Protein Sources for the Animal Feed Industry 311

Livestock production, protein supplies

and the animal feed industry in Malawi
Andy C.L. Safaloah
Senior Lecturer in Monogastric Nutrition, Department of Animal Science,
University of Malawi; Bunda College of Agriculture
Lilongwe, Malawi

This paper outlines the current status of livestock production, protein supplies and
the animal feed industry in Malawi. Livestock production in Malawi is primarily
subsistent where the majority of animals and poultry are kept under the extensive
free-range system of management with little or no supplementation. Large-scale
commercial livestock and poultry enterprises are few in number and are primarily
the intensive type where the use of concentrates and/or protein feed ingredients is
common. Available feed resources are either of animal (fishmeal, meat and bone
meal) or plant origin (soybean meal, sunflower meal, cottonseed cake and
groundnut cake). Neglected or underutilized protein sources include pigeon peas,
cowpeas and chickpeas. Some protein sources used in the animal feed industry are
imported from neighbouring countries. Most protein sources are incorporated in
compounded feed for intensive poultry, pig, beef cattle and dairy production. The
animal feed manufacturing industry is generally small with two main feed
manufacturers supplemented by on-farm feed mixing. There is urgent need to
explore the utilization of unconventional feedstuffs in order to increase the protein
resource base and so improve livestock productivity.

INTRODUCTION
Livestock production is an integral part of agricultural production in Malawi.
Compared to crop production, livestock constitute a relatively small sub sector in
Malawi’s agriculture. The livestock sector is typically a low-input-low-output
management system with over half a million smallholder families (Ministry of
Agriculture and Irrigation [MoAI], 1999). Higher outputs of livestock production
are experienced by a relatively small number of large-scale intensive commercial
livestock/poultry enterprises, most of which are located in the urban and periurban
areas of Blantyre, Lilongwe and Mzuzu cities. Intensive production enterprises
include broiler and layer production, beef cattle feedlots and pig and dairy
production. These form the major outlets for protein sources.
312 Livestock production, protein supplies and the animal feed industry in Malawi

Major constraints to livestock production include lack of improved breeds, lack

of cheap quality feed, a weak livestock extension system, lack of appropriate
managerial skills, lack of appropriate technology and weak livestock veterinary
services. Of these, lack of good quality feed at affordable prices is the major
problem. With low productivity, the livestock sector contributes less than its
potential to national economic and agricultural growth.
In an attempt to facilitate the sustainable development of the livestock sub sector
in Malawi and to respond to current national development objectives, the Malawi
Government developed a National Livestock Master Plan in 1999 (MoAI, 1999).
The plan includes a coherent strategic framework of desired policies, institutional
reforms, legislative adjustment and investment programmes. Encouragingly, the
plan recognizes the functional link between the crop and livestock sub sectors in
relation to the livestock feed base.

LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION
Management systems
The livestock sub sector in Malawi primarily comprises small and large-scale
sectors. At the smallholder level, there is little financial input in terms of housing,
use of drugs and supplementary feeding. On the other hand, large-scale livestock
production is intensive in nature and commonly uses concentrates as sources of
protein. The Malawi Government is currently encouraging expansion of beef cattle
stall feeding and dairy production among the estate sector. Expansion and
intensification of this sector entails increased use of protein sources such as cotton
seed cake or urea/molasses/mineral blocks to supplement high quality protein
forage/legumes.
Large-scale intensive monogastric production (poultry and pigs) is mostly
influenced by supply of good quality feed at reasonable and affordable prices.
Small ruminants such as goats and sheep are basically kept under the free-range
system. Indigenous chickens comprise more than 80 percent of the chicken
population in Malawi. These are kept under the free-range system. Broiler
enterprises range from small units of 200–500 birds and large enterprises of more
than 30 000 birds.

