IITA bio-control product reduces poultry mortality by 43.9%

 Poultry fed with maize that had been treated with aflasafeTM, a bio-control product for controlling aflatoxins, experienced reduced mortality in addition to other benefits.

This is according to a new study by scientists from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. To unravel the benefits of aflasafeTM in the poultry industry, researchers set up a feeding experiment involving 1,020 broilers that used the following feed formulations: aflasafeTM maize without binders, host farm’s feed with binders, contaminated feed with binders, and contaminated feed without binders. The broilers were fed for eight weeks. Results showed that the use of maize from aflasafeTM-treated feeds reduced mortality rate by 43.9 percent, feed intake dropped by 10.4 percent, and there was an increase of 3.3 percent in feed conversion ratio.

Kola Masha, managing director, Doreo Partners, cited the economic gains of using aflasafeTM, saying the result of the feeding trial translated into an estimated increase in profitability of over N500,000 (about $3,200) for every 10,000 birds. Unveiling details of the results to stakeholders at a conference in Lagos, Ranajit Bandyopadhyay, IITA pathologist, said the results demonstrated the impact of aflasafeTM.

Produced by toxigenic strains of Aspergillus flavus, aflatoxins have become a menace in developing countries, contaminating about 25 percent of grains produced in the region. The aftermath effects of consuming aflatoxin-contaminated grains include stunting in children, liver cancer, and even death.

The impact of aflasafeTM on the poultry industry, one of the major consumers of maize, has been hailed by stakeholders. “We are excited with these results because the use of aflasafeTM is a cheaper and safer solution for the poultry sector,” stated Emmanuel Ewuola of the Department of Animal Science, University of Ibadan, who supervised the animal feeding experiment.

He added that with aflasafeTM grains, poultry farmers would not need aflatoxin binders in feeds. Ayoola Odutan, managing director of Amo Farms, who is also the chairman of the Poultry Association of Nigeria, in his presentation, cited IITA for the work, stressing that the future was bright for the poultry industry because science-led outputs such as the discovery of aflasafeTM that improves the quality of maize have come to the rescue of the industry. 

OLUYINKA ALAWODE