In Vietnam, pig production accounted for 27 % of total agricultural production in 2008, and increased 1.5 times as compared to 2000. Pig production is one of the most important activities for development in rural areas of Vietnam, where small farmers lack agricultural technologies and have low incomes. The pig population in Vietnam has increased by 6.2 % annually from 2000 to 2006. However, pig numbers declined by 0.29 % in 2008 (Vietnam Statistical Yearbook, 2008). Smallholders are faced with problems of low profits and incomes because of increasing animal feed prices. Lapar et al (2003) reported that around 80 % of the total pig population in Vietnam were raised in traditional smallholder systems, with diets based on rice bran, broken rice, maize, vegetables, and by-products from agriculture, such as cassava residue meal (Loc et al 1996), and rice distiller’s waste (hem) (Luu Huu Manh et al 2003).
|
Table 1: Livestock population in Vietnam, 2000 – 2008 (million heads) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Source: Vietnam Statistical Yearbook, 2008 |
|
Table 2: Pig population in the Mekong Delta, 2000 – 20008 (thousand heads) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Source: Angiang Statistical Yearbook, 2008 |
|
Table 3: Cassava production in Vietnam, 2000 – 2008 (thousand tons) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Source: Vietnam Statistical Yearbook, 2008 |
The Mekong Delta is the main catfish producing region in Vietnam, in which Angiang and Dongthap Province and Cantho City accounted for most of the intensive catfish production (Chau Thi Da et al 2010). The development of Tra (Pangasius hypophthalmus) and Basa (Pangasius bocourti) catfish production is seen in both the number of ponds and stocking density, with highest intensive culture systems developing in the frontier of the Mekong Delta in recent years. The increase of fillet production for export, which is a high value product, has increased the living standard of people in the Mekong Delta in the Southern part of Vietnam (Pham Van Khanh 2004). The industrial catfish farms have been rapidly developing, and are the most important form of aquaculture. Recently, catfish production accounted for over one million tons from 6,000 ha of Mekong Delta in 2009, and this is expected to increase to up to 1.5 million tons from 8,600 ha in 2010, and is predicted to be up to 11,000 and 13,000 ha by 2015 and 2020, respectively (Chau Thi Da et al 2010).
The by-products of catfish processing, include heads, skin and viscera, which are the main products, and account for almost 60 % of the volume that enters catfish processing factories. This means that catfish by-product is a potential source of nutrients of high value for livestock feed (Lovell 1980). According to Nguyen Thi Thuy et al (2007), the by-products (head and bone, broken meat and skin) from the fillet processing factories in Angiang province account for 65 % of the volume, which means that this has a great potential as a source of protein for animal feeds.
Objectives
The objective of this research was to study if Tra catfish residue meal can replace traditional fish meal in diets for growing pigs without affecting the diet digestibility and the growth performance, and with economic benefits to producers.
· Determine the apparent digestibility of dry matter, crude protein, ether extract, and ash in Tra catfish residue meal.
· Determine the live weight gain, feed conversion ratio, back-fat thickness and economic benefits of feeding catfish by-products.