Cassava poultry feed trial in Guyana
The National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) in Guyana is awaiting test results from the US on the nutritional value of a cassava poultry feed before starting a trial of the experimental product at the end of this month.
The idea to use cassava as a source of poultry feed stemmed from a workshop hosted earlier this year which “aimed at implementing a strategy to start a cassava enterprise and industry development”, the Government Information Agency (GINA) said in a press release.
NARI has sent its experimental cassava product to the US to determine its nutritional values.
NARI has begun working with its private sector partner, Bounty Farms, on this venture. Director of NARI, Dr Oudho Homenauth, explained that the unpeeled cassava is sliced in thin pieces and sun dried so that it will break easily.
Once the cassava has dried to about 12% moisture, he said, it is ground into flour.
Homenauth noted that cassava feed, once feasible can replace the more expensive feeds made of corn and rice.
Bounty Farm will be doing the necessary formulations which will be compared to what is used conventionally to determine whether the cassava feed can serve as a substitute.
