Hybrid Poultry Farm

AFRICA H Y B R I D P O U LT R Y FA R M

A key contributor to Zambia’s bid to boost food production

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Self-Sufficiency As Zambia bids to fulfil its food production potential, Hybrid Poultry Farm continues to provide an affordable, high-quality and customer-focused solution for retailers and QSR operators Writer: Tom Wadlow | Project Manager: Lewis Bush

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Keeley, CEO of Hybrid Poultry Farm. ambia has enormous (and largely untapped) potential to “Other benefits would include produce food. food self-sufficiency, significant Home to 40 million employment and the opportunity hectares of arable land, an abundance to export food products into the of water resources, fertile soils and a surrounding region.” low population density, the country Poultry is a vital component of is enviably-placed to contribute to Zambia’s food production ecosystem, Africa’s food production needs. seen as the most cost-effective and However, the fact remains that accessible form of protein for much agriculture contributes a little over of the country’s and wider continent’s eight percent of GDP despite the population. sector employing almost half of Zambia’s population. The southern African nation is still reliant on copper mining, an industry which is subject to price volatility and provides employment to just two percent of citizens.

Richard “Greater development in Keeley, CEO agriculture would not only provide the much-needed diversification of the economy, but also position the country better to tackle the great stress that will be placed on global food supplies due to climate change, urbanisation, and soil degradation,” explains Richard

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THE HYBRID POULTRY FARM SETUP

C-LINES

Based in Kabwe, Hybrid Poultry Farm’s Grandparent operations are carried out on a highly isolated bio-secure facility with a parent hatchery.

-Lines, a French company known as a leader in prefabricated poultry housing, offers an innovative concept, flexible and adaptable with a complete service from the design stage to fully completed building, supplying turnkey solutions for your business.

The parent stock from this site supplies Hybrid’s own breeder farms, other local breeder companies and the East African market through exports to sister operations in Kenya (Kenchic Ltd) and Tanzania (Tanbreed Ltd). The Hybrid parent stock farms also house other genetics – the Hyline layer parent and the SASSO parent, both of which are imported directly from Europe.

The company has two commercial hatcheries (in Lusaka and Kitwe) from which fertilised eggs are used for production of broiler (meat), layer (table eggs producers) and village chicken day-old chicks.

These eggs are also exported to the surrounding countries in the region. The day-old chicks from the commercial hatcheries are sold to local farmers and feed the in-house broiler growing operation, as well as contracted farmers who grow broiler birds for the company’s abattoir.

The processed chicken and further processed chicken products from the abattoir are sold under the Country Choice Chicken and Eureka Chicken brands to major retailers and fast food outlets in Zambia.

For Keeley, entry into this sector was a natural step in terms of prior experience and his natural interests.

“I have had a passion for agriculture and the food industry since I can remember,” he says. “I was in the tea industry for about 12 years prior to joining Hybrid in 2003, where I was heavily involved in the commercial aspects of agriculture.

“However, I was always interested in getting involved in the production side as well, and I guess joining Hybrid was the pathway to a production and commercial oriented career as my tertiary education was focused on agriculture and business.”

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C-Lines designs, engineers and manufactures its own buildings, customising structures to fit specific client requirements and successfully operate in any geographic location.

All our buildings are designed and constructed to be durable and lasting, to turn customer investments into business in the long term. Our experience has led projects in over 60 countries.

C-Lines guarantees to exceed customers’ expectations in every location of the project, wherever it may be.

C-lines’ concept is more birds/m², a better effectiveness of your ventilation and less days to achieve market weight.

Our pre-engineered buildings greatly reduce construction time. Your return on investment is greatly increased over any local construction because our buildings strengthen your success.

C-Lines is the most powerful lane to implement your projects.

Built on knowledge

Hybrid Poultry Farm is based in the heart of the Zambian capital of Lusaka, its major operation revolving around the importation, hatching and rearing

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Hybrid Poultry Farm’s Grandparent operations are carried out on a highly isolated bio-secure facility with a parent hatchery

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T +27 82 609 3435 E d.rademeyer@c-lines.com

www.c-lines.com

WE BUILD YOU TO THE TOP

LIVESTOCK BUILDINGS, STRUCTURES AND TURNKEY SOLUTIONS. WORLDWIDE. d.rademeyer@c-lines.com C-Lines South Africa (Pty) Ltd. | 16 Pomona Road, Pomona | Kempton Park, Gauteng, 1619 Tel.: +27 82 609 3435 www.c-lines.com

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PLASSON

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lasson was the very first South African poultry equipment supplier to design and build panel housing in South Africa and Africa, a venture that proved so successful that panel housing soon became the industry standard.

