Potential role of sweetpotato in cattle fattening enterprises in post-Pinatubo Luzon, Philippines.

Sweetpotato [SP] production and consumption in the Philippines, have declined in recent years partly due to the decline of the fresh market. Previous research, however, showed that SP can also be used as a substitute to corn in feed ration for both cattle and swine. Considering the relatively high volume of SP production and low opportunity cost of growing SP in lahar-affected areas, such as Tarlac province in Central Luzon, Philippines, the study was conducted to assess the potential of utilizing sweetpotato as feed for village-level cattle fattening in the area. The study assessed the feasibility of establishing a village-level SP cattle feed processing plant in Paniqui, Tarlac. After undertaking the rapid rural appraisal and the informal survey on the production and marketing practices in the area, a feeding trial and a market preference study were organized. The six-month feeding trial, which was participated in by 12 farmer-cooperators, involved 32 cattle divided equally among four treatments, namely: 1.) cattle fed with dried SP with feed supplement; 2.) those fed with fresh SP with feed supplement; 3.) those provided with commercial cattle feeds; and 4.) those provided with farm-derived resources using current practices. The cattle fed with dried SP and those with fresh SP posted on composite average daily gain (ADG) of 1.27 kg and 1.49 kg, respectively. An ADG of 1.41 kg was recorded for cattle fed with commercial feeds and 0.61 kg for those with farm-derived resources. Initial focus group discussion with farmer cooperators indicated that even though most of the cattle took a few days to fully adjust to the SP feed ration, the farmers generally agreed that the body contour of the SP fed cattle have improved significantly, specially during the first two months of the trial. On the other hand, the feeding trial also faced a number of constraints like the sudden decline in the SP yield brought about by the extremely dry season and the fact that some cooperators decided to sell their tubers when the prices of SP suddenly increased.