Feed package for pigs in Ghana using AIBPs: solution to feeding constraints

2007

English

Livestock production in Ghana has been severely constrained by lack offeed of good quality and consistency. The condition is very grave for pigs which mostly depend on maize and fishmeal as the major sources of energy and protein in direct competition with human beings. Agro industrial by-products (AIBPs) which abound in tite country offer potential alternatives as sources of nutrientsfor the pigs. The project was to provide high quality mul cheap feed package/diets using locally available AIBPs and feedstuffs for small-scale pig farmers. These were to be evaluated onfarm at various locations in Ghana. The study was undertaken In selected Districts and towns in the Eastern, Central, Western, Greater Accra, Ashanti and Northern Regions of Ghana. Pigs were selected on respective farms, weighed and distributed over various treatments with at least four pigs to a treatntent. The pigs on a particular treatment were group-housed and group-fed once daily. The treatnwnts comprised the farmers own usual diets (DI), a control cereal-based diets (D2) and AIBPs-based diets (D3) Feed packages were developed for suckling (creep), weaner and grower-finisher pigs. AIBPs-based pig diets were developed and evaluated on-farm during the study. The average performance of the suckling pigs on the creep diet were average daily gain (ADG) of 0.10, 0.18 and 0.19 kg/day on DI, D2 and D3 respectively. The ADG of the weaner pigs were 0.13, 0.22 and 0.24 kg/day on DI, D2 and D3, respectively with corresponding FCE of 8.77, 3.55 and 3.86 kg feed/kg live weight gain. The grower-finisher pigs had ADG of 0.22, 0.39 and 0.43 kg/day on DI, D2 and D3, respectively with corresponding FCE of 8.12, 4.90 and 4.77 kg feed/kg live weight gain. The number of days taken to reach target weight of 70 kg live weight was 199, 144 and 140 for pigs on DI, D2 and D3, respectively. The study has indicated that it is economically feasible to eliminate maize completely from the diets of the three categories of pigs. AIBPs must be considered as potential good sources of nutrients for pigs with a view to overcoming the major constraints on pig production in Ghana

Rhule, S. W. A.; Okai, D. B.; Addo-Kwafo, A.; Ameleke, G. Y.