G. B. Ayoola and J A Ayoade
University of Agriculture
PMB 2373, Makurdi, Nigeria
ABSTRACT
Nigeria has an immense capability to produce many different types of crop residues and agro-industrial byproducts which could be used to improve livestock nutrition. However, for various socio-cultural and policy reasons, farmers are not making use of these resources at present.
A model feeding trial demonstrates the profitability of the use of non-conventional feed resources, and suggestions are made for policy interventions in areas of preservation and treatment, transportation, extension and research.
RESUME
Aspects socio-économiques et stratégiques de l'utilisation des résidus de récolte et des sous-produits agro-industriels dans l'alimentation des animaux d'élevage au Nigéria
Compte tenu de ses énormes potentialités en la matière, le Nigéria pourrait produire un grand nombre de résidus de récolte et de sous-produits agro-industriels propres à servir d'aliments du bétail. Malheureusement les paysans ne s'intéressent guère aujourd'hui à ces ressources et ce, pour diverses raisons y compris des raisons d'ordre socio-économique et stratégique.
Un régime alimentaire modèle expérimenté dans le cadre de cette étude a cependant permis de mettre en évidence les avantages économiques de l'utilisation de ces ressources alimentaires non conventionnelles. Enfin, des interventions stratégiques appropriées ont été recommandées en vue de promouvoir la conservation, le traitement, le transport et la vulgarisation des résidus de récolte et des sous-produits agro-industriels ainsi que la recherche dans ce domaine.
INTRODUCTION
Large quantities of crop residues, produced on private and government farms in Nigeria, are wasted year after year. Some are left to rot in the fields, which may improve soil fertility, but most are burned. Similarly, most agro-industrial concerns in the country dispose of their valuable byproducts in non-beneficial ways. Although there is much evidence that livestock fed crop residues and agro-industrial byproducts can achieve substantial weight gains (eg, Ward, 1978; O'Donovan, 1979), a recent survey in Benue State, Nigeria, (Ayoade and Ayoola, 1991) shows that, on average, more than 60% of livestock farmers are not aware of the value of crop residues in animal nutrition.
Recently there has been a growing policy recognition of the role of non-conventional feed resources in livestock development. Following the acute shortage of foreign exchange for importing concentrates in the structural adjustment period, the government has set up a task force to investigate and advise on the prospects and possibilities of using the alternative livestock feed resources available in the country. This paper examines some aspects of the use of crop residues and agro-industrial byproducts in livestock production.
AVAILABILITY AND UTILISATION
A general knowledge of the availability and utilisation of crop residues and agro-industrial byproducts in the various agro-ecological zones of Nigeria is important for assessing the potential of these resources.
The agricultural economy of the southern part of Nigeria is largely based on tree crops; ruminant production is a secondary activity, mainly because of the tsetse fly menace. The forest is principally exploited for wood, rubber and palm oil; secondary crops include cocoa, coffee, citrus, banana and plantain. Towards the north, more land is available for arable farming. Swampy rice thrives in the delta areas, particularly in River and southern Bendel States, while yam, cassava, cereals and legumes are abundant in the rest of the southern zone, including Anambra, Imo, Ondo and the southern part of Oyo State. Thus the crop residues available in this zone are immense quantities of cocoa pods and cassava and yam peels as well as enough cereal straws and legume haulms to sustain the local livestock population during the dry season.
The savannah middle belt (covering northern Oyo, Kwara, Benue, Niger, Plateau, and the southern fringes of Kaduna and Gongola States) operates an active grains economy. Arable farming thrives with crops like soybean, maize, upland and fadama rice, sugarcane, sorghum, yam and millet. These are usually cultivated in homesteads together with livestock - mainly goats and poultry, although sheep and cattle are also kept. Cattle rearing generally involves Fulani agropastoralists who move progressively southwards into this zone in the dry season. Sedentary and semi-settled Fulanis can also be found interspersed in the zone with small farms around their houses, integrated with cattle, sheep, goats and poultry (Nuru, 1989). Thus the savannah middle belt produces large amounts of rice straw, maize stover, millet/sorghum stover, soybean straw and yam peels as the main residues from cropping activities.
The ecology of the far north, in Kano, Sokoto, Kaduna, Katsina and Borno States, supports valuable crops such as cotton, wheat, groundnut, millet, sorghum and cowpea. The area is somewhat arid, but there is a vast expanse of land for arable cropping without the need to fell trees. This zone has great potential to supply large quantities of groundnut haulms, wheat stover, cowpea haulms and millet/sorghum stover. It also sustains a large population of ruminant animals; transhumance of cattle Fulanis is prominent in addition to homestead rearing of ruminants and poultry.
Nigeria has numerous small-, medium- and large-scale agro-industrial concerns, and hence an immense capability to supply agro-industrial waste materials to agriculture. For example, the brewing industry serves as an important source of brewers' wastes for feeding livestock.
