CamNorte school turns pineapple peel into chicken feed

MANILA, Philippines — A team of researchers from the Camarines Norte State College (CNSC) has developed a food supplement for native chickens from the peelings of Queen pineapple grown by farmers in the Bicol region and Eastern Visayas.

The QP bran is a nutrient-rich supplementary chicken feed processed from the peel, eye trimmings, core and pomace of the Queen pineapple.

Funded by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD), the R&D project headed by Michelle Carbonell and her staff Sonia Carbonell found that QP bran provides nutrients similar to that of commercial rice bran but is more affordable.

The research was done under a program titled “Enhancing the Marketability and Quality of Queen Pineapple Wastes,” implemented by the Visayas State University, CNSC and the Department of Agriculture Regional Field Office 5.

In a review of the program, Carbonell said that mixing the QP bran with commercial rice bran allows savings from native chicken feed costs for farmers.

Initial results of the study showed that a 50/50 mix was best for native chickens in Camarines Norte. In 30 days, the 150-day-old native chickens fed with this formula were as good as those fed with rice bran only, in terms of weight gain, feed consumption, feed cost and conversion ratio.

Carbonell further reported that the five-day-old native chicken observed for 30 days and 180 days showed similar performance regardless of the proportion of rice bran and QP bran.

As feed supplement, QP bran can help native chicken growers save more than half the retail price of rice bran per kilogram. QP bran costs P11 per kilogram while rice bran costs P25/kg.

Carbonell said about 40 percent of pineapple raw materials such as pulp, peel and eye trimmings go to waste, based on data from the Labo, Camarines Norte Multipurpose Cooperative. Savings of around P197,600 per hectare can be generated each harvest if these wastes are processed.

Processing QP wastes into bran feed supplement is environment-friendly and a potential venture that will benefit famers, poultry owners, chicken growers and entrepreneurs.   - S&T Media Service