T. Beramgoto
Institute of Animal Research
Bambui Experimental Station
P.O. Box 80, Bamenda, Cameroon
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and methods
Results and discussion
Conclusion and recommendations
Acknowedgement
References
An investigation of the use of agricultural by-products as cattle feed was conducted at Bambui Experimental Station. Banana forage fed ad libitum with mineral supplementation supported maintenance in beef cattle and daily of 9 g for 3 months. Intensive fattening rations with various levels of maize stover, palm kernel cake, cottonseed cake and rice polishing also give promising results. The ration with 34% palm kernel cake was associated with the highest net revenue of 49,735 CFA per head while that with the highest proportion of cottonseed cake corresponded to the lowest but substantial profit of 27,997 CFA per animal. Banana forage and maize stover cannot be used by local smallholders due to the cost of collection, transport and processing. Integrated crop and livestock farming is recommended as a solution.
Importing cottonseed cake from the North for use as cattle feed in the North West Province was uneconomical. The introduction of a commercial feedlot in Douala to take advantage of low transport cost by train may be profitable. Further studies to determine economical location of feedlot and for better ration formulation based on agricultural by-products available in the North West Province are to be considered. Grass (Brachiaria ruziziensis) hay and legume (Stylosanthes guyanensis) hay produced locally are to be evaluated as dry season cattle feeds in the North West Province.
The use of agro-industrial by-products as animal feed has been a common practice for decades in industrialised nations where millions of tons are produced each year. This development has been the result of intensified research activities designed to find efficient methods of recycling agricultural waste. Chemical (soaking in NaOH) and mechanical, pelleting and grinding processing techniques were devised for improving nutritional values of the poorest by-products such as cereal straws (El Hag and Kurdi, 1986).
With the ever-growing world population pressure, making competition between grazing land and crop land a preoccupying reality for political leaders, developing country such as Cameroon have been attempting to adopt this relatively old technology for better management of their agricultural resources. The unavailability of grass during the dry season in areas of the country gives even more importance to agricultural by-products as sources of nutrients for livestock in this period.
In Cameroon, the relative abundance of farm residues (rice bran, rice straw, maize stover, maize cobs etc.) in Northern as well as Western provinces of the country (MESRES-IRZ Bambui Centre 1985/86; Fomunyam and Meffeja, 1986), offers a unique opportunity for fast improvement of animal production. According to Fomunyam (1984), the Northwest and Western provinces of Cameroon alone produce about 3080 tons of maize stover, maize cobs, rice straws and rice bran annually.
The Cameroon Institute of Animal Research (IRZ), the main public institution with the mission to develop animal resources in the country, has been trying to take advantage of this situation. It has been making serious research efforts to determine the feeding value of locally available agricultural by-products. The Bambui Animal Research Centre, responsible for the improvement of beef and dairy cattle production in the Western Highlands of the country, one of two main zones of IRZ operations, has been particularly active in this area with some success.
The main objective of this paper is to discuss the constraints to the practical application of positive results obtained by research workers of the Bambui Centre. The specific goals of this study are the following:
- to review research activities on agricultural byproducts;
- to study physical constraints to practical use of these by-products by local farmers; and
- to propose alternative strategies to overcome the identified obstacles.
The feeding value of agricultural by-products was evaluated primarily in an attempt to design a dry season feeding package based on the use of farm residues. Since the management of animal production is location-specific, it is important to give a brief geographic description of the study area to substantiate the underlying concerns.
Location of the study area
The Bambui Experimental Station is located on the high lava plateau of the North West Province of Cameroon about 23 km N.E. of Bamenda. It is situated at latitude 6° N and longitude 10° 15'E. This area experiences the dry and rainy seasons as any other tropical region, but with very peculiar lengths. The dry season lasts from mid-November to mid-March i.e. 4 months. The rainy season starts in mid-March and ends in mid-November (8 months), bringing 2310 mm. The abundant rainfall, combined with a rich volcanic soil, makes the Western Highlands of Cameroon most favourable for agriculture. Most African countries will envy the cool temperatures of Bambui (minimum of 0-15°C, maximum of 24.6°C and monthly average of 20.2°C) and its elevation of 1600-1980 m above sea level coupled with rich natural savannah vegetation.
Review of investigations on nutritional value of major agricultural by-products of Cameroon
Several feeding trials were conducted at Bambui Centre to evaluate the nutritional value of locally available farm residues. Two trials were retained because of their interesting results and also because they made use of major agro-industrial byproducts of Cameroon.
