Cassava to replace some corn in feed
The Government in Barbados has provided $400 000 to the Ministry of Agriculture and the Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS) to conduct feasibility studies to replace a percentage of corn in animal feed with cassava.
Agriculture Officer Barton Clarke, all that was left for the ministry to do “is
essentially some demonstration work that we can grow the cassava at a price
cheaper than corn”. “The whole idea is that we would be able to replace a
certain per cent of the corn that is used in the feed with cassava. “More
importantly, we have to grow the cassava, harvest it, chip it, and dry it so
that it can be readily used by the three manufacturers [in Barbados],” he
said.
He added that one of the three manufacturers, Pinnacle Feeds, was
already on board and willing to supplement about 30 per cent of its corn with
cassava. “Of course, they will be purchasing that cassava at the same price that
they now pay for the corn,” Clarke noted.
In addition, he
said the BAS was working with the Barbados Egg and Poultry Producers Association
to garner some technical assistance from the International Centre for Tropical
Agriculture based in Colombia, which has identified some varieties of cassava to
develop agronomic practices for local conditions.
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