Although crop residues are widely available throughout the country, their use as livestock feeds is limited to the northern zone. On the other hand, the use of industrial byproducts is only popular in the south, among pig owners who obtain brewers' waste direct from nearby breweries. Treatment of these products to enhance nutrient intake and availability is not common in the country as a whole, although recently some attempts to introduce this technology have been made by the National Livestock Development Project and Agricultural Development Projects.
SOCIO-CULTURAL DIMENSIONS
Table 1 shows a profile of livestock farmers in Benue State (Ayoade and Ayoola, 1991). Most livestock owners are of an age when their physical and mental abilities limit their involvement in business activities; older people cannot invest in crop residue sourcing, preservation and treatment on their own, without the help of their children, but children are often away in urban centres, at school or working. So most crop residues are left in the fields after the harvest. In addition, the level of literacy is too low to facilitate efforts of extension agents to introduce crop residues and byproducts into the farmers' animal nutrition practices; most farmers have had no schooling. Also, many small farmers keep livestock for reasons other than cash income, for example, for ceremonies or simply as a hobby. Such farmers may be unwilling to spend money on acquiring, preserving and treating crop residues or byproducts.
Ayoade and Ayoola (1991) also found that livestock production at the household level is mainly the work of women. But according to other surveys in Benue State (Akpaiyo, 1991; Unaji, 1991), women's production capabilities are greatly limited by socio-cultural factors. For example: sheep and pig rearing is believed to reduce women's fertility and cause human infant mortality; ownership of cattle by women is forbidden by the gods, who could punish defaulters; and certain animals are associated with witchcraft. As a result, livestock production is generally low, and so there is only limited demand for crop residues and agro-industrial byproducts in farm activities.
Table 1. Selected of livestock producers in Benue State, Nigeria, 1989
|
|
Frequency (%) |
|
|
Age (n=72)
|
< 20 |
03 |
|
21-40 |
36 |
|
|
41-60 |
52 |
|
|
> 60 |
12 |
|
|
Literacy level (n=740)
|
No schooling |
78 |
|
Adult education |
2 |
|
|
Primary school |
14 |
|
|
Secondary school |
5 |
|
|
Post-secondary school |
1 |
|
|
Objectives (n=81)
|
Money |
51 |
|
Money and ceremonies |
37 |
|
|
Ceremonies |
5 |
|
|
Hobby |
8 |
|
Source: Ayoade and Ayoola (1991)
The last socio-cultural factor to be considered is the transhumance of Fulani agropastoralists. At the onset of the dry season these people move south in search of greener vegetation, and thus use grasses and harvested cereal straws in situ to feed their animals. Preservation of crop residues is not a priority for them because they move north again when the rains start.
Extension efforts to develop the use of crop residues and agro-industrial byproducts in livestock production need to take into account these socio-cultural factors. For example, taboos associated livestock keeping need to be overcome; agropastoralists could be encouraged to settle; the profitability of crop-residue use in animal production could be demonstrated, especially to farmers who keep animals only for ceremonial or hobby reasons. Such efforts may increase the numbers of ruminants kept by household which, in turn, may enhance the use of crop residues and industrial byproducts for their nutrition.
ECONOMIC AND POLICY CONSIDERATIONS
Profitability assessment
In order to demonstrate the profitability of enhanced livestock nutrition, a feeding trial was conducted at Makurdi. Two-year old Bunaji and Gudali feeder cattle, weighing kg, were fed crop residues supplemented with agro-industrial byproducts (cottonseed cake (CSC), brewers' dried grains (BDG) and molasses) for 120 days. Health precautions taken during the fattening period included deworming, tick bathing and vaccinations according to standard recommendations.
During the first two weeks in the stall, each animal was given 3 kg crop residue, 1 kg BDG, 1 kg CSC and 1 kg molasses daily. After two weeks, each animal was given 5 kg crop residue, 2 kg BDG, 1.5 kg CSC and 2 kg molasses daily. The animals were fed twice a day, half the daily allowance being given at each meal. The supplements were well mixed before administration, and clean water and salt licks were available ad libitum.
A daily weight gain of 0.67 kg was achieved. Details of costs and returns on live and slaughtered animal bases are summarised below.
