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1 Introduction
Feed is an important element in livestock production, including poultry production.
Many factors undermine food availability. They include the increasing livestock population due to increased demand for animal source proteins and climate-related disasters such as droughts and floods. Rojas-Downing et al. (2017) reported that climate
change, which impacts cereal production such as maize (which is also used as livestock (or poultry) feed ingredient), poses a threat to food security due to competition
between humans and animals/poultry. At the global level, livestock population is
growing very rapidly. For example, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO 2018)
reported increases of 29% and 6% for chickens and cattle between 2006 and 2016.
Malawi Government (2016) reported that poultry population increased by 24%
between 2013 (28,542,805) and 2016 (35,439,568). These statistics imply that there is
a need for a corresponding increase in food supplies. This is so because in livestock,
including poultry (broiler or layer) production, feed is the most vital element as it can
comprise up to 60–80% cost of production (Ibitoye et al. 2012; Panda et al. 2010). The
issue of feed and exploration of alternative feedstuffs is of particular importance in
countries which depend on grains for both human food and animal feed.
In Malawi, maize is the staple food grain and crop used as an energy source food
in human diets. However, maize is also used as the major energy feed ingredient in
poultry diets. But in recent years, production of maize has been jeopardized by the
negative effects of climate change such as prolonged droughts and erratic rainfall.
For example, FEWS NET (2017) reported that while some districts in central and
southern Malawi reported an increase in maize crop production, maize production
in the Lower Shire Valley for the 2017/2018 season was 36% lower than the 5-year
average due to dry spells and infestation by the fall armyworm.
In this chapter, it is argued that the competition with humans and the resultant
high costs can result in the formulation of expensive rations, thereby reducing profitability of the poultry enterprise. Hence, there is a need to find locally available alternative feedstuffs as replacements for maize to reduce the food-feed competition. It is
further argued that because of climate change, there is a need to explore other climate-smart alternative energy feed ingredients to maize that are not only resilient to
climate change but are also nutritious (Batonon-Alavo et al. 2015). Hence, there is a
need for crop diversification as an adaptation measure to ward off negative impacts
of climate change, with respect to food and feed supply (Rojas- Downing et al. 2017).
1.1 Pearl Millet as an Alternative Energy Feed Ingredient
One grain which is underutilized as an energy source in poultry diets in Malawi is
pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum). Several attributes of millet make it a suitable
alternative to maize. While millet is widely grown as a major source of carbohydrates and proteins in the semiarid tropics of Africa and Asia (Saleh et al. 2013), it
A. C. L. Safalaoh and E. Kavala
1 Introduction
Feed is an important element in livestock production, including poultry production.
Many factors undermine food availability. They include the increasing livestock population due to increased demand for animal source proteins and climate-related disasters such as droughts and floods. Rojas-Downing et al. (2017) reported that climate
change, which impacts cereal production such as maize (which is also used as livestock (or poultry) feed ingredient), poses a threat to food security due to competition
between humans and animals/poultry. At the global level, livestock population is
growing very rapidly. For example, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO 2018)
reported increases of 29% and 6% for chickens and cattle between 2006 and 2016.
Malawi Government (2016) reported that poultry population increased by 24%
between 2013 (28,542,805) and 2016 (35,439,568). These statistics imply that there is
a need for a corresponding increase in food supplies. This is so because in livestock,
including poultry (broiler or layer) production, feed is the most vital element as it can
comprise up to 60–80% cost of production (Ibitoye et al. 2012; Panda et al. 2010). The
issue of feed and exploration of alternative feedstuffs is of particular importance in
countries which depend on grains for both human food and animal feed.
In Malawi, maize is the staple food grain and crop used as an energy source food
in human diets. However, maize is also used as the major energy feed ingredient in
poultry diets. But in recent years, production of maize has been jeopardized by the
negative effects of climate change such as prolonged droughts and erratic rainfall.
For example, FEWS NET (2017) reported that while some districts in central and
southern Malawi reported an increase in maize crop production, maize production
in the Lower Shire Valley for the 2017/2018 season was 36% lower than the 5-year
average due to dry spells and infestation by the fall armyworm.
In this chapter, it is argued that the competition with humans and the resultant
high costs can result in the formulation of expensive rations, thereby reducing profitability of the poultry enterprise. Hence, there is a need to find locally available alternative feedstuffs as replacements for maize to reduce the food-feed competition. It is
further argued that because of climate change, there is a need to explore other climate-smart alternative energy feed ingredients to maize that are not only resilient to
climate change but are also nutritious (Batonon-Alavo et al. 2015). Hence, there is a
need for crop diversification as an adaptation measure to ward off negative impacts
of climate change, with respect to food and feed supply (Rojas- Downing et al. 2017).
1.1 Pearl Millet as an Alternative Energy Feed Ingredient
One grain which is underutilized as an energy source in poultry diets in Malawi is
pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum). Several attributes of millet make it a suitable
alternative to maize. While millet is widely grown as a major source of carbohydrates and proteins in the semiarid tropics of Africa and Asia (Saleh et al. 2013), it
A. C. L. Safalaoh and E. Kavala