THE USE OF NON-CONVENTIONAL FEED RESOURCES (NCFR) FOR LIVESTOCK FEEDING IN INDIA
India is home to 17.5% of the world’s population and 20% of the world’s cattle population despite covering only 2.3% of the planet’s territory. In India, the annual growth rate of the animal population is 0.66%, and the country’s human population is growing at an enormous rate of 1.6%. Just 4% of the land that may be cultivated for agriculture is used for the production of farm feed in order to meet all the demands due to the severe competition between the expanding human and animal populations for food and fodder, respectively. The nation today faces a net scarcity of 44% of concentrate feed ingredients, 10.5% of dry crop leftovers, and 35.6% of green fodder, which adds to the ongoing shrinkage of farmed area with rising urbanization. The traditional feed contains crop leftovers or straw from grains like jowar, bajra, ragi, wheat, barley, etc., either whole or ground up. Crop wastes or straw from grains like jowar, bajra, ragi, wheat, and barley make up the traditional feed. These materials may be digested on their own or in conjunction with fresh fodder. There aren’t many options for expanding the area used for fodder crops. Due to this mismatch, animals’ production is impacted indirectly by the supply and demand for feed. Nontraditional or alternative feed sources are crucial to close this supply-demand mismatch. “Non-conventional feed resources” refer to any feeds that are either not typically used in commercially produced livestock rations or have not historically been employed in animal feeding (NCFR). A variety of perennial crops and feed of both plant and animal origins are frequently found in NCFR.In response to the rise of antibiotic resistance, it is time to take action. Studies that were the first of their kind to present their findings found strong evidence of antimicrobial residue in bovine milk as well as resistant bacteria in bovine (Patel et al., 2019; Patel et al., 2020). According to a number of studies, young piglets are becoming infected with germs that are resistant to antibiotics at an increasingly young age (Tumlam et al., 2022). It has been observed that phytogenic chemicals and herbal plants can greatly ameliorate fatty liver disease (Parmar et al., 2022)b and have anti-viral activity (Ghoke et al., 2018). In addition, Parmar et al. (2022)a have provided substantial proof that naturally available unconventional top crops can be used as feed for livestock because they have a significant source of nutrients. This demonstrates that the utilization of herbal plants, unconventional feeds is useful for the husbandry of livestock, poultry, and swine.
Resources for Unconventional Feeds are required
Due to direct rivalry with food products needed for human consumption, such as major grains, which are also a mainstay for humans, conventional types of feed are severely in short supply. With dwindling cultivable lands and a rise in human population, it is imperative for nutritionists and livestock producers to protect the feed security of cattle. This can only be done by effectively utilizing unconventional feeds that aren’t in direct competition with human feeds and taking maximum nutrients from them by effective digestion of fibrous nutrients (Patel K. P. et al., 2020). The cost of feeding an animal might be decreased by including the NCFR in its daily diet, which would also improve nutritional security and selfsufficiency from locally sourced foods (Amata, 2014).
Types of Alternative Feeds
- 1.Energy-dense ingredients, such as Vilayatibubul pods, apple waste, cocca pods, coconut pits, kusum cake, mango seed kernels, rain tree pods, tarmarid seed powder, etc.
- 2) Sources of protein that are high in quality include ambadi cake, corn gluten meal, corn steep liquor, dhaincha seeds, guar meals, isabolgola and lali, rubber seed cake, subabul seeds, sun hemp seeds, and insect meals.
- 3) Other sources, such as sugarcane tops, banana root bulbs, citrus byproducts, jackfruit waste, palm create tree, panewar seeds, potato waste, tea waste, azola, tomato waste, etc.
Quality and Features of Alternative Feed Resources
These are leftovers from the production process or the supply chain that are not recycled or utilised. Further the nutritive values are locked in the form of fibrous strong bonds which makes them difficult to digest by the normal mechanism and microflora. Use of Certain specific feed additives, fibrolytic enzymes and nutraceuticals along with un-conventional feeds can help to yield put maximum potential present in these unconventional feeds (Patel et al., 2018; Patel K. P. et al., 2020) They ought to be top-notch sources of nutrient molecules that can be fermented and meet the dietary requirements of animals. Such feed resources must be commercially feasible (affordable) to be used as feed raw materials. It is important to have access to accurate information and data about the nutritional makeup of such feed and fodders. Many feeds contain anti-nutritional elements that have a negative impact on animals’ health and may change how feed is processed and stored. More has to be learned about the way these compounds function and how to lessen their negative impacts. With careful consideration to maximize their digestibility, major feeds of agricultural origin are bulky and have significant quantities of fiber that are ideal to include in ruminants’ diets. Potential has been identified as feed materials that can be enhanced by additional processingPatel (K. P. et al., 2020) and inclusion in regular diets.
Problems with Using Unusual Feeds as Regular Feeds
Several obstacles prevent the use of unconventional feeds as a regular feed component in animals’ staple diets, including: – Such feeds are produced in extremely small quantities and are dispersed widely. – Due to low volumes and inadequate infrastructure, further processing of nonconventional feeds is difficult and limited – Low levels of incorporation in meals and limited final use of products. – Certain unusual feeds require multi-stage preparation and particular storage conditions – Irregular availability with regard to the hours, places, and seasons. – Uncertainty regarding these products’ commercial viability .
