AGRIBUSINESS: How to feed fish with cassava peels to boost growth and productivity.

AGRIBUSINESS: How to feed fish with cassava peels to boost growth and productivity. Fish is a valuable source of animal protein in human diets and also as protein in compounding of feed ration for animals. There is a need to increase production of fish for human consumption to meet the ever increasing demand by the population. There is a potential to produce locally that which is needed and even extend trade by exporting,but certain constraints are limiting growth. The cost of fish feed is a major constraint to productivity and farmers are always searching out ways to cut cost without affecting productivity. AGRIBUSINESS: How to feed fish with cassava peels to boost growth and productivity. The fish farmers are very innovative when it comes to feeding the fish,they usually start with compounded feed(finished) to start them up after which they source out locally produced feed(home- made) and then they finish them off with compounded(finished) feed. AGRIBUSINESS: How to feed fish with cassava peels to boost growth and productivity. In a bid to feed fish to boost productivity and growth several combinations have been used with success,read. Farmers have used cassava to feed fish in various combinations. Fish farmers often use a combination of cassava flakes with crayfish at mid-season and towards the harvesting time. Fish are fed with only cassava flakes also @1 week to harvest. The use of cassava peels have also been used to compound fish feed with tremendous success, learn how A study conducted to determine the growth response of fish to cassava peels shows that fish thrive very well on the peels using high inclusion rates. The study conducted at Department of Fisheries Technology, Federal Polytechnic Nekede, Owerri in 2012. The test used factorial design of five treatments of cassava peel meal at 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% graded level . The cassava peel meal was sun dried for 48 h, grinded and added to the feed fed to 150 fingerlings of Oreochromis niloticus into 10 tanks in triplicates and fed twice daily at 5% body weight for 60 days. The result shows that fish fed with 100% cassava peel meal had the highest mean weight gain of 10.46±0.01 and specific growth rate of 1.23±0.04. The poorest result was shown by fish fed 25% cassava peel meal with the lowest survival rate, weight gain, feed intake and specific growth rate, respectively. more

AGRIBUSINESS: How to turn cassava peels to poultry feed.

AGRIBUSINESS: How to turn cassava peels to poultry feed. Cassava peels can be processed into animal feed to feed cattle, sheep, goat,pigs,fish ans poultry. The processing of the peels for poultry feed is different as it has to be fine particles for easy digestibility. AGRIBUSINESS: How to turn cassava peels to poultry feed. The cassava peels are processed as follows 1) fresh and clean peels are used. 2)peels are sorted and only small to medium size peels are selected. 3) pour into a grater,grate 3 times. 4) pour in sacs, sack on one another in an hydraulic press to dewater. 5) 24 hours later pour cassava peel cake in flash dryer/ sun dry. 6) grate the dried cake again until fine or grate and leave coarse particle if other animals will be fed from this batch. AGRIBUSINESS: How to turn cassava peels to poultry feed. Cassava root meal(CRM) as a substitute for maize has been explored and the result was an increase in productivity.The effect of replacing maize with graded levels of cassava root meal (CRM) as energy source in the diet of laying hens was evaluated during the eight weeks of feeding experiment on performance and cost benefits on layers.The fresh cassava roots were peeled, washed and grated. The grated cassava mash was poured into a sack and pressed using a hydraulic pressing machine to remove excess water. The dewatered cassava mash was broken into fine granules and was sun dried on black polyethylene sheets, after which it was milled in a hammer mill and packed in bags as cassava root meal (CRM). Forty-five Nera black laying hens of 24 weeks of age were allocated to five dietary treatments, with nine birds per treatment in a completely randomized design. The experiment lasted for 8 weeks and result showed that replacement of maize by CRM up to 50:50 ratios did not significantly affect the hen-day egg production.more

AGRIBUSINESS: How to turn cassava peels into animal feed.

AGRIBUSINESS: How to turn cassava peels into animal feed. Cassava called Manihot esculenta, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates. 

