Jim Johnston MTech Sales Director Europe, Middle East, Africa
What an exciting industry the Middle East poultry sector is! The sector is growing and expanding rapidly as the region looks to produce more of its own poultry meat rather than importing. With high levels of per capita poultry meat consumption and the renewed focus on domestic industry growth supporting food security the forecasted growth rate for the industry is 6% per annum until the middle of the decade.
This expansion in a challenging environment with high feed prices and a tough climate for poultry production means companies are looking to technology to aid their production efficiencies. The investment in new poultry houses and infrastructure provides an ideal opportunity for companies to install the latest controllers and in house technology to monitor the environment, bird behaviours and growth rate supporting more efficient farm performance. This technology when utilised along with poultry husbandry expertise provides a powerful combination.
However, there is also a growing realisation in the Middle East industry of the value of data across the poultry supply chain as a whole and with many businesses now looking to produce their own hatching eggs rather than importing them this adds to the need for systems to support the whole production process. More companies in the Region are appreciating the need to have a data management system that not only collects and stores data but provides management with information, insights and analysis but also leverages the data to provide traceability, unit costs of production, forecasting and planning efficiency and sustainability benchmarking.
The industry must produce poultry competitively and more companies realise that the tools to bring this efficient and competitive edge are not only the fabric of the buildings, the concrete and the stainless-steel equipment but specialist poultry data management systems and technology can provide them a cutting edge.