Methods to increase the use of unconventional feeds.
To address these issues and enhance the nutritional qualities and inclusion levels of these unconventional feeds, a wide variety of procedures and treatment methods are being developed. Soaking – By soaking cereal straws and certain seeds in water overnight, you can minimize the quantity of tannins and lignin they contain and improve their digestibility and flavour. The nutritional balance of low quality feed resources may be improved by supplementation—top dressing appropriately with the limiting nutrients. Chemical treatment: Under anaerobic conditions, chemicals like sodium hydroxide (NaOH), ammonia gas, and urea make the fibrous connections in cereal fodder more brittle and result in a higher energy production when digested by animals.
Quality/Characteristics of NCFR According to reports (FAO, 1985), non-conventional feed resources like conventional feed resources have several characteristics worthy of note. a) They are the end products of production processes and consumption that have not been used, recycled or salvaged. b) They are mostly of organic origin and can be obtained either in a solid, slurry or liquid form. c) The economic value of these non-conventional feed resources is usually less than the cost of their collection and transformation for use and consequently, they are discharged as wastes. d) Feed crops which generate valuable NCFR are usually excellent sources of fermentable nutrient molecules such as cassava and sweet potato and this is an advantage to livestock especially ruminants due to their ability to utilize inorganic nitrogen and non-protein nitrogenous sources. e) Fruit wastes such as banana rejects and pineapple pulp by comparison have sugars which are energetically beneficial. f) The majority of feeds of crop origin are bulky poor-quality cellulosic roughages with high crude fiber and low nitrogenous content which are suitable for feeding mostly ruminants. g) Some of these feeds contain anti-nutritional components which have deleterious effects on the animals and not enough is known about the nature of the activity of these components and ways of alleviating their effects. h) Non-conventional feed resources have considerable potential as feed materials and for some; their value can be increased if there were economically viable technological means for converting them into some useable products. i) Substantial information is required on chemical composition, nutritive value, the presence of anti-nutritional components and value in feeding systems.
Generation of NCFR
The generation of non-conventional feed resources is essentially from agriculture and various agrobased industries and is a function of many factors. Such factors include the quantity and quality of the materials produced which is dependent on the prevailing agro-climatic conditions and cropping patterns, the type of raw materials, the production process, the production rate, the type of inputs used, the regulations affecting product quality use and the constraints imposed upon effluent discharge (Devendra, 1985) Most non-conventional resources are usually regarded as waste which is an inaccurate description of this group of materials. They can be regarded as waste when they have not been shown to have economic value. When such waste can be utilized and can be converted by livestock to valuable products which are beneficial to man, they become new feed materials of importance. In addition, they can be used to supplement the existing limited feed resources. Recycling, reprocessing and utilization of all or a portion of the wastes, offers the possibility of returning these materials to beneficial use as opposed to the traditional methods of disposal and relocation of the same residues. The demonstration of potential value can thus make any of these waste products new feeds of value and importance.
Constraints to the uses of non-conventional feed resources.
Non-conventional feed resources are presently underutilized and there are several reasons for this. · Production is usually scattered and in some cases, the quality produced is low especially for use in processing of feed. · Sometimes cost of collection can be unusually high, for example, rubber seeds. · Processing of NCFR is usually difficult and can be problematic in certain cases. · Lack of managerial and technical skills in the utilization of such feeds in situ. · Limitation in the end uses of the products produced. · The uncertainty about the marketability of the end products. · Small farmers who form the backbone of traditional agriculture in tropical regions have neither the resources and know-how nor the quantity of residues to make any individual impact (Devendra, 1983). · The availability in terms of time, location, seasonality and storage. · Low nutritive value · High moisture content · Presence of anti-nutritional factors ·Lipid peroxidation (rancidity of high fat products) · Mould growth such as aflatoxin which may cause toxicity.
