Cassava, a starchy root tuber with a historic origin from South America has become a widely significant crop in the diet of humans across the globe in different forms. The consumption of cassava must be noted as one that goes beyond human diets because of its discovery as a great source of food for animals.
In tropical areas cassava is widely used for feeding pigs, sheep, cattle and even poultry. The leaves, stems and roots are all suitable for animal consumption. Widely known are the dried peels of root cassava which are fed to sheep and goats.
In recent times, research has proven that waste (by-products) from cassava starch processing where the cassava raw roots are not peeled can serve as a good source of animal feed for livestock. This generates additional income for cassava starch processors whereas the cassava stems are converted into cuttings for replanting and the leaves another source of livestock feed.
It is interesting to know that some areas in the tropics view the leaves and stems of the cassava plant as waste. A Series of analytical tests conducted has brought to light the evidence of cassava leaves having an appreciable amount of about 17-20 per cent protein content equivalent to the content found in the alfalfa plant. Alfalfa, which is a widely grown legume relevant for forage crops, especially for grazing, hay, green manure and many others, has cassava as a suitable substitute. Tests done on animal feeding further prove that dried cassava leaves are equivalent to Alfalfa’s nutrient content value. If the import of dehydrated alfalfa has reached about 240,000 tons per year in the Far East (specifically Japan), then dried leaves of cassava have a great sale potential to that capacity.
This then encourages the planting, processing or production of cassava and its derivatives in large capacities, because the advantages of every part of the cassava plant outweigh that of the alfalfa plant.
Parts of South East Asia and Brazil are no exceptions when it comes to the usage of the huge amounts of cassava leaves, stems and roots in the production of animal feed.
Gradually, cassava is seeing value and considerations are being made to be substituted for grains in animal feed production. This is a better idea bearing in mind the competition this will set if both humans and animals must battle for grain consumption.
It is then very obvious that animal farmers in the tropics are fairly consuming large quantities of cassava for animal feed, however, many livestock feed industries have not been able to pursue substantial areas of the crop’s benefit to feed production. The increasing demand and usage is a call to action for industries and various agricultural stakeholders. The ready market will mean ready and increased returns.
Cassava is an essential crop in today’s living.
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