Livestock population/numbers
The national livestock database is particularly weak when compared with that
developed for crops. Estimates of livestock populations incorporate a large margin
of error. Discrepancies have always been seen between the two sources of livestock
statistics: the National Statistical Office (NSO) and the Department of Animal
Health and Industry-DAHI, (MoAI, 1999). DAHI maintains a record of livestock
Protein Sources for the Animal Feed Industry 313

numbers through annual surveys carried out by Veterinary Assistants scattered

throughout the country. The NSO, on the other hand, conducts periodic surveys of
agriculture that include livestock. The discrepancies between these two institutions
warrant establishment of a proper nation-wide livestock monitoring system.
It is clear from Table 1 that chickens are the most common type of stock kept. The
MoAI (1999) reported that there were 61 200 pigs, 1 583 200 broiler chickens, 187
800 layers and 27 500 cattle (both dairy and beef) kept under intensive production
systems.

TABLE 1
Estimates of numbers for different types of livestock kept in Malawi.
Livestock specie Numbers
Cattle 768 501
Goats 1 662 930
Sheep 112 882
Pigs 465 419
Chickens 7 206 377
Guinea Fowls 74 640
Doves 363 416
Ducks 114 817
Rabbits 127 029
Donkeys 2 276
Source: Department of Animal health and Industry, 2000

PROTEIN FEED SUPPLIES/SOURCES

Information on availability of protein sources and their utilization in Malawi is
scarce and the pattern of their use not fully known. This is mainly due to lack of
funds and adequate expertise with which to conduct appropriate studies to
determine the available feed resource base. There is also a lack of adequate and
reliable laboratory facilities for chemical analyses to determine the nutrient
composition of feedstuffs for feeding trials. Similarly, there is limited expertise in
animal nutrition with only seven animal nutritionists at national level.
314 Livestock production, protein supplies and the animal feed industry in Malawi

Rapid expansion and intensification of livestock production, especially poultry,

have led to a sharp increase in requirements for concentrates. As a result there has
been an increase in the requirements for the supply of protein sources.
Protein feed sources in Malawi are either of plant or animal origin. The
commonly available type of animal protein is fishmeal. Fishmeal is produced from
a mixture of fish remnants, non-gradeable fish and/or broken fish pieces. Fishmeal
is currently sold at US$0.46/kg compared with US$0.25 for full fat soybean meal.
Assuming crude protein content of 60 percent for fishmeal and 38 percent for full
fat soybean meal, proteins from these sources cost US$0.77 and US$0.66 per kg
respectively. Fishmeal is also imported from other countries such as South Africa
and Chile.
Fishmeal is generally expensive and its use in animal feed is limited. It is a
major source of protein for humans. The major source of fish is Lake Malawi with
lesser quantities being supplied by small rivers.
Use of animal by-products from processing plants/slaughter houses such as meat
and bone meal is limited due to low supply. One other potential protein source that
goes to waste is that from the two major hatcheries. This is primarily due to lack of
appropriate processing facilities.
Oilseed meals and grain legumes form the bulk of plant protein used in livestock
feeds used by the animal industry. The main source of plant protein used in Malawi
is soybean meal, most of which is the full fat type. This is due to the fact that there
are very few plants processing oil from soybean in Malawi. Other plant protein
sources include sunflower cake, cottonseed cake and groundnut cake. There is
apparently very little use of legumes such as pigeon peas, cowpeas, and chickpeas.
Traditional and unconventional plant protein sources are presented in Table 2. The
Table indicates that the yield from legumes is low, probably due to poor husbandry
practices. With proper management and use of the correct inputs, yields could be
greatly improved.

Production of grain legumes in Malawi for the past five seasons is presented in
Table 3. These are the legumes currently being evaluated by the Animal Science
Department of the University of Malawi. Plant protein sources are fed directly or
after on farm feed mixing as complete feeds, where maize meal is the main basal
ingredient. Oil seed meals and legumes normally comprise 15-30 percent of the
livestock diets.
Protein Sources for the Animal Feed Industry 315

TABLE 2
Commonly used and potential plant protein sources available in Malawi
Source Scientific name Area grown Yield/ha Potential yield
(ha) (kg) (kg/ha)
Soybean meal Glycine max 18 433 800 2500
Sunflower meal Helianthus annuus 15 460 500 3 000
Beans Phaseolus vulgaris 106 627 700 2 500
Ground nuts Arachis hypogaea 95 399 750 2 400
Pigeon peas Cajanus cajan 87 758 800 2 500
Cowpeas Vignia unguiculata 48 157 600 2 000
Chick peas Cicer arietinum 1 070 700 2 000
Bambara or Vigna subterranea 3 128 800 3 000
groundbeans
Sesame Sesamum indicum 97 500 1 000
Green grams Vigna aureus 1 216 700 2 000
Source: Guide to Agricultural Production In Malawi: 1994/95, Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation

TABLE 3
Production of soybeans, cowpeas and pigeon peas from 1996-2001
Season Production (tonnes)
Soybean Cowpeas Pigeon peas
1996/97 32 771 15 533 72 850
1997/98 30 170 25 582 79 507
1998/99 40 811 25 838 91 569
199/2000 48 699 22 196 99 261
2000/2001 37 401 25 973 105 849
Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation Department, 2001

Soybean meal is used most extensively as a source of protein, especially in

poultry diets. In general, soybean meal accounts for more than 70 percent of the
protein source used in compound feeds for poultry and other livestock. Use of other
legumes such as beans, pigeon peas, groundnut meal and cowpeas is limited due to
a number of factors such as:
316 Livestock production, protein supplies and the animal feed industry in Malawi

• their importance as sources of cheap plant protein for human consumption;

• lack of processing facilities;
• high cost of transport from areas of production to the location of feed mills;
• the unattractive price that farmers receive from the sale of these products to
the animal feed industry;
• Loss of crops to overseas markets. Large quantities of pigeon peas are
exported to other countries such as India, making the legume unavailable for
use in Malawi.
Until recently, not much had been done on the chemical and feeding properties and
utilization of these plant proteins by livestock in Malawi. The University of Malawi
is currently embarking on the chemical analysis and characterization of national
protein feed resources. Current studies show that proper processing is required
before legumes such as soybeans, cowpeas and pigeon peas can be incorporated in
animal diets. Simoongwe (1998) reported that roasting legumes can decrease the
content of trypsin inhibitor (TI) in such crops as soybeans (Table 4).

TABLE 4
Effect of roasting on trypsin inhibition of soybeans, pigeon peas and
cowpeas
Protein type Trypsin inhibition (%)
Raw Roasted
Soybean meal (full fat) 37.60 7.68
Cowpeas 56.68 30.92
Pigeon peas 43.53 35.02
Source: Simoongwe, 1998

Although advocated for use in poultry diets for a long time, Phaseolus beans are
rarely used in livestock feeds. Edje (1975) reported that Phaseolus beans contain
22 percent crude protein, 57 percent carbohydrates and a low fibre content of 4
percent. On the other hand, Mwangwela (2000) reported that the crude protein of
Phaseolus beans ranged from 17 percent to 20 percent depending on variety used.
The potential use of beans as a protein source in the animal feed industry needs to
be explored. The TI content of beans could be improved by boiling or germinating
the seeds. Kalimbira (2000) reported that boiling soybeans reduced trypsin
inhibition from 30.2 percent to 3.5 percent. Germinating the seeds was also
reported to reduce inhibition from 27.2 to 3.7 percent.
Protein Sources for the Animal Feed Industry 317