Techniques to improve utilization of non-conventional feedstuff
A set of technologies has been investigated in Africa and Asia to improve the nutritive value of low quality feed sources. The most popular ones include ammonia treatment of cereal and rice straws and mixing of several agro-industrial-by products in the form of hard feed blocks. Supplementation: Adequate supply of nutrients may improve the nutritive value of low quality feeds and from a practical point of view, it is believed that supplementation with grains and concentrate feeds is the only way to provide a balanced feed. However in drought conditions, the use of concentrates is usually high and this could lead to significant increases in the cost of feeding. Alternative feed sources may be used as feed for small ruminants but given the lack of definite knowledge of their nutritive value of such alternative sources; such diets given to these small ruminants are often unbalanced and may not be adapted to the physiological state of the animal. Appropriate use of several by-products and browse foliage could partially or totally replace common grains and concentrate feeds without causing any negative effects on livestock performance. Chemical treatment: An alternative to the use of supplementary feeds is to treat the cereal crop residues by chemical treatment to improve its quality, however such a process requires additional labor and materials and this affects the flexibility of such a process. Chemicals such as ammonia gas or ammonia generated from urea under anaerobic conditions renders fiber more fragile and disrupt the bond between lignin and other digestible components in fibrous feedstuff such as straws. Ammonia treatment increases crude protein content, feed intake and digestibility of treated straws thereby improving livestock productivity. The high cost of urea and to a less extent plastic sheet cover treated straw however is a main factor limiting adoption of this method by farmers. Attempts have been made to reduce the cost of ammonia straw treatment. Studies (Ben Salem et al., 1995) have shown that mud could be used to cover urea-treated straw instead of plastic sheets. Ensiling: Although numerous agro-industrial by-products are available in large amounts and are rich in certain nutrients, most of them are not widely used in livestock feeding; examples are tomato pulp which is high in crude protein and citrus pulp which is high in energy. Due to high moisture content of olive cake and tomato pulp for example, there is the tendency for such by-products to become rancid and moldy. Ensiling techniques can be safely used to extend the storage period of these byproducts separately or combined with other by-products such as molasses or wheat bran. Hadjipanayiotou (1999) observed that olive cake preserved well as silage, judging from its aroma, color, pH and the absence of molds and replacing parts of barley hay and straw with olive cake silage in the diets of lactating ewes, goats and cows did not have negative effects on milk yield and fatcorrected milk yield. Results from studies on the incorporation of citrus pulp and wheat straw silage in lamb diets to replace oat hay and 30 commercial concentrates (Scerra et al., 2000) revealed similarities in live weight and carcass weights among the treatment groups. Lambs on silage produced carcasses with better muscular conformation and lower fatness score. Feed block technology: Agro-industrial by-products especially those with high moisture content can be efficiently used through feed block technology. This technology (Ben Salem and Nefzaoui, 2003) provides flexibility to extension workers and farmers to choose ingredients to be included in the feed block and its use as supplements in drought and other harsh conditions. In addition, the blocks can be prepared when the ingredients’ cost is low and stored for later use. These cost effective supplements are solidified mixtures of some known agro-industrial by-products such as olive cake, tomato pulp and molasses to mention a few, urea, binders such as cement and/or quicklime, minerals and vitamins. These block considered as catalytic supplements are able to enhance digestion of low quality fibrous feedstuff through balanced synchronized and fractional supply of main nutrients to the animal on poor diets. Feed blocks may also be used as vehicles for several minerals such as copper and zinc and to improve reproduction performance of small ruminants (Al-Haboby et al., 1999) and as carriers of several reagents mainly polyethylene glycol (PEG) used to deactivate tannins in fodder shrubs and trees (Ben Salem et al., 2000; Ben Salem et al., 2002). Feed blocks may also be used to provide antihelminthic medicines to control gastrointestinal parasites in browsing animals (Anindo et al., 1998) and rumen modifiers such as saponins to decrease protozoa in the rumen leading to higher efficiency of microbial protein production. Of particular interest is the possible use of feed blocks to partially or totally replace expensive concentrate feeds commonly distributed to ruminants on low quality roughages, thereby reducing feeding costs. Deactivation of secondary compounds: It has been established (Ben Salem et al., 2002) that the nutritive value of acacia foliage is low and animals feeding on this shrub tend to lose weight. These negative effects were attributed to tannins present in the acacia shrub. Satisfactory attempts to improve the nutritive value of this shrub were obtained after feeding trials with polyethylene glycol (PEG -400) in small ruminants (Getachew et al., 2001). These authors showed that slow release of PEG in in vitro incubation system containing tannin-rich feed produced higher microbial protein in the rumen as compared to a one-time delivery of the same amount of PEG in the system. Tannins in browse foliage: Tannins in forage legumes have generally been classified as antinutritional; however it is possible that tannins could be employed advantageously to improve production. In a recent study (Ben Salem et al., 2002b) it has been observed that acacia tannins could be advantageously used to increase rumen undegradable proteins in cactus-based diets fed to lambs.
Conclusion
The Indian subcontinent’s low levels of animal output are mostly caused by a severe scarcity of feedstuffs, poor supply, and inadequate nutrition. The nutritional needs of animals and their ability to obtain them differ significantly. It is ideal for enough feed supplies to build up. In the Indian subcontinent, crop waste such as straws, molasses, and other agro-industrial wastes are widely dispersed. Yet, a variety of factors, such as their low nutritional value and challenges in handling and using them for extended periods of time, may be part of the reason for their limited utilization. Feed supplies must be enhanced by planting more fodder, promoting agroforestry, improving the nutritional value of crop remnants, and using other non-conventional feed sources. Crop wastes, agro-industrial leftovers, and browsing foliage will become more important sources of feed as both human and animal populations increase. A special focus should be placed on the efficient integration of multipurpose fodder shrubs and trees as a fodder bank while feeding sheep and goats under harsh conditions.
Compiled & Shared by- This paper is a compilation of groupwork provided by the Team, LITD (Livestock Institute of Training & Development)
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NON-CONVENTIONAL-FEED-RESOURCES
NON-CONVENTIONAL-FEED-RESOURCES
Non-conventional Feed Resources – An Overviews
