Photo 4. Stages in the fattening of local cattle on ensiled cassava pulp, urea, brewers' grains and rice straw
Perspectives for cattle production in Lao PDR from agro-industrial by-products
It is estimated that the five cassava starch factories in Lao PDR have a yearly production of 200,000 tonnes of pulp. The four breweries produce between 200 and 300 tonnes of brewers’ grains daily (about 150,000 tonnes per year).The availability of rice straw is 3 million tonnes per year. These resources would be sufficient to fatten some 200,000 cattle per year with an added value of USD 36 million. A similar feeding system could be developed with the 50,000 tonnes of molasses by-product from the four sugar factories, which could be the basis of fattening of a further 150,000 cattle per year. There are sufficient brewers’ grains to supplement both the cassava pulp (100,000 tonnes) and the molasses (50,000 tonnes).
Environmental and social issues
The manure produced from cattle fattened in confinement, after being processed through biodigesters, will yield biogas which burned in an engine would generate enough electricity to supply the energy needs of the farm; the residual liquid effluent from the digesters would replace inorganic fertilizers for growing rice and other crops.