Council Brings Moroccan Delegation Stateside For Aquaculture Training And Expo

Last week, the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) escorted a team of Moroccan aquaculture sector stakeholders to attend Aquaculture 2025, the world’s largest aqua industry event, and participate in training courses at Iowa State University (ISU) as part of the Council’s plan to develop demand for U.S. feed grains in Morocco.

“The conference featured the latest advancements and technologies in aquaculture and our delegation learned a lot from the technical workshops and sessions to help improve their own operations in Morocco,” said Mohamed Salah Bouthour, USGC deputy regional director for Africa. “The trade show, in combination with the excellent courses hosted by ISU, will enhance the efficiency of the Moroccan aquaculture industry and drive interest in adding U.S. corn and distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) to fish diets.”

In addition to the Moroccan team, USGC Regional Consultant Carlos Maya brought a group of feed buyers and aquaculture nutritionists from Colombia and Ecuador to the conference to provide additional information about the quality and availability of U.S. feed grains.

After the convention, Bouthour and USGC Regional Consultant Dr. Mustapha El Youssoufi led the group to the ISU Kent Feed Mill and Grain Science Complex, where they spent the next three days attending lectures and gaining hands-on training experience.

The first day included an overview of how aquaculture feed is produced, the benefits of incorporating nutritious additives like DDGS and advancing mixing and batching processes for feed.

Later sessions focused on maintaining quality though proper storage systems, optimizing feed mill operation management and how DDGS are processed and handled by ethanol facilities.

Outside the classroom, the delegation also visited an aquaculture farm using cutting edge recirculatory technology to produce environmentally responsible seafood and visited ISU’s dairy, poultry, turkey and swine teaching facilities.

“Each of our participants expressed their interest in the tools, technologies and nutritional information presented during the training courses and it will have a positive impact on the growth and development of the Moroccan aquaculture sector,” Bouthour said. “The segments, focused on the benefits of U.S. corn co-products and how to implement them, have the potential to greatly improve the health and efficiency of Moroccan seafood.”

Learn more about the Council’s work in Africa here.