Cassava is the third-largest source of food carbohydrates in the tropics, after rice and maize. Cassava is a major staple food in the developing world, providing a basic diet for over half a billion people. Cassava is one of the most drought-tolerant crops, capable of growing on marginal soils and Nigeria is the world's largest producer of cassava, while Thailand is the largest exporter of dried cassava. 

 Cassava can be processed into various products such as garri,tapioca, cake,bread and flakes for human consumption,but the peels can be processed and fed to animals. Cassava peels,used to be an environmental nuisance,because farmers and processors just left heaps on the floor to decompose or they burn them because they did not know how to process or preserve the peels until intervention of CGIAR.

 CGIAR scientists developed a low-tech way of transforming wet cassava peels into high quality, safe and hygienic feed ingredients within eight hours, producing one tonne of high quality cassava peel (HQCP) mash from three tonnes of wet peels. The processing of the peels into feed has a high potential because Africa’s estimated 50 million tonnes of cassava peel waste per year could generate at least 15 million tonnes of HQCP, thus providing alternative animal feed that are cheap ,easily accessible and with a capacity of creating a $2 billion a year industry on the continent.

. The cassava peels can be fed to both ruminants,fish and monogastrics,making it an ideal feed source,locally produced to reduce cost and boost productivity. The processing of the peels depend on the target animals. 

 The cassava peels processing is as follows; 1) peels must be clean and fresh. 2) sorted to remove tubers or big sized lumps/cuts. 3) pour the peels in a grater,and grate 3 times.4) put in sacks stacked on one another in an hydraulic press to dewater the peels. 5) 24hrs later the cassava peel cake is ready and can be fed to cattle, sheep,goat and pigs.

Turmeric as natural remedy for meningitis.

The current outbreak of Cerebrospinal Meningitis, CSM, in Nigeria is alarming as death toll rises to 336. The Federal Ministry of Health explained that for the first time, the meningitis epidemic is being caused by Neisseria Meningitides type C rather than the known Meningitides Type A. Death can occur in as little as a few hours, and even though most people recover from meningitis, however, permanent disabilities such as brain damage, hearing loss, and learning disabilities can result from the infection. The common aetiological agents causing meningitis are Streptococcus pneumoniae, Group B Streptococcus, Neisseria meningitidis, Haemophilus influenzae and Listeria monocytogenes. The spread is mainly by coughing,sneezing and contact with saliva of infected persons. inhalation of infective droplets is more pronounced in highly congested living areas and especially overcrowded sleeping quarters. Meningitis can also be caused by viruses,fungi and certain parasites so treatment will depend on causative agent. Signs of meningitis are Fever, persistent headache,neck stiffness and pain ,confusion and disorientation drowsiness or sluggishness and sensitivity to bright light. The conventional treatment is use of antibiotics if of bacterial origin,but a school of thought has described the potency of turmeric to treat meningitis. The medicinal properties of this spice are numerous,it has anti-inflammatory , antibacterial,antiviral and antiinflammatory properties. A lot of recent research has revealed that turmeric is beneficial in the treatment of many different health conditions from cancer to Alzheimer's disease. Turmeric can prevent strokes, brain hemorrhages, and lessen the risk of cancer and Alzheimer's disease, according to scientists from the University of Georgia. Turmeric in oriental medicine is used to treat meningitis , rheumatism and high blood pressure,by using this recipe mix 100g fresh turmeric with 250ml water and boil until 150ml of the water evaporates. Drink the remedy three times a day until symptoms cease. The ability of turmeric to cross blood-brain barrier, makes it beneficial and also used to treat depression. The incorporation of the spice in food or preparation of turmeric milk is an easy and effective way to use the spice as medicine. see more

Pipe in music to decrease stress levels in your kennel.

