Crop and Industrial By-Products: Fruit and Vegetables

Crop and Industrial By-Products:
Fruit and Vegetables

Many agricultural crops have potential use as animal feeds. Most farmers in developing countries rely for their food security on the cultivation of cereals, root crops and high value crops such as fruits and vegetables, and these may take priority in the allocation of land.

Fruit, vegetables and root crops play an important role as staples in the human diet in most developing countries. As a result, there is a wide range of potential by-products and residues from food crops which are often under-utilized or wasted.

	Bananas and Plantains
	Mango
	Papaya
	Okra
	Palm Nuts or Kernels
	References and Further Reading

Much of the crop, and therefore the majority of the by-products from these crops, may only be available for short periods - but in relatively large volumes, and under normal situations a significant portion of the crop may be unused (e.g. large quantities of mangoes may be wasted during the fruiting season). The ensiling of many of these crop by-products is one way of preserving their value as sources of feed for livestock.

For more on Silage and ensiling

Bananas and Plantains

Bananas are picked green and ripened in storage, but in banana exporting countries, large quantities of rejected bananas are often available for use in animal feed. Consisting largely of starch, they are low in fibre, protein and mineral content and need to be fed together with grass or other roughage as well as a protein supplement and mineral mix. Cattle will eat bananas they are less palatable to sheep and goats. Bananas can also be fed to pigs.

Mango

The fruits are enjoyed by both cattle and pigs. The kernels or seeds can be used as an ingredient in concentrates for ruminants. Gluts of mangoes can be preserved when unripe by ensiling.

Papaya

The fruits, supplemented with concentrates, have been fed to pigs with good results.

Okra

The seeds from the pods of ripe okra can be used for chicken feed, and can be used as a protein supplement for monogastric livestock.

Palm Nuts or Kernels

A variety of different species of palm produce fruit with edible nuts which can be used as a constituent in feeds for ruminants as well as monogastric livestock. The kernels are very hard and need to be ground into a meal and this serves mainly as an energy source since it is mostly carbohydrate.

References and Further Reading
AFRIS: Animal Feed Resources Information System. Feed Resources Group, Animal Production and Health Division, FAO, Rome. http://www.fao.org/ag/aga/agap/frg/afris/default.htm
Banana: http://www.fao.org/WAICENT/FAOINFO/AGRICULT/AGA/AGAP/FRG/afris/Data/14.htm
Mango: http://www.fao.org/WAICENT/FAOINFO/AGRICULT/AGA/AGAP/FRG/afris/Data/13.HTM
Papaya: http://www.fao.org/WAICENT/FAOINFO/AGRICULT/AGA/AGAP/FRG/afris/Data/5.HTM
Okra: http://www.fao.org/WAICENT/FAOINFO/AGRICULT/AGA/AGAP/FRG/afris/Data/10.HTM
Chedly, K. and Lee, S. (1999). Silage from by-products for smallholders. FAO Electronic Conference on Tropical Silage.
Cramb, R. and Purcell, T. (2001). Developing Forage Technologies with Smallholder Farmers: How to Monitor and Evaluate Impacts. ACIAR Working Paper Series, No. 41
Tingshuang, G., Sánchez, M.D. and Yu, G.P. (2002). Animal Production Based on Crop Residues - Chinese Experiences. FAO, Animal Production and Health Paper 149, FAO, Rome.