PLDDB has planned to launch the Maize-cob meal project to address the nutritional need of feedlot fattening animals at low price
Maize cob is a crop residual of the highest yielding cereal crop worldwide. Maize is also a significant crop of Pakistan and is ranked at third important cereal crop after Wheat and Rice. While maize being staple food grain of mountainous and sub-mountainous areas, the maize cobs are high in cellulose and hemicelluloses, and are potentially valuable sources of roughage for ruminants.
Currently we are destroying the dynamic natural resource of maize cob; mostly it is being used in the brick kilns producing environmental pollution. Availability of maize cobs (by an official estimate 6m tones in Pakistan) offers huge potential for production of maize cobs meal or ration for animals.
Increasing livestock number and decreasing animal feed resources compel us to divert our attention to all the possible available resources to convert them into high grade animal protein for increasing human population. Low grade and cheap feed resources like maize cobs may be converted to useful and digestible animal feed by biotechnological procedure that will disrupt fiber matrices in lignocelluloses biomasses. Value added crushed maize cobs after feeding to livestock is expected to provide good fermentation end-products, resultantly it will improve feed intake and increase growth rate and milk yield. Information available on use of maize cobs as a feed resource in our indigenous livestock is meager. So this proposal is aimed at evaluation of corn cob as a cheap fiber source in concentrate and total mixed ration on feed intake, growth rate, milk yield and milk composition in small and large ruminants. The biotechnological innovation and ration formulation found most efficient and productive will be commercialized by Punjab Livestock & Dairy development Board for large scale use of farmers of Pakistan.
In view of the above, the project needs to scale up in the all districts of the Punjab where the raw material is available; suitable districts may be Jhang and Sargodha to pilot with following objectives:
- Value addition of cheapest protein and energy source available for Livestock of Pakistan.
- Develop an efficient and cheap livestock ration for commercialization.
- Product development and market the same at large scale across Pakistan.
- Train the Human resource to establish the production units in their respective areas.
- Maize cob ration will decrease the input cost of Livestock farming.
The life of new machinery is 15 years but the financial projections below with a minimum10% IRR/ per season (Making 20% in a year (Profit) will pay back the project cost in approx. 5 years.
- This will benefit small and medium farmers
- Animals will get better nutrition.
- Better health and milk yield of animals
- Prosperous dairy sector
- Farmers will start planting corn crop as alternative crop
Addressing the need of 90 % farming community (Small Farmers)
Livestock is the livelihood of rural population in Punjab especially and they are in majority, 90% of Livestock holders. Keeping in view the demand of small holders, PLDDB has invented a new model while introducing the small bales of 60 kg to cater the need of small farmers according to their need and affordability.
- Utilization of local raw materials: “Maize cobs”, a locally available, low cost raw material will be used for product preparation
- Creation of Employment: The product after standardization will be commercialized that will generate self-employment
- Utilizing current skill or creating new skills: Currently available skilled manpower in livestock feed preparation will be utilized to standardize the product and new manpower will be trained to start their own business
- Impact on local manufacturing or service cluster; explain how these will be helpful to move the particular sector up the value chain.
- Solution to current local problems. A cost effective solution to Livestock feed scarcity
- Reverse Engineering (adaptive research) from creation of wealth.
- Poverty: availability of cost effective efficient feed will increase the income of small farmers and help in poverty alleviation
- Hunger and food security: increased animal productivity will give increased animal protein supply to the society.
- Health: increased supply of animal proteins will result in improved health of the society
Education: manpower will be trained in cost effective feed manufacturing