Dissemination of Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria Technology Through Inclusion of Cocoa Pod Husk in Poultry Feed to Substitute for Some Quantity of Maize in Adopted School

Abstract

One of the major objectives of Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN) is to investigate the effective utilization of the crops, by-products and the feasibility of small- scale production of such end-use product. Based on this objective, CPH is one of the major by-products of cocoa and has been utilized effectively by CRIN in the inclusion of poultry feeds. The adopted school’s concept was a collaboration between Agriculture Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN)/West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAPP) and CRIN. The poultry project in the school is to encourage secondary school students to develop interest in agriculture and encourage teachers to practice agriculture before and after retirement. This technology was disseminated to CRIN adopted school in feeding the birds. The inclusion of CPH in layers mash has reduced the quantity of maize by 20%. This was demonstrated by feeding equal numbers of birds with the conventional feed (controlled) and CPH fortified for 16 months (experimental). The result revealed that about N460 was saved on every 25kg of feed fortified with CPH compared to conventional feed with almost the same production result. This has brought a significant drop in amount spent on CPH fortified feed compared to the conventional feed thereby increasing the farmers profit.