Utilization of cassava by-product as livestock feed in Kilifi and Taita Taveta counties, Kenya

Abstract

Cassava is the second most important root crop in Kenya after Irish potato and is mostly grown as an intercrop by smallholder farmers. In addition, the lack of enough quality feeds in Kenya has necessitated the need for research on alternative and non-competitive feed resources. The objective of the study was to assess the production and utilization of cassava and its byproducts as animal feed in two counties in Kenya. The two counties (Kilifi and Taita Taveta) were purposively selected for the study as cassava is widely grown in Wundanyi and Kilifi sub-counties, respectively.  Ethical clearance for the study was obtained from the University of Nairobi’s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine committee on Ethics, Biosafety, and animal use. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect information on socio-demographics, production and utilization of cassava and by-products as livestock feed from 247 respondents randomly selected in the 2 counties. The pool of respondents was purposely selected from those who grew cassava and kept livestock. Majority of the farmers in Taita Taveta and Kilifi (67.7 and 67.5%, respectively) preferred planting the Kibadameno cassava variety due to its taste and superior production performance. The roots were mostly (69.6%) consumed within the household in both counties and only 30.4% were sold to neighbors and in the local markets. Majority of the farmers (68%) fed cassava leaves to sheep and goats in Kilifi, while in Taita Taveta, only 6% fed the leaves to cattle. Most of the respondents in Taita Taveta (97%) composted the peels into manure, with only a few (3%) feeding them to livestock. In Kilifi County, 43% of the respondents composted the cassava peels into manure. Low usage of peels in Taita Taveta was attributed to lack of knowledge of processing them to reduce their cyanide levels (86.6%), low palatability (23.3%), and cyanide poisoning in animals after consumption (20.4 %). In conclusion, the potential of the cassava plant and root byproducts as livestock feed was partly exploited by the farmers in the two counties for various reasons, including high cyanide contents in the cassava varieties grown and a lack of knowledge on the processing of cassava by-products to reduce the cyanide content to safe levels.