Sugarcane field waste leaves and stalks will soon be used as animal feed and an alternative fuel for cooking based on a research project of the Department of Agriculture – Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (DA-PHilMech).
The DA-PHilMech technology research project is developing sugarcane waste into a raw material for silage as animal feed and environmental friendly fuel for cooking.
The research calculates that one hectare of land with sugarcane can produce 11 to 21 tons of agricultural wastes in the form of leaves and stalks. The sugarcane waste is either left to rot or burned which contributes to global warming.
“Instead of throwing away or burning their farm waste, sugarcane farmers could definitely earn from processing and selling animal feeds and fuel briquettesanimal feeds and fuel briquettes made from sugarcane waste,” PHilMech Executive Director Baldwin Jallorina said in the PNA report released February 17, 2020.
PHilMech has developed a forage chopper and feed pelletizer to turn sugarcane tops into animal feed. Along with this, 13 formulations were developed in the production of silage from sugarcane tops.
“One of the viable solutions to this problem is to convert them (waste and residue) into animal feeds and fuel briquettes. Hence, the study is being conducted to develop sugarcane crop waste-based silage and pelleted feeds for animal consumption, and an environment-friendly fuel briquette suitable for domestic cooking and industrial application,” the PHilMech reports.
Currently, the agency is determining the best formulation using proximate and nutritional analysis of the produced silage.
Utilization of sugarcane waste could also be an additional income for farmers and cooperatives, said PHilMech.
Another agricultural crop, the Philippine bamboo, has been upgraded to “high-value crop” following an announcement by the Department of Agriculture. The new status allows the bamboo industry to be given support and its production of the crop maximized for sustainability and economic opportunity.
The Department of Agriculture is also promoting the consumption of locally produced vegetables and fruits with Secretary William D. Dar saying that people should be consuming more readily available agricultural products to stay healthy amidst the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (nCoV), also known as the Covid-19.
SEND CHEERS in the comments below to DA-PHilMech for innovating on ways to reduce organic waste and turn them into animal feed and cooking fuel!
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