NON-CONVENTIONAL FEED RESOURCES AND FIBROUS AGRICULTURAL RESIDUES Strategies for Expanded Utilization Edited by C Devendra Non-conventional Feed Resources and Fibrous Agricultural Residues Strategies for Expanded Utilization Proceedings of a Consultation held in Hisar, India, 21-29 March 1988. Edited by C DEVENDRA P International Development Research Centre Indian Council of Agricultural Research © International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and Indian Council of Agricultural Research, 1988 ISBN 981-00-0769-8 The International Development Research Centre is a public corporation created by the Parliament of Canada in 1970 to support research designed to adapt science and technology to the needs of developing countries. The Centre's activity is concentrated in six sectors; agriculture, food and nutrition sciences; health sciences; information sciences; social sciences; earth and engineering sciences; and communications. IDRC is financed solely by the Parliament of Canada; its policies, however, are set by an International Board of Governors. The Centre's headquarters are in Ottawa, Canada. Regional offices are located in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Abstract This publication presents the results of a consultation held in Hisar, India, between 21 - 25 March 1988. It focused specifically on expanding the utilization of non- conventional feeds and fibrous agricultural residues in South Asia (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka). It noted the continuing problems related to chronic feed deficits throughout this region, and the inadequate efforts to reduce their magnitude. The current availability of the total feed resources and present patterns of utilization by ruminants (buffaloes, cattle, goats and sheep) and non-ruminants (pigs, poultry and ducks) were discussed in the context of the opportunities for expanding development efforts, especially at the farm level in the future. The assessment of current status and need for extending the available information led to the formulation of development strategies to enhance large- scale on-farm utilization of the available feeds with the participation of farmers, consistent with maximizing productivity (meat, milk, eggs, fibre and skins) from the animal genetic resources. Contents Page No. Acknowledgements v Foreword vi Keynote Address (R M Acharya) vii Session I: Resource Papers Strategies for the intensive utilization of the feed 1 resources in the Asian Region (C Devendra) Availability and intensive utilization of cereal straws 21 and fibrous agricultural residues in South Asia (M L Verma) The significance of nutrient balance in diets for farm 33 animals (C R Krishnamurti and A J Vera) Availability and utilization of non-conventional feed 50 resources and their utilization by ruminants in South Asia (M L Pun)) Availability and utilization of non-conventional feed 62 resources and their utilization by non-ruminants in South Asia (B S Gupta) Availability and intensive utilization of sugar cane by- 76 products (D V Rangnekar) Complete rations based on fibrous agricultural residues 94 for ruminants (M Raj Reddy) Discussion 112 Page No. Session II: Country Case Studies - Issues and Problems Feed availability, requirements for animals and current 116 patterns of utilization in Bangladesh (A M M Tareque and M Saadullah) Feed availability, requirements for animals and current 131 patterns of utilization in Bhutan (D B Tamang) Animal feed resources and current patterns of 139 utilization in India (V D Mudgal and K Pradhan) Feed availability, requirements for animals and current 147 patterns of utilization in Nepal (N P joshi) Feed availability, requirements for animals and current 158 patterns of utilization in Pakistan (M Y Malik) Feed availability, requirements for animals and current 171 patterns of utilization in Sri Lanka (V Raaindran) Discussion 181 Session III: Conclusions and Recommendations 183 List of Participants 188 Index 192 Foreword Chronic feed deficits represent a major constraint to animal production in many developing countries. The situation manifests itself in poor animal performance, low growth rates, reduced reproductive efficiency, high mortality rates, etc. The genetic potential of many farm animals is inadequately exploited and the outputs of animal production, such as meat, milk, eggs, fibre and skins, often fall far short of national requirements. The problem is especially acute in the countries of South Asia such as Pakistan, Nepal, India, and Bangladesh. Here the lack of sufficient feed is widespread, resulting in low availability of good quality feed from all available sources, including non-conventional ones. For these reasons, the Consultation on Expanding the Utilization of Non- conventional Feeds and Fibrous Agricultural Residues was a very appropriate and important meeting. Insufficient attention has been given to these feed resources in the past and it is considered opportune to focus more attention on them now. The topic is one of the priority research areas of the Crop and Animal Produc- tion Systems Program with the Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Sciences Divi- sion of IDRC. The program is very pleased to have been able to help support, and participate in, this meeting. The main objectives of the Consultation were to identify current limitations to the wider use of non-conventional feeds. The seven resource and six country papers clearly emphasized the need for expanding the use of non-conventional feeds and identified a number of opportunities for achieving this. Areas requir- ing further research were highlighted, and attention was given to the need for involving the target farming populations in the research, and for ensuring rapid and effective dissemination of the research results. It is hoped that the conclusions and recommendations of this meeting will be of interest to readers not only in South Asia but also elsewhere in Asia and beyond. If these proceedings serve to stimulate further research and development in this important area, leading to an increased availability of animal feeds, they will have amply served their purpose. G C Hawtin Associate Director Crops and Animal Production Systems Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Sciences Division Acknowledgements The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) wish to thank Dr Ram Swarup Singh, Vice Chancellor, Haryana Agricultural University (HAU), Dr V D Mudgal, Director of the Central Institute for Research on Buffaloes (CIRB) and Prof K Pradhan, Department of Animal Science, HAU. Special thanks are extended to several scien- tists and institutions who participated in the Consultation and contributed to this publication. Field visits were made to HAU, CIRB, National Research Centre on Equines, Camel, Yak and Mithun, G B Pant University of Agriculture and Technology and the National Dairy Development Board. Summaries of the individual sessions were made by Prof C R Krishnamurti, Prof Y M Malik and Dr D V Rangnekar. Keynote Address R M Acharya Deputy Director General (AS) Indian Council of Agricultural Research New Delhi, India I wish to convey, at the outset, my sincerest gratitude to the Vice Chancellor, Haryana Agricultural University; Dean, College of Animal Sciences; Dr K Pradhan, Professor of Animal Nutrition; and other colleagues for having provided us with the facilities and for hosting the Consultation. Dr V D Mudgal, Director, CIRB, and Dr K Pradhan were primarily responsible for the organization of the Consultation. Dr C Devendra, Senior Program Officer, IDRC, proposed the organization of this Consultation instead of a training programme on the subject, which had been under consideration. This subject had earlier been identified during the meeting of experts from South and South-east Asia for promoting the train- ing needs and facilities in the region. The Consultation is on a very topical subject and I am happy to note the participation of all the countries in the region that are also, fortunately, members of the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). Their partici- pation will help in focusing on the availability of animal feed resources, current utilization, major limitations to utilization, and formulation of strategies to alleviate the limitations to maximum livestock production. The region is endowed with a very large number of livestock with diversity in terms of species and breeds within the species. The world's best dairy buffaloes, draught cattle, carpet wool sheep and highly prolific goat breeds are found in this region. The large livestock numbers are both an asset and a liability. Most of the low productive animals are owned by poor people who, because they do not have any alternative sources of livelihood, cannot reduce their numbers. Steps must therefore be taken to improve production through better utilization of the available feed resources, reducing losses from mortality and morbidity due to infectious diseases and parasitic problems, more appropriate management and genetic improvement. It is essential that we should simultaneously think of special- ized livestock production systems which can be competitive with other agro- business enterprises based on irrigated cultivated land involving a large number of poor producing animals. Feed resources are a major limiting factor in exploiting the genetic potential in livestock. We cannot seriously think of meeting the nutritional requirement of improved livestock from the kind of feed resources that