Association Tasks research institutes on alternative poultry feeds

Mr Mojeed Iyiola, the Chairman, Poultry Association of Nigeria, (PAN), Lagos State Chapter, has called on research institutes to proffer alternative feeds for birds.

Iyiola made the call in an interview on Thursday in Lagos state.

He said there was no sustainable poultry feed, which largely depends on maize.

“We can only alternate the feed materials but the substitute are most times not available“, he said.

The chairman further said there was the need for researchers to produce innovations in poultry management especially on alternative feed meals.

“Wheat can replace maize to some extent, because the energy in maize is far higher than that in wheat“, he said.

According to him it only when some enzymes are added to wheat that one could get the desired results.

Iyiola suggested that the only way to overcome the rising cost feed and its consequence on feed milling was to engage in massive maize cultivation.

“Maize should be cultivated in abundance, it is the major ingredients in preparation of poultry feed. It constitutes about 70 per cent of the raw materials,’’ he said.

He said that Nigeria had tried to adopt cassava flour as alternative to maize but the move yielded negative result as it made cassava flour more expensive.

“In-depth research can help Nigerian farmers to benefits and boost the production capacity of the sector,” Iyiola said.

NAN / Foluke Ibitomi