The first trial involved the supplementation of banana forage with cottonseed cake and/or dried leaves of Leucaena leucocephala as protein sources. The composition of the four diets formulated for the study is shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Diets of banana forage supplemented with cottonseed cake and/or dried leaves of Leucaena leucocephala.
|
Ingredient |
Diet |
|||
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
|
|
Banana forage ¹ |
ad lib. |
ad lib. |
ad lib. |
ad lib. |
|
Cottonseed cake (g/head/day) |
0 |
750 |
0 |
500 |
|
Leucaena dried leaves (g/head/day) |
0 |
0 |
1500 |
500 |
|
Mineral mixture ² (g/head/day) |
10 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
¹. Banana forage contains 70% pseudo-stem and 30% leaves.
². Mineral mixture contains 50% table salt and 50% bone meal.
A dozen young bulls of Ngaoundere and Ngaoundere crosses averaging 300 kg of liveweight and 2 years and 6 months of age were used. The animals were randomly divided to 4 groups which were also randomly assigned to the four dietary treatments in a 4 x 4 latin square design.
Banana forage (mixture of dried pseudo-stem and leaves) was chopped and mixed with various levels of protein supplement as indicated in Table 1. Banana forage and water were given ad libitum. A known amount of forage was offered to each group daily at 8:00 a.m. and the leftover was weighed the next morning before feeding. Daily feed consumption was recorded.
The trial lasted 107 days including an adaptation period of one week. Animals were weighed fortnightly. Data on daily gain and feed intake were collected and analysed statistically for diet effect. Results presented in Table 2 show that diet 3 with levels of protein and energy far above maintenance requirements was associated with the highest daily gain. Diet 1 with protein content barely enough to meet maintenance need of a 300 kg bull resulted in a daily gain of 8.9 g. These results suggest that banana forage can be a good dry season feed for cattle even unsupplemented. The fact that supplementation with cottonseed cake alone was related to a lower daily gain compared to using Leucaena as protein source can be explained by the difference in energy availability (Table 2). Using higher levels of Leucaena to supplement banana may be recommended for intensive fattening of beef cattle. Increasing the level of cottonseed cake might not be economical.
Table 2. Effect of supplementing banana forage with cottonseed cake and/or Leucaena on intake and growth
|
Parameter |
Diet |
|||
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
|
|
Number of bulls |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
|
Initial liveweight (kg) |
306.0** |
298.8a |
296.8a |
302.5a |
|
Final liveweight (kg) |
306.6b |
302.8b |
307.8b |
357.1b |
|
Ave. daily gain (g) |
8.9c |
142.8bc |
417.42a |
357.1 |
|
Ave. daily feed intake (kg DM/bull) |
3.08a |
3.30a |
3.39 a |
3.55 a |
|
Ave. daily CP intake (g/bull) |
240.0 |
573.8 |
615.9 |
590.53 |
|
Ave. daily ME intake (Meal/bull) |
na |
2.07 |
3.84 |
2.66 |
* Adapted from Wegad (unpublished data).
** Means of the same row with the same superscript are not significantly different (P > 0.05).
na = not available.
The second nutritional trial considered after reviewing research activities on agricultural by-products at Bambui Centre concerned intensive fattening of beef animals. The three diets used are presented on Table 3. This experiment is interesting because it makes use of most of the agro-industrial by-products of Cameroon. The diets were formulated so as to contain approximately the same level of protein (12.92%). Twenty-seven bulls with liveweight varying between 270 and 284 kg were divided into 3 groups of 9 animals each.
Table 3. Intensive fattening rations with various levels of corn stover and major agro-industrial by-products of Cameroon.
|
Feedstuff |
Ration |
||
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
|
|
Corn stover (%) |
20 |
40 |
80 |
|
Rice polishing (%) |
40 |
23.5 |
10 |
|
Palm kernel cake (%) |
34 |
22.5 |
0.0 |
|
Cottonseed cake (%) |
3.5 |
11.5 |
5.5 |
|
Urea (%) |
0.0 |
0.0 |
2.0 |
|
Mineral mixture (%) |
2.5 |
2.5 |
2.5 |
|
CP (%) |
12.92 |
12.9 |
12.96 |
|
ME (meal/kg DM) |
2.887 |
2.57 |
2.41 |
|
Cost (CFA/kg)* |
38.87 |
34.49 |
23.39 |
* 1US$ = 295 CFA in 1987.
