Chief Executive Officer of the Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS), James Paul.
THE agricultural sector has for sometime been pushing the idea of cassava being used as an alternative to corn in animal feed, but the idea may no longer be a viable one.
At a meeting of pig farmers held last month, concerns were raised about the quality of the current feed being used, and the idea was once again touted about utilising cassava, but the Chief Executive Officer of the Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS), James Paul, is to some extent pouring cold water on the cassava option, even though there has been a marked increase in cassava production in recent times.
“I cannot say it is something that is still on the table; the reason being that the length of time it takes to produce feed grade cassava has to be considered. Usually, food grade cassava takes four to five months maximum to get where it needs to be, but feed grade cassava goes longer. In other words, it may have to go eight or nine months,” he explained in an interview with The Barbados Advocate.
Paul noted also that given that the demand for cassava is already high and the price being paid for the produce is relatively good, it is unlikely that farmers will want to let it stay in the ground for a long time, as this would be cutting into their profits.
“They can get $2 or $3 a pound for food grade cassava, but for feed grade cassava they would have to sell it at perhaps less than a dollar a pound. When you work out the economics, it does not make financial sense in this environment, unless of course there is a huge increase in the quantity of cassava being planted and that the yields justify it. They would have to ensure the yields are extremely good in order to justify that,” he indicated.
Paul added, “So with the present environment in the market in relation to the prices and quantities available, I really don’t see farmers allowing those crops to remain in the ground for that length of time in order to get the feed grade cassava that is required.”
Nevertheless, the BAS head said that the idea of cassava being used in feed production should not be totally discarded. He is suggesting that there is scope for some farmers to get into cassava production specifically for feed manufacturing, given the large tracts of agricultural land not currently being utilised. He explained that if enough cassava can be planted it can help to reduce the cost of feed, which is currently made with imported corn.
“The fact is there is a lot of interest in cassava cultivation for human consumption, but if that market becomes flooded as is likely to happen, a lot of them could get into feed grade cassava. But there would need to be discussions on the price because you are still talking about them accepting less than a dollar a pound for the cassava. So they would need to also plant additional and more profitable crops to make the venture a feasible one,” he stated. (JRT)