BY-PRODUCTS ▶▶▶
Cassava peels: From waste to valuable livestock feed
Transforming cassava peel into nutritious animal feed has the potential to partially replace maize in animal feed while reducing environmental pollution and minimising post-harvest losses. This crop waste by-product could be a valuable feed alternative.
BY NATALIE BERKHOUT, FREELANCE JOURNALIST C
assava is a major subsistence and commercial crop in sub-Saharan Africa and, according to the FAO, around 178 million tonnes are produced annually. Cassava processing for both household consump-
tion and industrial use generates considerable quantities of cassava peel, which are left in large heaps to rot or are set on fire. Rotting heaps release methane into the air and a stinking effluent pollutes nearby streams and underground water, while burning produces clouds of acrid smoke. Nigeria, which is the largest global producer of cassava, harvests about 59 million tonnes of cassava annually (20% of global produc- tion), resulting in about 15 million tonnes of wet peels.
Use of cassava peels – an age-old practice The use of cassava peels in livestock feed is an age-old prac- tice. Traditionally, farmers would sun dry the peels in small quantities as a feed resource. This labour-intensive process has been cut to a fraction of the time thanks to a process de- veloped by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) that grates, dries and dehydrates wet cassava peels and turns them into High Quality Cassava Peel (HQCP) mash. With a moisture content of about 10-12%, the final product can be stored for about six months.
High Quality Cassava Peel (HQCP) mash “HQCP mash is a perfect animal feed ingredient in cassa- va-producing countries,” said IITA agricultural economist, Iheanacho Okike, who has led the development of the inno- vation. “It’s energy-rich and has a nutritional value close to that of maize. When used in animal feed, it reduces the amount of maize needed, which cuts costs and frees up valu- able grain for human consumption.” Feeding trials conducted
Cassava processing is a source of employment for Nigerian women.
with both small and large-scale farmers across Nigeria have shown that the mash improves feed conversion efficiency. - Broilers: In broiler diets, specifically, this mash could replace 20% (1.5 million tonnes) of maize going into manufactured feed. - Layers: For layers, it was determined that the cassava mash replaced 35% of the birds’ feed ration and resulted in a 10- 15% reduction in the cost of feed for local farmers. - Pigs: Meanwhile, cassava mash can replace up to 75% of maize in the diet of growing pigs with about a 4% reduction in cost per kg weight gain without any adverse effect on growth performance.
Making cassava peel mash is now a viable industry in Nigeria and has the potential to be rolled out in other countries. “Converting the waste from cassava into a safe livestock feed is a game-changer in resolving the near-perennial animal feed scarcity crisis, conflicts between pastoralists and farmers about the use of natural resources and the high costs of com- pound feeds in Nigeria and other cassava-producing coun- tries in Africa,” said livestock feed specialist, Tunde Amole from ILRI.
* This innovation is an outcome of a multi-centre CGIAR collabo- ration including ILRI, the International Institute of Tropical Agri- culture (IITA) and the International Potato Center (CIP) as well as CGIAR research programmes on Livestock (Livestock and Fish in Phase 1) and Roots, Tubers and Bananas, and Humidtropics.
▶ ALL ABOUT FEED | Volume 29, No. 9, 2021 11
PHOTO: IITA
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