Agriculture Tropicale","url":"https:\/\/iita.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/iita.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/IITA-Logo-finalll.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/IITA-Logo-finalll.png","width":1788,"height":591,"caption":"International Institute of Tropical Agriculture"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/iita.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/IITA.CGIAR","https:\/\/x.com\/IITA_CGIAR","http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/iita","http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/IITAPUBLISHING"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-item\/13385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-item"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news-item"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-item\/13385\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30622,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-item\/13385\/revisions\/30622"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13385"},{"taxonomy":"science-area","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/science-area?post=13385"},{"taxonomy":"program","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/program?post=13385"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=13385"},{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=13385"},{"taxonomy":"hub","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hub?post=13385"},{"taxonomy":"crop","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/crop?post=13385"},{"taxonomy":"impact-areas","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/impact-areas?post=13385"},{"taxonomy":"item-year","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/item-year?post=13385"}],"curies":[{"name":"bien jou\u00e9","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}