Comparative Cost Analysis of Broiler Chicken Fed with Concentrate and Aspilia africana

Abstract

Poultry production is a unique business which offers one of the quickest returns to investment for rural farmers. It has the highest feed conversion rates and produces the cheapest and best sources of animal protein. However, consumption of animal protein by a human in developing countries like Nigeria is grossly below the average required for good health in line with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and World Health Organization (WHO). This is because animal proteins (Broilers) are still expensive for the average Nigerian. This is accentuated with a high cost of feeds and drugs which accounts for about 85% of the total production of chicken. The outcomes of this high cost of production have deterred many families from accessing and consuming this animal protein for good health. The continuous rise in feed cost and the resultant shortage in animal protein supply have encouraged the exploration of locally available and cheap animal feed alternatives to forestall the threat to the future of poultry production. The paper assesses the comparative cost analysis of broiler chicken fed with concentrate and Aspilia africana leaf. The objectives were to: determine feed efficiency of Aspilia africana combined with concentrates at various levels and compare the performance and costs of the proposed feeds. This paper is a review of three past studies Adedeji et al., 2014a, Adedeji et al., 2014b and Oko et al., 2014. The data and results from these studies were complemented with current price data of inputs used to get cost values for feed intake and output values to arrive at cost-effectiveness. The results show that such economic parts as the drumstick, back, breast, wings, weight gain as well as the feed consumption were influenced by the inclusion of Aspilia africana in a feed. The weight gain positively affected profitability in the Aspillia ration. Therefore, there should be specific government policy geared towards developing local poultry industry to meet the increasing local demand at a reduced cost for poultry products, especially meat. There is a need for the cultivation of more Aspilia africana plant for use in the poultry industry for improved cash flow, national economic development, food security and poverty reduction.