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Cassava processing generates a solid waste that is hazardous to the environment. This biological waste which cause damage to the environment from cassava food-processing activities are the cassava peels. These waste peels have long been used by livestock farmers as a cheap source of animal feed for both ruminants and monogastric livestock due to its rich energy and fibre; lab analysis of processed cassava peels into high-quality mashes have also shown that it has an (ME) Metabolized Energy content that is 2/3 of that of maize. However, limitation to further adoption as a sustainable feed option has been its low crude-protein content. The average protein content of a processed cassava peel livestock feed meal is 3%. However, extensive researches have shown that this protein content can be dramatically increased via a process of enzymatic hydrolysis. Put simply, this process involves the fermentation of the cassava peel with enzymes that go by the name Aspergillus Niger and Sacharomyces Cerevicae. Aspergillus Niger is an enzyme that can be isolated/obtained from rotten Cassava tubers, while Sacharomyces enzyme is simply baker’s Yeast. Submerged fermentation of cassava peels with both enzymes for 7-days have been shown to increase crude protein content in cassava peels by at least 900% — from 3% to 27%. Soybean meal, which is the most common source of crude-protein in livestock feeds, contains 44% crude-protein content, while Fish-meal (which boasts the highest crude-protein content for livestock and fish feed), contains between 60 to 72% crude protein. Protein-enriched cassava peel has the potential of halving the current demand for soymeal and maize (considering its equally high metabolized energy content), while also reducing the demand for fish-meal. Africa (the largest producers of cassava) generates an estimated 15-million tonnes of cassava peel that can be recycled to meet some of the existing protein gap for livestock farmers.
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