February 12, 2010

Cassava's growing significance in the feedmilling sector, particularly in the Philippines, is underscored by chronic shortages and skyrocketing prices of corn - the main ingredient in animal feed.

Hence, farmers all over the country are intercropping cassava with corn to provide feedmillers and livestock producers an alternative feed material and at the same time, provide a more reliable income.

Amid its enormous potentials, the Philippine cassava industry is still relatively small and whether the crop can sustain its viability as an alternative animal fodder remains uncertain.  Yet, the insignificance of cassava is overshadowed by its strong economic relationship with destitute farmers situated in forest margins and marginal lands what with its wide use in industrial operations and cottage industries. And with the country facing tremendous pressure from cheaper imports brought about by the AFTA, the role of cassava will be more important than ever, particularly in the livestock trade wherein cost-effective production will be the name of the game.

In a paper by Jose L. Bacusmo of the Philippine Root Crops Research and Training Centre, cassava is planted each year in about 120,000 hectares of agricultural land, producing an average of 1.8 million tonnes of cassava. As the government focuses on the development of rice and corn, Bacusmo said the cassava industry has not been given much importance and the sector has mostly been private sector-led. However, he noted the industry's expansion has been continuous due to the country's growing livestock industry, corn supply shortages, expanding markets for cassava products and the need for crops that can tolerate adverse weather conditions.

For animal feed processing, cassava is traded as dried chips in pellet and granule forms. According to the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), a good cassava-based animal feed should have 12-14% lower chip moisture content and the colour should be light. DOST furthers that the chips should also be free from repulsive odour and foreign matter and that it should be uniform both in size and shape with thickness not exceeding 5 millimetres.

According to Bacusmo, cassava in the succeeding years will become more important as it will play an important role in the diet of more Filipinos in the light of increasing population.  Grown extensively nationwide, what was grown formerly for subsistence may well become a cash crop or planted on a commercial scale due to its growing demand from both the industrial and agricultural sectors.

The use of cassava for animal feeds was not as popular until the 1980s when PhilRootCrops campaigned for the use of cassava meal in feed formulations, especially for pigs, as data from the agency have indicated comparable weight gains of animals even with a complete shift from corn to cassava as the energy source. But the effort gained lukewarm response due to problems in quality chips and reliability of supply.

However, due to recurrent corn supply deficit, commercial feedmillers again resorted to cassava chips until the 1990s when the crop has been recognised as an option for feed in absence of corn.

But the big break for the sector really came in 1995 when the implementation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) prompted San Miguel Corporation to lead massive planting of cassava in northern Mindanao generally for animal feed and industrial use. Since then, lowly cassava has been regarded as a high-value crop along with corn particularly in some areas of Mindanao.

But compared with Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia which already made significant strides in cassava-made animal feed, the development of crop as fodder in the country sadly never flourished.  According to Bacusmo, factors such as lack of efficient mechanical dryers for cassava chips, the propensity to import corn as the immediate solution instead of encouraging use of other domestic feed ingredients and limited access to credit for farmers has halted its progress.

Nevertheless, today's era of free trade calls for the significance of cassava in feed and livestock industries. According to the Department of Agriculture, the bulk of demand for feeds and industrial uses is placed at 4 million tonnes in 2010; 4.80 million tonnes in 2011; 5.76 million tonnes in 2012; 6.9 million tonnes in 2013 and 8.3 million tonnes in 2014.

Cassava production also grew as data from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics show yield reached 1.941 million tonnes in 2008 compared to the 1.871 million tonnes in 2007, posting an increase of 3.76 percent. Previously shunned, poultry and hog groups as well as feedmillers are now leading programmes to plant cassava all over the country. Though animal nutritionists believe that it will take some time before the right formulation may place cassava equivalent to corn in terms of animal nutrition content for animals, they believe that cassava will be a perfect feed ingredient. 

Since the Philippines braces for a tough trade competition among Southeast Asia under AFTA, cassava will become all the more important as other main crops. Moreover, the crop's resilience against weather aberrations makes it ideal to plant cassava in exchange of corn which is easily damaged by abnormal weather patterns.

While the crop's potentials are still threshed out, one thing is for sure: cassava is poised to make headway in Philippine feed and livestock sectors.

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