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Opportunities for sweet sorghum stover and bagasse as valuable commodities in

fodder trading and processing

Michael Blümmel and colleagues

International Livestock Research Institute

CFC-FAO Meeting on Feed and Fodder Value Chain Opportunities in Sweet Sorghum-biofuel Operations

Patancheru, Andhra Pradesh, India, 7-8 December 2011

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Topics

Sorghum stover as valuable commodity infodder markets

Opportunities for markets for sweet sorghum

bagasse as fodder

Value addition to sorghum stover and bagasse through feed processing options and creation of business opportunities and employment

Where to go from here: value chain development for sweet sorghum stover

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Sorghum stover trading in Hyderabad

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Changes in grain: stover value in ‘grain’ sorghum from 2004

to 2009

Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Ju Jul Aug Sep Oc Nov0

2

4

6

8

10

12

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Sorghum grain

Sorghum stover

Comparisions of average cost of dry sorghum stover traded in Hyderabad and average of cost of sorghum grain at major

whole sale markets in Andhra Pradesh November2004 to November 2005

3.4

6.5

Month of trading

Ind

ian

Ru

pee

per

kg

Yearly mean

Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Ju Jul Aug Sep Oc Nov0

2

4

6

8

10

12

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Sorghum stoverSorghum grain

Comparisions of average cost of dry sorghum stover traded in Hyderabad and average of cost of sorghum grain at major

whole sale markets in Andhra Pradesh November2008 to November 2009

Month of trading

Ind

ian

Ru

pee

per

kg

6.2

10.2

Yearly mean

Blümmel et al (2011)

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Relation between digestibility and price of ‘grain’ sorghum stover

44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 552.8

3.0

3.2

3.4

3.6

3.8

4.0

4.2y = -4.9 + 0.17x; R2 = 0.75; P = 0.03

Stover in vitro digestibility (%)

Sto

ver

pri

ce (

IR/k

g D

M)

Premium Stover“Raichur”

Low Cost Stover“Local Yellow”

Blümmel and Parthasarathy, 2006

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Price variations in different sorghum stover traded concomitantly in

Mieso, Ethiopia, April 2007

StoverETB/kg

Trader

ETB/kg

Farm

Sweet Sorghum (SS) 0.65 0.20

“Grain” Sorghum (GS) 0.50 0.13

Price premium 30% 54%

Source: calculated from Gebremedhin et al. 2009

Note: In India SS stover have about 3-4 units higher digestibility than GS stover

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Key findings from sorghum stover fodder trading

High monetary value of stover, ratio grain: stover monetary value getting narrower

Apparently “small” differences in fodder quality can command surprisingly high price premiums

Interesting trans-regional similarities in price premiums

Opportunities for sweet sorghum bagasse as

fodder

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Digestibility of stover and bagasse in a range of sorghum hybrids and

varieties (OPV’)

Percentage Digestibility of

Stover Bagasse + Leaf

Mean Hybrid 49 44.6

Range Hybrid 43.8-54.5 39.3-49.1

Mean OPV 51.5 46.6

Range OPV 48.8-54.8 42.0-50.4

Blümmel et al (2009)

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Linking sorghum stover traders to de-centralized crushing unit:

unchopped bagasse/leaves

50 Paisa per kg bagasse/leaves

Note: dry matter of bagasse/leavesless than 50%

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Linking sorghum stover traders to de-centralized crushing unit:

chopped bagasse/leaves

1 Rs per kg fresh chopped bagasse/leaves

Note: traders were offering more towardsend of crushing season

Opportunities for value addition to stover and

bagasse

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Feed block manufacturing: supplementation, densification

Ingredients %

Sorghum stover 50

Bran/husks/hulls 18

Oilcakes 18

Molasses 8

Grains 4

Minerals, vitamins, urea 2

Courtesy: Miracle Fodder and Feeds PVT LTD

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Relation between digestibility and price of sorghum stover

44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 552.8

3.0

3.2

3.4

3.6

3.8

4.0

4.2y = -4.9 + 0.17x; R2 = 0.75; P = 0.03

Stover in vitro digestibility (%)

Sto

ver

pri

ce (

IR/k

g D

M)

Premium Stover“Raichur”

Low Cost Stover“Local Yellow”

Blümmel and Parthasarathy, 2006

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Comparisons of high and low quality sorghum stover based feed blocks

in commercial dairy buffalo

Block High Block Low

CP 17.2 % 17.1%

ME (MJ/kg) 8.46 MJ/kg 7.37 MJ/kg

DMI 19.7 kg/d 18.0 kg/d

DMI per kg LW 3.6 % 3.3 %

Milk Potential 16.6 kg/d 11.8 kg/d

Anandan et al. (2009a)

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Supplementation and processing of sweet sorghum bagasse and

response in sheep

Mash Pellets Block

Control

Chaffed SSBRL

Concentrate

DMI (g/kg LW) 52.5 a 55.6 a 42.1 b 41.5 b

ADG (g / d) 132.7 a 130.4 a 89.5 b 81.3 b

Processing ($/t) 5.9 7.0 5.2 1.7

Transport ($/t/100km) 6.6 5.8 5.2 13.5

Anandan et al. (2009b)

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Key findings from value addition to stover and

bagasse Quite respectable levels of livestock productivity

possible on almost completely sorghum by-product based rations

No processing solution feeds fit all feeding situations

Economy driving, optimizing strategies required

More emphasis needed on decentralized processing options

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Where to go from here: improve fodder trading of

stover and bagasse Establish actor linkage matrices of participants in

stover and bagasse trading

Improve linkages between pertinent actors and implement appropriate communication lines for example mobile phone based

Identify and implement small scale stover and

bagasse processing options that suitable for prevailing labor and infrastructural conditions

Develop capacity for more efficient fodder trading

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Where to go from here: value chain development for de-centralized feed

processing option

Targeting of districts based on dairy systems, fodder demand, cropping pattern, labor availability, alternative feed resources etc

Inventory available feed resource and determine feed price-quality relations

Field test and monitor economically viable and self sustaining de-centralized feed processing options for small scale business entrepreneurs and dairy cooperatives

Develop scaling up strategy

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Thank you for your attention