COMMERCIALIZATION OF ALTERNATIVE LIVESTOCK FEEDS COULD SAVE FISH STOCKS IN LAKE VICTORIA.

Abstract

Fish is an important ingredient of livestock feeds. Therefore the increasing livestock production in East Africa implies increased exploitation of fishes. This is due to the use of some fish species like Silver fish (Rastrineobola argentea) as source of protein in animal diets. This is likely to result into over exploitation of some fish species which has implications for the survival of many other organisms within the food chain/web in the lake. Literature reveals organisms that have a relatively high crude protein content. Insects such as cockroaches (65% crude protein) can be domesticated and used as animal feeds. This has the potential of boosting livestock production such as poultry, fish, and piggery farming. Non-conventional feeds such as cockroaches, houseflies, earthworms, carabid beetles, among others can be domesticated and used in livestock production. This can be achieved through rearing of these alternative sources of proteins and then processing them into a form edible to the livestock. This could partially or completely substitute fishmeal depending on the production. The small acreage of land required to raise these potential sources of protein for livestock production could also reduce on the impact of agricultural practices on watersheds. The biggest problem limiting the use of non-conventional feeds is limited information on breeding insects and community attitudes towards use of these insects as alternative feeds. There is therefore need to optimize conditions for large scale insect breeding and sensitize livestock famers on the integration of non-conventional feeds in the feeding regimes of livestock. Key words: Livestock, Watersheds, Overexploitation, non-conventional feeds.