Plasson Livestock started off with the now globally well-known Plasson Bell Drinkers, later adding nipple drinkers and automatic feeding equipment and shortly after turning to supply complete packages of equipment, which include a complete solution for climate equipment with vast knowledge to suit any surrounding climate.

T +27 (0) 11 708 3094 E sales@plasson.co.za

www.plasson.co.za On-farm technical advice

of parent broiler stock from key supplier Cobb Europe.

“The poultry industry in Zambia is very competitive and we have seen two major players exit the sector in the last three years,” adds Keeley, who goes on to explain why he thinks Hybrid has been able to withstand such competition.

“Our company has been around for over 55 years and the wealth of knowledge and experience that we enjoy ensures that we provide quality products and services exceeding customer expectation at very competitive prices.

“We have a rich heritage of excellence in customer service that we endeavour to better in every succeeding year. We have established systems of tracking value throughout the production chain to ensure our esteemed clients get products that are fully traceable back to the grandparent stock and offer value for money.”

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This is reflected in the fact that Hybrid Poultry Farm’s bio-secure facility is rated in the top four in the world in terms of setup and biosecurity credentials.

Further, the company also provides laboratory and consultancy services, the former being a litmus test for the robustness and quality of its biosecurity procedures.

In the area of consultancy, Hybrid draws on a team of technical experts in poultry management which provides training and production advice to farmers all over Zambia.

They also contribute on a more academic level, delivering seminars to address issues such as winter brooding, disease management, feeding regimes and effective ventilation, issues which all have a significant impact on the bottom line for the farmers.

“Farming is not a hobby and we go the extra mile to ensure that the

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SARO AGRO INDUSTRIAL LTD

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aro Agro Industrial Ltd is a Zambian owned company and a leading importer, manufacturer and distributor of a wide range of industrial and agricultural equipment suitable for mining, construction and farming, among other industries.

Its product range encompasses tractors and agricultural equipment, pumps and irrigation equipment, and solar solutions and generators.

Saro is the leading supplier of Kirloskar generators to Hybrid Poultry Farm and is backing this up with strong aftersales service.

“We are proud to be associated with Hybrid and we look forward to continue offering a good service to its critical operations.”

T +260 (0) 21 138 7000 E saro@saroagri.co.zm

www.sarozambia.com

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Supply and servicing of feeding, drinking and climate control equipment for all poultry production operations.

Poultry & livestock farming equipment suppliers.

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Automatic Feeders Nipple and Bell Drinkers Layer Cages Breeder Nests Skov Systems and Spares Wetwalls and Cooling Bulk Feed Silos Cross Augers and Feed Weighers

www.plasson.co.za Tel : +27 (0) 11 708 3094 Sel : +27 (0) 76 542 7070 Email : sales@plasson.co.za

SARO AGRO INDUSTRIAL LTD AUTHORISED

Tel: 0211 387000

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DELIVERING DEMAND Ensuring customers receive their products and services is a dedicated company fleet of more than 80 trucks that scale the Hybrid network up and down the country as demand dictates.

The fleet is operated using various technological tools, including fleet management software which ensures optimum routes are chosen and capacities of individual vehicles maximised. A Geotab tracking system ensures journey plans are executed properly.

Hybrid Poultry Farm also draws on the expertise of third-party providers when demand for its products peaks above its internal delivery capacities.

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farmers who grow Hybrid chicks make a profit and grow their businesses sustainably,” adds Keeley.

“In terms of our own processes, we are always looking to improve our systems to take advantage of the advancements in technology and make our operations as efficient as we can.

“Over the last couples of years, we’ve invested $5 million into the expansion of the abattoir, and $6 million into environmentally controlled broiler houses, expansion of breeder farms and the delivery fleet, among other priorities.

“We are already seeing returns on these investments to a greater magnitude than we initially anticipated, as we are now able to tap into markets that we had no capacity to venture into previously.”

