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Apr 19, 2023Keywords:
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Main Article Content
Availability and yield of pineapple pulp residue as a potential feed ingredient in Ghana
Abstract
A survey was conducted to determine the availability and yield of pineapple pulp residue (PPR). It involved 100 pineapple farmers, located in the Eastern and Central Regions of Ghana, 16 pineap-ple processors, located in the Eastern, Central, Greater Accra and Ashanti Regions, and 13 pine-apple waste collectors, located in the Greater Accra and Eastern Regions. It lasted 4 months and was carried out from November 2020 to February 2021. Well-structured questionnaires, made up of closed and open-ended questions were used. The questionnaire was first pre-tested one month before actual administration and administered using a face-to-face method. All survey respondents were purposively sampled. Analysis of the farmers’ scale of operation revealed that only 6% of them were producing on an extra-large scale, i.e. above 100 metric tons per month; another 18% operated on a large scale (i.e. 51-100 metric tons per month) and the majority, 41% operated on a medium scale (i.e. producing 21-50 metric tons per month), the remainder who produced 1-20 met-ric tons per month constituted 35%, of the respondents. Of the processors surveyed, 31% of them operated at a medium scale of about 21-50MT per month. Those who operated on small (1-20MT) and extra-large scales (i.e. above 100MT) production per month respectively were 50% (25%each). The remaining 19% operated on a large scale (i.e. 51-100MT production per month). About 11 (73%), of the waste collectors, interviewed, indicated collection of pineapple waste 3 times or more per week though it was mostly paid for and also all 11 were collecting from Blue Skies Limited. Although 87% expressed satisfaction with the current quantities collected, 93% indicated their expectation to increase their requirement sooner or later. The study also revealed that for every given metric ton of fresh PPR, at least 8kg of dried PPR can be produced. In conclusion, PPR is available all year round although quantities differ depending on the time of the year, and it can readily be accessed for use as feed in monogastric livestock farming if found suitable.
