ZERO WASTE CONCEPT IN ANIMAL FEEDING
Harneet Kour, Komal Chauhan
Ph.D. Scholars
Animal Nutrition Division
ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal-132001
Email: harneetkour178@gmail.com
SUMMARY
The zero-waste concept in animal feeding idealizes the practice of meeting the nutrient requirements of animals as accurately as possible in the interest of a safe, high quality and efficient production, while ensuring the lowest possible load on the environment with minimum or zero wastage. Along with use of sustainable agriculture practice which optimizes use of the five natural kingdoms and other crop and farm residues to produce diverse-food, energy and nutrients in such a way that waste of each process becomes the feedstock for another process. It also includes the efficient use of animal byproducts and animal waste to fulfill the nutritional requirements of livestock itself, producing energy for various farm operations and providing organic manure to the fields. Zero waste concept not only ensures economical production at farm but also reduces the load on environment.
INTRODUCTION
Zero waste concept also known by the names ‘waste recycle’, ‘transforming waste to wealth’, and ‘minimizing waste’ is a visionary concept for confronting waste problems in our society. This idea is being embraced in various sectors and by policymakers because it’s practical implications and promotion of sustainable development and consumption. Recycling and recovery are the key note points here. Zero waste concept in animal feeding is much needed change in this era when our country is dealing with the hardship of deficiency of 10% dry fodder, 35% of concentrates and 33% of green fodder and contribute requires 494 million tones of dry fodder, 825 MT of green fodder and 54 MT of concentrate feed by the year 2020. In such times using potential of livestock species to use feed which is either discarded by humans or left unused can be a boon to the environment and livestock owners too. Livestock animals function as bio-processors for converting food materials that are no-longer-wanted by humans into meat, eggs, and milk. This will not only help to reduce wastage but also spare staple feed grains important for human consumption. Feeding of food waste and food production residuals to livestock animals has been practiced in many parts of the world. Feeding of ‘non-food parts’ of crops as animal feed is growing substantially in the feed supply chain.
DIFFERENT APPROACH TO ACHIEVE ZERO WASTE
1.The Re-Cycle Concept
The innovative approach introduced by Kempen (2003) has helped greatly the livestock owners with economical feeding and producing zero waste at farm. This system aims at converting animal waste or feces into value added products such as energy and ash. Feces is collected at 53% DM and urine is continuously removed from house.
.The energy released from treatment of feces can be converted to liquid fuel.
- The sterile ash can be used as a mineral supplement in animal feed, thus also reducing environmental pollution.
- Nitrogen from manure can be converted to nitrogen fertilizer.
Fig. 1 Path of nutrients in RE-Cycle system (Kempen, 2013)
2.Man – Land – Livestock Ecosystem
Farmers keep various livestock species such as cows, buffaloes, sheep and goats including small numbers of poultry in backyard to meet their domestic needs along with agricultural land holdings. Livestock is an integral part of farming system as such. But high human and animal population densities in some areas have surpassed land-carrying capacities causing environmental degradation. To meet the increasing food demands of larger populations, farmers are cultivating more land permanently and grazing lands have diminished. Nutrient balances for many productions system is negative. Animal manures improves fertility that many farmers apply to cropland and livestock can also contribute to these nutrient imbalances. The concept of man – land – livestock ecosystem is gaining popularity as it maximizes food production and alleviates economic status of the farmers.
Mixed Farming: A study conducted by Schiere (2012) revealed that a mixed farming system of approx. 7.5 acres land, generated employment of 571 men days with almost uniform distribution throughout the year. The recycling of precious organic manurial wastes (energy/mineral matter) was found to be responsible for conserving ecosystem and thus increasing the fertility of soil and keeping the environment free from pollution hazards, thus reducing the wastage produced by other intensive farming systems. This system also provided a good amount of feed for animals.
Integrated Crop- Livestock Farming: In Integrated crop-livestock systems crop production is planned for both food and animal feed, whereby all or parts of the main crop and its by-products are allocated to animal feeding with zero wastage.
3.Precision Livestock Farming
Precision nutrition is the practice of meeting the nutrient requirements of animals as accurately as possible in the interest of a safe, high quality and efficient production, while ensuring the lowest possible load on the environment with minimum or zero wastage (Banhazi et al., 2012). It aims at reducing the variability observed in inputs and outputs such as the varied quality and quantity of meat, milk, egg, wool etc.
- PLF uses a precise matrix for both nutrient requirement and nutrient content of the ingredients and ensures food hygiene also.
- Proper use of modifiers such as enzymes, prebiotics, probiotics, antioxidants, mould inhibitors and other feed additives.
- Exploiting genetic improvements in animals and feedstuffs.
- Reduction of toxicants and antinutritive factors.
- Use of improved feed and feedstuff processing techniques that will lead to better nutrient utilization.
4.Use of Biological agent to achieve Zero Waste
Ecodudu’s (a Kenya based feed manufacturing company/ enterprise) has developed a zero-waste approach to animal feed and fertilizer using black soldier fly. Black soldier fly is a nutritional powerhouse and eco-friendly ingredient in animal feed and fertilizer. Ecodudu found the traditional proteins used for animal as expensive as well as low supply. The black soldier fly, however, was proved to be a more profitable alternative (Brillaut, 2019).
Feed the black soldier flies food waste that comes from nearby hotels, universities, and other institutions.
Black soldier fly begin to grow as larvae
Some larvae used as protein for shells left after the larvae
Animal feed using solar dryer turned into fly are used for
making organic fertilizers.
Remaining larvae blossomed into flies in order to reproduce
5.Use of Animal By-Products
In order to achieve zero waste truly, the by-products arising from livestock and poultry farms must be delt with seriously. If animal by-products are not utilized in a proper it way may create major aesthetic and catastrophic health problems. Animal by-products can cause pollution and hazard still unknown to humans but on the other hand meat, poultry and fish processing wastes have a potential for recycling, reducing waste and converting into useful products of higher value e.g., by-products such as blood, liver, lung, kidney, brains, spleen and tripe has good nutritive value along with some medicinal and pharmaceutical uses and using treated fish waste for collagen, biogas/biodiesel, dietic applications (chitosan) and food packaging.
CONCLUSIONS
Zero-waste concept such as recycle concept & mixed farming in animal feeding is need of the hour to meet the nutrient requirements of animals and ensuring the lowest possible load on the environment with minimum or zero wastage. Optimum use of crop, farm and animal residues is required in such a way that waste of each process becomes the feedstock for another process. Approaches like precision nutrition not only ensures economical production at farm but also reduces the load on environment.
REFERENCES
Banhazi, T. M., Babinszky, L., Halas, V. and Tscharke, M., 2012. Precision livestock farming: Precision feeding technologies and sustainable livestock production. Int. J. Agric. Biol. Eng. 5(4):54-61.
Brillaut, A., 2019. Ecodudu’s zero-waste approach to animal feed and fertilizer. Kenya Climate Innovation. url:https://www.kenyacic.org/2019/04/ecodudus-zero-waste-approach-to-animal-feed-and-fertilizer.
Kempen T Van. 2003. Re-Cycle: A Profitable Swine Production System with Zero Waste. Banff Pork Seminar, Advances in Pork Production 14:195-206.
Schiere J B, Ibrahim M N M and Keulen H van. 2002. The role of livestock for sustainability in mixed farming: criteria and scenario studies under varying resource allocation. Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 90(2):139-153.
