Prof. Samson Aribido on Wednesday urged the Kogi Government to invest in the fabrication of a newly-developed gadget that could convert cassava peels into animals feeds.
Aribido, a professor of Animal Science at Kogi State University, Anyigba, made the call in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ojapata.
He said that the gadget, whose prototype was developed via a joint venture between Synergos Nigeria, Fadama III and Kogi State Government, should be mass produced for use in the cassava-producing areas of the state.
He said that Synergos came up with the technology for processing and converting cassava peels into livestock feeds in its waste-to-wealth programme to assist cassava farmers, under the Fadama III Agriculture Financing (AF) intervention in cassava production.
Aribido said that the prototype was the outcome of a joint scientific research carried out by Synergos and International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI).
He said that in developing the prototype, the university’s scientists were mainly concerned with the determination and standardisation of the chemical composition of the animal feeds to suit various livestock categories, ranging from ruminants to birds.
The don said that the initiative would somewhat serve as a poverty alleviation tool, as it would particularly empower women economically, while taking care of “wastes’’ from cassava harvests and their effects on the environment.
“On our own part, we came in to see how we can enrich the cassava peels with nutrients like minerals and vitamins that will make the feeds balanced.
“We are also going to process cassava peels into feeds for fish from this work.
“We are also going to look at the whole marketing mix that can be generated, in our efforts to process cassava peels into materials like chips, crunches, pellets and cakes that can be stored for longer periods for distant markets.
“Our vision is that if we are able to get this done, then, it will be easy for anyone to adopt whole cassava processing techniques — producing cassava products for human consumption, industrial uses and animal feeds,” he said.
Aribido said that the one of the objectives of the project was to promote agriculture as business initiative, while further boosting the economic value of cassava.
“This prototype is there for the government to study carefully and develop; it should promote its acceptance and use in all the cassava-producing areas of the state.
We can achieve our set targets if we are all involved in the project,’’ he added. (NAN)
