POTENTIALS OF SWEETPOTATO IN LIVESTOCK FARMING: IMPLICATION FOR TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER

Abstract

There has been decline in the production of goat meat, pork and beef during the 1996-98 period. The basic constraining factor is increasing cost of production associated with feeds and accessibility of maize, which is the major component of feed. However provision of alternative or complementary feed component such as sweetpotato, which is cheaper and readily obtainable than concentrate, will enhance availability of quality feed to accommodate expansion of livestock. Five goats on extensive management were used for the study. Sweetpotao peels were fed to the animals. Peels weighing 8.3kg that were produced over night were sole fed to these animals. The goats were watched as the feed on them without any difficulty. After about a year the first treatment was done a local variety of sweetpotato were peeled and the peels (less than 8.3 kg) were given to a group of five goats (different from the first group) on the same day that they were peeled. They ate the entire sample given to them and they survived. After about one month the peels that were dried for three days were also given to the goats and they ate them with no difficulty. About three goats and some poultry birds were given toasted granules (Spari) and they also ate. Some pieces of boiled sweetpotato were also dropped for about four groups of goats and they ate them. Therefore there is an increasing potential in sweetpotato for both human and livestock consumption. This calls for agricultural extension agents to create awareness on the potentials of sweetpotato as it is easy to produce and cheap to buy. Also, it enhance the transfer of technology, not only for increase production but also on processing and consumption in diverse forms for diverse groups.

African Journal of Livestock Extension Vol.3 2004: 33-36