Platform for African – European Partnership in Agricultural Research for Development

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Utilization of fruit and vegetable wastes as livestock feed

M. Wadhwa and M. P. S. Bakshi 
 © FAO 2013, 56 pages

By 2050 the world will need to feed an additional 2 billion people and will require 70 per cent more meat and milk. The increasing future demand for livestock products, driven by increases in income, population and urbanization will impose a huge demand on feed resources. Sustainability of feed production systems is being challenged due to biophysical factors such as land, soil and water scarcity, food-fuel-feed competition, on going global warming and frequent and drastic climatic vagaries, along with increased competition for arable land and non-renewable resources such as fossil carbon-sources, water and phosphorus. A key to sustainable livestock development is: efficient use of available feed resources including reduction in wastage, and enlargement of the feed resource base through a quest for novel feed resources, particularly those not competing with human food.

A huge quantity of fruit and vegetable wastes (FVW) and by-products from the fruit and vegetable processing industry are available throughout the world. For example fruit and vegetable processing, packing, distribution and consumption in the organized sector in India , the Philippines , China and the United States of America generate a total of approximately 55 million tonnes of FVW. A large proportion of these wastes are dumped in landfills or rivers, causing environmental hazards. Alternatives to such disposal methods could be recycling through livestock as feed resources and/or further processing to extract or develop value-added products.

This publication presents information on the chemical composition, conservation methods, nutritive value and guidelines for incorporation of FVW in animal diets. It also covers aspects related to utilization of such wastes as a substrate for the generation of value-added products. It is expected that this document will promote conversion of wastes to resources and help generate opportunities for development. The recycling of these resources will economise on animal feed and also alleviate the environmental pollution associated with disposal of FVW.

The document is intended for use by extension workers, researchers, feed industries, food processing industries, NGOs, farmers’ associations, producers, policy-makers and science managers.

Announcement: International Workshop on Feed Risk Assessment – Chemical Safety
Utrecht, The Netherlands on 30 September and 1 October 2013. 
  • The workshop is organized by the Government of The Netherlands, supported by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
  • The workshop aims to explore the state of art in methods and tools for the risk assessment of chemicals in feed for farmed animals, with a focus on possible risks for the consumers of the animal products and for animal health and welfare. It includes scientific topics like composition of feed, animal exposure assessment, modeling of transfer from feed to edible products, and human/consumer safety; the program also explores the regulatory contexts of feed risk assessment activities. We will deal with feed risk assessment issues in interactive case studies and discuss possibilities for further development of the available knowledge and tools.
  • The workshop is aimed at risk assessors and other technical experts dealing with feed, but is also suitable for feed risk managers and other parties involved in the feed sector. Therefore we would kindly request that you to forward this invitation to your colleagues in feed and food safety who might also be interested.
  • For more information , please visit the website

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