Fulfilling potential

This investment in continuous improvement is testament to the firm’s

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SES

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ES lies at the heart of Zambian communities – providing quality health and life solutions.

Our strong network with neighbouring countries ensures we provide high quality and emergency response services – wherever you are.

We offer: Medical cover • Our medical plans cover you locally, regionally and internationally.

Medical services • We offer paramedic and evacuation services, along with on-site medical and emergency risk solutions.

Life insurance • We provide relevant, appropriate and effective life products for individuals and companies globally.

Health and life cover, designed with YOU in mind Visit http://ses-zambia.com/ to obtain a free quote.

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willingness to embrace change and adopt Kaizen principles.

Indeed, these pillars of Hybrid’s company culture will help steer it into a new growth phase.

“The future is bright, and we see ourselves being the poultry powerhouse in the region, drawing synergies from our sister companies in East Africa,” Keeley says. “We continue to expand and invest capital in the various projects that we believe will yield the returns that our stakeholders require.”

The company’s aims are bold – it wants to double the business in terms of output within five years, helping it to expand its market share.

“Our strategy is very clear,” Keeley continues. “We have a 10-year vision of where we want to see the business, not just in Zambia but also with our

associated companies Kenchic Ltd and Tanbreed Ltd. This is broken down into a medium term, five-year plan with annual implementation handbooks.

“It keeps us on track as we monitor and evaluate the progress, successes and challenges, and ensures that all efforts and resource utilisation are aligned to the vision and goals of the company.”

Central to these efforts are, of course, the Hybrid Poultry Farm staff.

“Our employees are the stars of the show,” says Keeley. “We don’t cut corners in recruitment and management of our talent which gives us an edge in production management.

“All staff are continuously trained and coached to ensure they buy in to our winning ambition of being a least cost producer of the highest quality, and this gives us competitive

Our employees are the stars of the show... we don’t cut corners in recruitment and management of our talent which gives us an edge”

Central to the company’s successes are the efforts of the Hybrid Poultry Farm staff

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advantage in the market.”

Indeed, the company spends around $500,000 a year on tailor-made training and development schemes, programmes which are delivered in-house by experts or via external consultants from around the world.

Hybrid also routinely sends staff abroad to gain experience, while its graduate training initiative aims to draw in the best of Zambia’s talent pool entering the market every year.

Continuing to contribute

Offering employment and personal development opportunities for local people is just one way in which Hybrid Poultry Farm is contributing to its community.

The company engages in a number of corporate social responsibility activities, something which Keeley highlights as crucial to Hybrid’s identity and a differentiator for the business.

“Most of our initiatives focus on orphans as the country has a high prevalence of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, which robs children of their parents too early in their lives leaving them vulnerable,” he explains.

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This custodian focus extends into environmental issues, Keeley highlighting the work carried out in the area of waste management and recycling, conserving resources and operating under a triple bottom line mentality.

For example, Hybrid is part of the Plant A Million tree campaign in Zambia and has replanted sections of its farm where commercial activity is not taking place.

By operating responsibly on these three fronts (financial, social and environmental), Keeley is optimistic about the role both Hybrid and the poultry industry at large can play in Zambia’s ongoing drive to become self-sufficient.

While he acknowledges the industry faces challenges, as with many sectors, he concludes by restating his confidence.

“The role of the poultry industry in the larger agricultural picture of Zambia is undisputed and will continue to be a big contributor in the future.

“In the heart of the culture is a love for poultry products and you can see it in every celebration that chicken must be a part of the protein options to complete the feast. Chicken is the most affordable form of protein,

although the per capita consumption is behind that of its neighbour South Africa.

“With the population growth rate expected to increase, combined with limitations of land availability, it will get increasingly difficult to acquire massive plots to practice ranching for cattle or large-scale crop growing.

“These challenges are not shared by the poultry industry, which makes it ideal to champion food production capacity in the future.”

Hybrid Poultry Farm Tel: +260 975 835 581 enquiries@hybridpoultryfarm.com www.hybridpoultryfarm.com

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Chamba Valley, Chelston, Lusaka Tel: +260 975 835 581,  +260 211 283625 enquiries@hybridpoultryfarm.com www.hybridpoultryfarm.com

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