Transforming agricultural waste, durian peels, into quality animal feed, reducing costs by 5 times

Yala, A great idea from farmers in Yala Province: Turning durian peels or agricultural waste into food for fattened cattle, which can reduce food costs by up to 5 times. At Bangkok Halal Farm, Bannang Sareng Subdistrict, Mueang District, Yala Province, a business is raising 30 Brangus cattle. They have applied the knowledge gained from training with the Pure Plus Farm Community Enterprise in Nakhon Sawan Province, which has been successful in raising cattle to produce premium A5 Wagyu beef, to the area. Mr. Mumtaz Saisaka, farm manager of Bangkok Halal Farm, experimented with using leftover durian peels from durian warehouses in the area, which is agricultural waste that each warehouse wants to get rid of. He processed it into coarse food, put it in a chopper, and fermented it with microorganisms that ferment animal feed plants, a plant formula with starch in the ratio of 100 kg of chopped durian peels to 5 liters of water, 50 grams of molasses, and 5 grams of microorganisms. After fermentation for 7 days, it can be used as food for fattening cattle. From experiments with cattle on farms, it was found that processed durian peels are soft and have a fragrant smell like vinegar. Cows like it and eat more, which helps reduce animal feed costs very well. In addition, research also found that fermented durian peels contain protein, energy, and fat, and can be used to replace roughage and concentrated food, increasing the value of durian peels. At the farm, they used to feed Napier grass to fatten cattle, with an average cost of 27,000 baht per month. However, after switching to using fermented durian peels, they were able to reduce their feed costs by 5 times, to only 5,000 baht per month. Importantly, cattle like to eat it and can eat it at any age without any adverse effects. They are healthy, strong, and able to reproduce normally. Furthermore, it was found that it can also be used as food for raising goats. For farmers interested in learning how to ferment and mix durian peel feed and raise animals, please in quire at Bangkok Halal Farm or contact the farm manager at 080-651-0189. Source: Thai News Agency