Pipe in music to decrease stress levels in your kennel according to new research. A new study evaluates the stress-reducing effect of playing different music genres for kenneled dogs.Dogs that are kenneled such as those in boarding facilities, shelters and research facilities are known to have high levels of stress. In several studies, various forms of enrichment have been investigated to evaluate the effect of lowering stress in dogs, including the use of toys, visual or olfactory stimulation and human interaction. In a previous study performed by the same group as the current study, classical music was shown to lower stress in kenneled dogs. However, rapid conditioning to this form of enrichment was documented indicated the music became less effective at lowering stress after a period of time (seven days in that study). This study was aimed to determine if the stress reducing effects of music playing could be extended if the dogs were exposed to different genres of music. The test was performed at two facilities in Scotland—the Scottish SPCA Dunbartonshire and West of Scotland Animal Rescue and Rehoming Centre—over a nine-month period. It was performed while normal daily husbandry and operational activities occurred at the facilities. Over an 11-day period, dogs had two days of no music for control purposes, followed by five consecutive days of music that was piped into the kennels for six hours a day using a Spotify playlist through wireless speakers around the kennel. Each day a different genre of music (soft rock, motown, reggae, pop or classical) was played, and the genres were randomized for different dog groups. The results of this study were consistent with previous findings that auditory stimulation is an effective enrichment tool in a kennel environment. During periods where music was played, dogs spent more time lying down and had significant changes in heart rate indicating lower stress levels.more

Turmeric and breast cancer.

Turmeric and Curcumin has natural anti cancer activity.Research has also shown that there are low rates of certain types of cancer in countries where people eat curcumin at levels of about 100 to 200 mg a day over long periods of time. Research have shown curcumin combats cancers of the breast, prostate, liver, colon, lung, pancreas and more. Many of these studies have shown that curcumin actually stops cancer cells from dividing. Curcumin has also been shown to trigger programmed cell death the body’s natural and effective way of ridding itself from damaged cells. A recent study published in Cancer Cell International, 2017 demonstrated that curcumin and its derivatives can terminate breast cancer cells by arresting their development in various phases of cell cycle and growth and inducing cell death. A new study shows that curcumin may be beneficial in treatment of non-malignant or benign breast tumors as well as a study published in Anticancer Research 2005, demonstrates that curcumin regulates as many as 30 genes and acts on multiple biochemical pathways in order to destroy breast cancer cells. Researchers in France have conducted a clinical trial to identify the dose suitable for advanced or metastatic breast cancer treatment. As per the study the recommended dose of curcumin is 6000mg per day for 7 consecutive days every 3 weeks along with standard docetaxel treatment. Turmeric and Curcumin also acts as topical agents in cancer therapy, study involved patients who had external cancerous lesions and some of them were breast cancer lesions. These lesions did not respond to treatment. Turmeric tincture was mixed with petroleum jelly and patients were asked to apply this preparation thrice a day on the external lesions. 90% individuals experienced a reduction in smell, itching reduced in almost all cases while 70% individuals experienced drying up of lesions and 10% of patients experienced reduction in lesion size and pain.

Irrigation and the effects on groundwater used to grow internationally traded food.

A new research has shown that eleven percent of the global non-renewable groundwater drawn up for irrigation goes to produce crops that are then traded on the international market and this 11 percent of disappearing groundwater is used to grow internationally traded food. A new study by researchers at the University College London and NASA's Goddard Institute of Space Studies in New York City and published in the Nature shows that 11 percent of the global non-renewable groundwater drawn up for irrigation goes to produce crops that are then traded on the international market. Additionally, two-thirds of the exported crops that depend on non-renewable groundwater are produced in Pakistan (29 percent), the United States (27 percent), and India (12 percent). Wheat, rice, sugar, cotton and maize are among the essential internationally traded crops in the global economy. To produce these crops many countries rely on irrigated agriculture that accounts for about 70 percent of global freshwater withdrawals. A change in agricultural practices will not only ensure foodsecurity but also conserve underground water.According to the United Nations Water program, one freshwater source is underground aquifers, some of which replenish so slowly that they are essentially a non-renewable resource. It's not just individual countries that experience groundwater depletion, but also their trade partners, When people consume certain imported foods, they should be aware that they can have an impact on the environment elsewhere.