Chapters authored
Exploration of Cocoa (Theobroma cacao) By-Products as Valuable Potential Resources in Livestock Feeds and Feeding Systems
High cost of feeds and feeding management remain unresolved challenges facing livestock production globally specifically in developing countries. More than half of the production cost is associated with feeds and feeding alone; hence, it becomes imperative for livestock production science to explore lesser known or poorly exploited resources for use in animal feeds and feeding systems to reduce cost and increase productivity. One of such strategies is the use of alternative or nonconventional feed resources. Cocoa by-products have been reported as one of such nonconventional feed resources that can replace expensive and competitive conventional feed resources in livestock diets. Cocoa bean meal, cocoa bean shells, and cocoa pod husks are all potential but unexploited nutritive resources that can be considered as animal feed materials. Although their use is severely restricted by antinutritional factor (ANF) theobromine, which is toxic to livestock, there exist modern nutritional technologies capable of being applied to improve application of these resources in livestock feeding systems. Therefore, this chapter presents cocoa by-products as potential tropical feed resources in animal feeds and feeding systems with a view to providing solution to waste management problems associated with cocoa processing factories while increasing animal productivity and reducing cost of animal production.
Part of the book: Theobroma Cacao