The three groups were randomly assigned to the three dietary treatments. The results shown on Table 4 indicate that corn stover supplemented with energy feeds (rice polishing and palm kernel cake) and a protein source (cottonseed cake) can be profitable when used to fatten beef animals. The diet with the highest level of palm kernel cake had the highest net return.
Table 4. Profitability of intensive fattening of steers using corn stover, rice polishing, palm kernel cake and cottonseed cake as major feed ingredients.
|
Parameter |
Ration |
||
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
|
|
Number of bulls |
9 |
9 |
9 |
|
Initial weight (kg) |
268.94 |
277.28 |
282.8 |
|
Final weight (kg) |
365.16 |
360.50 |
308.80 |
|
Daily gain (9) |
859 |
742 |
214 |
|
Daily intake (kg DM/head/day) |
6.25 |
7.44 |
7.04 |
|
Purchase price a (CFA/bull) |
87.392.5 |
90.122.5 |
92.560.0 |
|
Feed cost (CFA/finished bull) |
29.880.0 |
27.450.0 |
17.502.0 |
|
Sale price b (CFA/finished bull) |
164.340.0 |
162.225.0 |
138.960.0 |
|
Profit CFA/finished bull |
49.735 |
43.344 |
27.997 |
a Bulls are purchased at the price of 325 CFA per kg of liveweight. 1 US$ = 295 CFA in 1987.
b Finished bulls are sold at the price of 450 CFA per kg of live-weight.
Investigating physical constraints to the efficient use of corn stover, banana forage and agro-industrial by-products found in Cameroon
The methodology used in this study consisted of uninformal questioning of workers of the Centre involved in collecting, transporting and processing of banana forage and corn stover. Financial reports of the Centre were also reviewed to determine the sources of supply and price of rice polishings, palm kernel cake and cottonseed cake. Local suppliers were also interviewed. Questions usually asked were related to sources of supply and difficulty of acquiring, transporting and storing the by-products. Following the interviews, the answers were written out and studied to identify common constraints. Three local suppliers of cottonseed cake, palm kernel cake and groundnut cake were contacted.
Physical constraints of using banana forage and corn stover as beef cattle feed at Bambui Centre
Banana forage and corn stover were proven valuable as cattle feed by researchers at Bambui Centre. However their practical use by local cattlemen remains a problem. Generally these are not crop growers and they do not have proper means of collecting and transporting agricultural residues. For instance, purchasing corn stover from Bali, 45 km away, to feed to animals in Bambui, cost 28 CFA/kg if the farmer provides labour for collection and if one uses his own 2-ton vehicle and buys 40 litres of fuel at 150 CFA/litre (Table 5). Even if the cattleman can afford to acquire the corn stover, he still has to chop it which is very tedious. The mechanical chopper as used at the Centre is not at the reach of smallholders.
Table 5. Cost of acquiring corn stover and banana forage at Bambui Centre.
|
Parameter |
Corn stover |
Banana forage |
|
Supply point |
Bali |
Bambui-Bambili |
|
Price |
15 CFA/kg* |
30 CFA/plant |
|
Labour for collection |
10 CFA/kg |
- |
|
Transport cost |
3 CFA/kg** |
- |
|
Total |
28 CFA/kg |
30 CFA/plant |
* 1 US$ = 295 CFA in 1987.
** Transport cost is 3 CFA/kg if one uses his own 2-ton vehicle and buys 40 litres of fuel at 150 CFA/litre.
Banana forage is even more expensive because a plant which contains only 10% dry matter is sold at 30 CFA excluding labour for collection and transport cost. Chopping banana forage is as difficult as corn stover.
A major constraint of adopting banana forage and corn stover is the conflict between their use as manure and their use as cattle feed. These two by-products are very important for improving soil fertility by local farmers who are reluctant to sell them.
There are three alternatives for solving the above conflict and permit the use of banana forage and corn stover as cattle feed in the Bambui area. The first alternative requires an agreement between the crop farmers and cattlemen who will then exchange cattle manure and farm residues. In this case, the problems of transport and processing remain unsolved.
The second alternative calls for a good cooperation between the two communities. Farmers will let cattle into their farms after harvesting their crops. This solution eliminates processing and transport constraints.
The third alternative which requires important social changes, is in favour of integrated crop and livestock farming. Cattlemen have to learn cropping techniques and vice versa.
