Feed value of cassava roots

24. Cassava root is a carbohydrate food. It contains a lot of carbohydrates in its dry matter. There are more carbohydrates in cassava roots than in cereals and other tubers.

Cassava root is a carbohydrate food

25. The amounts of carbohydrates contained in 1 kg dry matter of different foods are given below.

26. You know that cassava root is starchy. The carbohydrates in cassava root are made mainly of starch. Cassava starch is highly digestible for all animals.

27. Dried cassava roots contain a similar amount of energy to cereal grains. So you can use cassava roots instead of cereal grains in animal feeding.

28. Cassava roots do not have much protein. Protein is necessary for the building up of body muscles and for animals to grow.

29. The amounts of protein that you can get from 1 kg of dried cassava roots and some other energy feeds are given below.

30. This means that you cannot use cassava roots as the sole feed. You must always use them with feeds that will supply enough protein.

You cannot use cassava roots as the sole feed

31. Cassava root is not a good source of minerals and vitamins. It contains low amounts of minerals and vitamins.

32. Minerals and vitamins are necessary to keep animals healthy.

33. This means that when you are using a lot of cassava to feed the animals, you must combine it with feeds that are rich in vitamins and minerals.

34. This is true for most feed materials. Whatever the feed material you may be using, you must always combine it with other feeds to get a balance of minerals and vitamins.

Combine feed

35. You can purchase the vitamins and minerals from your dealer in the form of supplements:

- Shell grit supplies calcium.
- Bone meal and dicalcium phosphate supply calcium and phosphorus.
- Vitamins and other minerals are available in small packets as premixes.

Bone meal, vitamins and other

36. Cheaper feeds, such as leaves, can also be used to supply vitamins and minerals

Cheaper feeds