Effect of substituting a commercial grower diet with fermented sweet potato vine-cassava tuber-based diet on the performance of growing pigs
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Date
2021-06-30
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
African Journal of Rural Development
Abstract
Pig production is one of the significant enterprises with the potential to improve protein
nutrition and livelihoods of smallholder farmers. However, pig production is constrained by
high cost of feedstuffs, hence an urgent need to search for low-cost feeding alternatives. This
paper assessed the nutritional value of home-made alternative feed comprised of sweet potato
vines, cassava tubers and rice bran (SPV-CT-RB) for growing pigs. Pig diets were formulated
with SPV-CT-RB substituting commercially made concentrate by 0, 30 and 45%. Sweet potato
vines had more protein (15.2%) than SPV-CT-RB (11.3%), rice bran (7.17%) and cassava
tubers (1.99%). Cassava tubers had more energy (12.1 MJ/kg) than SPV-CT-RB (11.1 MJ/kg),
sweet potato vines (11.0 MJ/kg) and rice bran (10.7 MJ/kg). Except for feed conversion ratio,
substituting the commercially made concentrate with SPV-CT-RB diet did not affect (p≥0.05)
the body weight gain, feed intake and cost of producing pork. The SPV-CT-RB diet can be
included in growing pig diets up to 45% without compromising with the feed intake, body
weight gain and cost of producing pork.
Description
Keywords
Feeding alternatives, feed costs, livelihoods, nutrition, pork, northern Uganda