Obstacles and possibilities of using cottonseed cake as cattle feed in Western Province of Cameroon
The value of cottonseed cake as animal feed has been recognised for decades by many researchers (IEMVT, 1974; MESRES-IRZ, 1983-1984; Church, 1984; MESRES-IRZ-Bambui Centre, 1985-1986). As illustrated earlier results of research conducted under Bambui conditions confirmed this reality. Nevertheless, many obstacles must be overcome by local small cattlemen before they can practically take advantage of the nutritive value of cottonseed cake.
In Cameroon, cottonseed cake is produced in the Northern cities of Maroua, Kaele and Garoua. Bambui Centre is located at 730 km, 655 km and 540 km from Maroua, Kaele and Garoua, respectively. One has to face many problems to transport cottonseed cake from one of these locations to Bambui Centre.
The average cost of buying and transporting 24 tons of cottonseed cake from Kaele to Bambui Centre by road is 95.25 CFA/kg. This includes the purchase price (3,500 CFA/bag of 60 kg), truck lease (35,000 CFA/ton), loading charge (35 CFA/bag) and unloading charge (20 CFA/bag). Major problems related to transport by road are the following:
- truck availability; truck lease depends on truck availability and relationship with the truck owner;
- poor road conditions between Kaele and Bambui Centre in the rainy season;
- competition between domestic and European markets where prices are higher; and
- unsteady supply due to seasonal production of cotton.
Transporting cottonseed cake by train between the two points is even more expensive. The average cost for both purchase and transport in this case is 100.09/CFA/kg which includes the following components:
- purchase of cottonseed cake;
- loading in Kaele;
- truck lease from Kaele to Ngaoundere;
- unloading charge in Ngaoundere;
- train transport charge from Ngaoundere to Nkongsamba;
- loading charge in Nkongsamba;
- truck lease from Nkongsamba to Bambui Centre;
- unloading charge in Bambui.
In view of all these difficulties, using cottonseed cake as protein supplement for beef cattle in the North West Province is uneconomical even for a large commercial livestock enterprise. Using it to supplement dry season feed is the most expensive way to keep animals alive in this part of the country.
The North West Province of Cameroon has a great potential for cattle production. However, local cattlemen have difficulties to feed their animals through the four months of the dry season due to lack of forage in this period. Feeding trials at Bambui Experimental Station showed that banana forage offered ad libitum with a mineral supplement could help animals maintain weight in the dry season and even contribute to average daily weight gain of 9 g. Supplementing banana forage with 1500 g of dried leaves of Leucaena leucocephala per head daily resulted in average daily gain of 616 g and could be recommended for intensive fattening. Daily cottonseed cake supplement of 750 g per head was associated with a substantial weight gain of 574 g/day which did not seem economical.
An intensive fattening trial using various levels of corn stover, rice polishings, palm kernel cake and cottonseed cake gave promising results. The diet with the highest level of palm kernel cake (34%) corresponded to the highest net revenue (49,734.6 CFA per head) while the ration with the largest proportion of corn stover led to the smallest but still substantial profit of 27,996.7 CFA per animal.
Collecting, transporting and processing banana forage and corn stover remain the biggest obstacles to the practical application of these results by small cattlemen. Purchasing, collecting and transporting 2 tons of corn stover on 45 km could lead to a total average cost of 28 CFA/kg while one banana plant with 10% dry matter cost 30 CFA. The best method of eliminating these constraints is integrated crop and livestock farming which will require some social changes since cattlemen have to learn crop growing techniques and vice versa.
Importing cottonseed cake from Northern Cameroon for use in fattening diets or as supplement of dry season rations in the North West Province of the country seemed uneconomical due to its unsteady supply and high transport cost. One plausible solution to this situation is to build a commercial feedlot in Douala and use rail road only to transport cottonseed cake from the North. This arrangement is expected to cut down transport cost substantially. In fact it would be interesting to study the economical location of commercial feedlots in the future considering the points of cattle supply and markets and also the sources of major inputs. A further feeding trial with the application of linear programming for better ration formulation using agro-industrial by-products directly available in the North West Province is being planned. The last alternative being considered for study is the use of hay from grass (Brachiaria ruziziensis) and legume (Stylosanthes guyanensis) produced locally.
I must thank Miss Eugenie Bomobiobo, secretary at Bambui Centre for typing this article.
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