Ross® Central Africa (RCA), Aviagen’s joint venture in Zambia, held their Breeder Distributor Customer Focus Team (DCFT) meeting in Lusaka, Zambia from 03-06 October. Along with Aviagen international specialists and the Aviagen customer support team, the attendees explored relevant management topics including open-sided management, fertility, feed quality, biosecurity, diseases and the importance of data collection.

The seminar began with an overview of Aviagen, and an update on our investments from Robert Roszkopf, Aviagen Business Manager, Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Aviagen is investing heavily in the region to meet the increasing demand for Ross 308 Parent Stock (PS). Andrew Clarkson, Technical Director of RCA, then gave an overview of RCA’s Grandparent (GP) facilities, and highlighted the biosecurity procedures that are in place in order for RCA to supply high-quality Ross 308 PS to more than 15 countries throughout the Central African region. 

Santiago Avendaño, Director of Global Genetics, gave an R&D update, that highlighted the exceptional results achieved by the Ross 308 in yield, feed conversion ratio (FCR) and average daily gain (ADG), which continue to improve year-on-year. 

The attendees also took part in an interactive workshop on the second day, led by the Ross Central Africa and Aviagen teams, who demonstrated both grading and weighing procedures, which are both extremely important topics for producers to ensure they are maximizing the genetic potential of their Ross flocks.

“Our annual DCFT meeting is of great importance to us and our customers. Each year we alternate the main focus of the meeting, this year the focus is on breeders and next year our main focus will be on the hatchery. The DCFT gives our customers the opportunity to meet with one another and discuss their experiences and issues within their respective markets, and also allows them to receive expert support from the Ross Central Africa and Aviagen support teams. The topics discussed throughout this years’ meeting will provide our customers with the items they require in order to improve their flock performance, which in turn will also further improve their profitability,” commented Andrew Clarkson, Technical Director, RCA. 

Craig Archenoul, General Manager of Hukuru Chicks in Zimbabwe expressed histhanks to the team for an informative week; “I’d like to thank the Ross Central Africa and Aviagen teams for a great week. We learned a few tips that we can easily implement in order to take Hukuru Chicks to the next level. We are seeing impressive broiler and PS results with the Ross 308 in our operation, and I am confident we will soon be achieving results that will allow us entry into your Ross

Breeder Executive Club at Gold level. I would also like to thank the RCA team for the high-quality customer service that they continually provide us with.”

“We are achieving good performance results with the Ross 308 breed, and are seeing the annual genetic improvements as discussed by Santiago. The presentations on the various topics discussed throughout the DCFT were incredibly informative and thought-provoking. This will help us to apply our own scenarios in order to improve our breeder farm management,” commented Stuart Mitchell, General Manager, Pepper Tree Chicks, Zambia.

“This is the third DCFT that I have attended, and it is always a pleasure to meet people from different companies and countries that share the same vision and strive to achieve the same quality standards. With the Ross brand, we are able to offer a high-quality breed, that generates the best return on investment, whilst also tackling the issue of food security within our country,” added Rivo Andriamanalina, Owner of Activo in Madagascar.