|
Liveweight basis | |||
|
|
|
Naira | |
|
Income from sale of two finished feeders at |
|
| |
|
|
Naira 10/kg liveweight (finished weight = 280 kg) |
|
5600 |
|
Less variable costs: |
|
| |
|
|
2 feeder cattle at Naira 1000 each |
2000 |
|
|
|
480 kg BDG at Naira 0.75/kg |
360 |
|
|
|
360 kg CSC at Naira 0.80/kg |
288 |
|
|
|
240 kg molasses at Naira 1.5/kg |
360 |
|
|
|
1200 kg crop residue at Naira 0.20/kg |
240 |
|
|
|
5 Salt licks at Naira 30 each |
150 |
|
|
|
Medication at Naira 50/animal |
100 |
3498 |
|
Gross margin |
|
2102 | |
|
Slaughtered basis | |||
|
|
|
Naira | |
|
Income from slaughtering and processing of two finished feeders: |
|
| |
|
|
Lean meat (2 x 100 kg) at Naira 20/kg |
4000 |
|
|
|
Bone meat (2 x 15 kg) at Naira 15/kg |
450 |
|
|
|
Offals (2 x 10 kg) at Naira 15/kg |
300 |
|
|
|
Tails (2) at Naira 60 each |
120 |
|
|
|
Skins (2) at Naira 150 each |
300 |
|
|
|
Heads (2) at Naira 100 each |
200 |
|
|
|
Shanks (2 x 4) at Naira 30 each |
240 |
5610 |
|
Less variable costs |
|
3498 | |
|
Less processing/slaughter cost (Naira 50/animal) |
|
100 | |
|
Gross margin |
|
2012 | |
The cattle fattening enterprise is profitable on both liveweight and slaughtered bases and so farmers adopting the use of residues and byproducts would be assured of substantial returns to labour and management. Proper management practices such as cooperative sourcing of animals, crop residues, byproducts and medication, would lead to even higher gross margins.
It appears that economic reasons alone cannot explain the observed limited uses of these feed materials in the livestock industry. The possibility exists, therefore, for livestock extension services to make an impact in this regard among the livestock farming population.
Inhibitory policy environment
The national agricultural policy has provisions for encouraging livestock farmers to "practice various forms of fodder conservation techniques" and to "ensure the proper utilisation of all agro-industrial byproducts and crop residues which are found to be suitable for livestock feeding". However, few practical efforts have been made to apply these policy intentions (FMAWRRD 1988).
There are three observable features of the livestock policy environment that inhibit the use of crop residues and industrial byproducts in Nigeria. First, agro-industries are generally not located in the same areas as the main livestock population. Therefore byproducts which accumulate in the industrial areas cannot be distributed to livestock owners at the time, and in the form and quantities, desired, without incurring excessive transport costs. For example, the Savannah Sugar Company at Numan and the Nigeria Sugar Company at Bacita are located far from areas of livestock concentration such as Kaduna, Kano and Sokoto States, and there are no railway links for easy haulage. Furthermore, the distribution of breweries is skewed toward the south of the country whereas the greatest population of ruminant livestock is located in the north. This constraint could be overcome by the development and use of suitable means of treatment, preservation and transport of the byproducts.
Second, little or no effort has been made to demonstrate to farmers the advantages of using crop residues and agro-industrial byproducts in livestock production. This is a part of the observed laxity of livestock extension in general. The Nigerian agricultural extension system is largely biased towards crop production, and so what is needed is a complementary extension effort in the area of livestock production to enhance understanding of sourcing, handling and utilising crop residues in animal nutrition, particularly under the prevalent mixed farming systems in the country. The current proposal for unifying agricultural extension systems should pay attention to this area. This new effort should incorporate the use of proven extension methods, such as demonstrations, training, visits and adaptive research activities.
Third, the tempo of research on crop residues and byproducts appears low in the country. Research needs to be conducted on such issues as nutrient quality of available residues and by products, treatment methods and feeding trials. The economics of crop residue and byproduct utilisation also requires intensive analytical investigations to formulate least-cost rations for animal nutrition. There are plenty of opportunities for a concerted research effort to raise and utilise the potential of these materials.
REFERENCES
Akpaiyo N. 1991. Factors affecting women's performance in livestock production among Tiv people: A case of Tsambe district. Department of Animal Production, University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Nigeria. 36 pp.
Ayoade J A and Ayoola G B. 1991. A survey of smallholder livestock production in Benue State, Nigeria. Department of Animal Production, University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Nigeria.
FMAWRRD (Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Water Resources and Rural Development). 1988. Agricultural policy for Nigeria. Government Press, Lagos, Nigeria. 65 pp.
Nuru S. 1989. Research and development in pastoral production in Nigeria. In: Gefu J O. Adu I F. Lufadeju E A, Kallah M S and Awogbade M O (eds), Pastoralism in Nigeria: Past, present and future. Proceedings of a national conference on pastoralism in Nigeria, held at NAPRI, Shika-Zaria, Nigeria, 26-29 June 1988. NAPRI (National Animal Production Research Institute), Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria. pp. 52-69.
O'Donovan P B. 1979. Fattening crossbred and zebu cattle on local feed and by-products in Ethiopia. World Animal Review 30:23-29.
Unaji G. 1991. Role of women in livestock production and marketing in Benue State of Nigeria: A case study of Okpokwu Local Government Area. Department of Animal Production, University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Nigeria. 58 pp.
Ward J K. 1978. Utilization of corn and grain sorghum residues in beef cow forage systems. Journal of Animal Science 46:839.
