June 23, 2008

 

Philippine government studies herb as soymeal substitute

Moringa, locally known as malunggay is being considered by the Philippine government as a potential "healthy" animal feedstock to substitute imported soymeal.

 

Alice Ilaga, director of the Biotechnology Program of the Department of Agriculture in a statement said that they are gathering scientific evidence through conducting feeding trials of local moringa meal to livestock to confirm whether it is a cheaper and better substitute to soymeal.

 

Moringa meal, which was sourced from the leaves and the seed kernels of the moringa tree, has recently been recognised as a superior livestock feed meal, according to a non-government organization called Biomasa.

 

Biomasa, an agricultural research program in Nicaragua, has studied various aspects of moringa for over six years. The group has conducted extensive trials using moringa leaves as cattle feed (beef and milk cows), swine feed, and poultry feed.

 

The Philippine livestock industry has been dependent on soymeal to import their source of high protein feedstuff.

 

The country has constantly ranked as among the biggest soymeal importers from the United States and various sources, with imports from all sources amounting to more than one million tonnes yearly valued at P10 billion.

 

The high cost of feed grains worldwide has triggered research for an equivalent and cheaper feed alternatives. Feedstuffs such as copra meal and fishmeal have been used, but these items have their gross deficiencies as soymeal alternatives according to Biomasa.

 

The group said moringa leaves constituting 40 to 50 percent of feed, milk yields for dairy cows and daily weight gains for beef cattle was shown to increase by 30 percent. Birth weight, averaging 22 kilogrammes for some cattle breeds, is up by three to five kilogrammes.

 

Biomasa said feeding the animals with moringa feed has increased milk production from seven to 10 litres a day.

 

Moringa feed accommodates a daily weight gain of beef cattle of 1,200 grams per day. Without moringa feed, daily weight gain of beef cattle was 900 grams per day. In a recent study conducted by a group of Japanese poultry experts, feeding moringa meal to egg laying poultry showed very encouraging results, the group said.

 

Biomasa points out that moringa meal will thus serve to support the supply of high protein feedstuff needed "by the growing livestock industry worldwide in the midst of a food price crisis that is expected to lasts until 2010."

 

In terms of crude protein (CP) content and amino acid variability, the group remarks moringa meal cannot be beaten- the leaves can offer as much as 43 percent CP and the extracted seed meal can provide as much as 70 percent CP. Even Class A soymeal can only provide 48 percent CP," they said.

 

Biomasa concludes that moringa's "attractive low price and superior quality" offers farmers and feed millers the opportunity to economise production as it could stand as single meal that offers great CP values.

 

Aside from animal feedstock, moringa oil is also being promoted as biofuel in the US.