THE FEED INDUSTRY

The compound feed industry in Malawi is small with both big and small scale feed
millers. The animal feed industry produces concentrates for both on-farm feed
mixing and complete feeds. Due to lack of data on chemical composition of
available feed ingredients, the majority of feed compounders rely on composition
tables for feed formulation. These tables are produced in other countries. The
situation is exacerbated by the fact that most feed millers do not have laboratory
facilities for analysis of the nutrient content of their ingredients.
Feed mills in Malawi are mainly used for grinding, dosing and mixing feeds
from cereals and oil seed meals. Recently, the pelleted feed has been introduced in
Malawi. The animal feed industry compounds more feed for monogastric animals
(pigs and poultry) than for ruminants.
Protein sources used by the feed industry are either bought from within the
country or imported from the neighbouring countries of Zimbabwe, Zambia or
South Africa. The proportion of protein used in the diets varies according to the
relative price of the available protein sources such as legumes, fish meal and
milling by-products. Production of compound feed in Malawi has grown
substantially and almost in parallel with an increase in intensive livestock
production systems. This has seen an increase in the emergence of feed
manufacturing companies. Most feed mills are concentrated in the urban areas of
Blantyre, Lilongwe and Mzuzu where these is a large number of pig and poultry
enterprises.
Prices of feed from these manufacturing companies tend to vary depending on
their source of ingredients and where they are located. Farmers in the countryside
face significantly higher costs of feed than those within towns.
Due to the high cost of purchasing compounded feed, some farmers have
resorted to on farm feed mixing. These farmers grow their own legumes as sources
of feed, or import concentrates which they use for mixing with maize meal. This
trend has seen an increase in the production of legumes such as soybeans.
The feed industry in Malawi is not without problems. Technical constraints
include:
• low and unreliable supply of feed ingredients, especially protein sources;
• lack of laboratory facilities for chemical analysis of ingredients;
• frequent interruptions in power supply;
• inconsistent and sometimes substandard feed quality;
• lack of trained feed technologists;
• lack of appropriate feed processing equipment;
318 Livestock production, protein supplies and the animal feed industry in Malawi

• lack of spare parts for maintenance of equipment which is imported from

other countries. The need for adapted equipment that can easily be
maintained using local resources becomes obvious.

Lack of appropriate feed ingredients is aggravated by persistent incidences of

drought or floods that have affected the country over the past three years. Where
there is a limited availability of protein sources and other ingredients, quality is
often compromised. Samples of broiler starter feed from one small scale feed
manufacturer which was analyzed at the Animal Nutrition Laboratory at Bunda
College had a crude protein content of 14.6 percent, which is too low for broiler
starter diets. When contacted, lack of adequate protein sources was implicated.
Under such circumstances, the farmer becomes the victim.

Quality Control
As mentioned above, most feed manufacturers lack laboratory facilities that can be
used to check the quality of their feed. The Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) is
mandated by the Government to ensure that standards are adhered to.
Implementation of feed quality assurance leaves a lot to be desired. Lack of staff
and insufficient financial support from Government have been implicated in
MBS’s failure to monitor feed millers, operators, feed ingredient producers and
suppliers. With no strict control measures, adulteration of animal feed, especially
protein sources, becomes the norm.

CURRENT RESEARCH IN PROTEIN SOURCES

Lack of research funds and reliable laboratory facilities limit the extent of research
on protein sources in Malawi. Currently, the Animal Science Department of the
University of Malawi is involved in the evaluation of grain legumes, such as
pigeon peas and cowpeas, as potential substitutes for soybean. Simoongwe (1998)
evaluated the use of soybeans, pigeon peas and cowpeas in the diets of local and
exotic pigs. One major finding in that study was the need to process the legumes to
remove TI. However, further studies are required to determine the inclusion levels
that do not compromise performance, since rates of more than 70 percent proved to
be too high. Chisowa (2002) reported that the daily weight gains of rabbits within a
12 week growing period were 15.6, 14.4 and 10.7 g for soybean, pigeon pea and
cowpea supplemented diets respectively. Chisowa (2002) also reported that
cowpeas contain more tannins (10.75 mg/kg) than soybean (3.25 mg/kg) and
pigeon peas (3.75 mg/kg).
Protein Sources for the Animal Feed Industry 319

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Expansion of intensive livestock production in Malawi has concomitantly resulted
in an increase in demand for protein sources. The current protein resource base
cannot meet the additional demand for protein by the animal feed industry, as
manifested by protein imports. In order to ensure increased productivity of the
livestock sector, the following recommendations are made:
1. Strengthening of animal nutrition research should focus on utilization
and processing of unconventional protein feedstuffs. This will allow
them to be properly evaluated as sources of protein and other nutrients
for incorporation in livestock diets. Unconventional protein sources such
as cowpeas, chickpeas, pigeon peas, common beans, bambara nuts,
cotton seed cake and sesame seeds, should be explored.
2. A protein feed resource data base should be developed to provide a
reference and textbook for the animal feed industry, researchers and
students of animal nutrition/science and extension workers.
3. Government should promote cultivation and intensification of plant
proteins such as soybeans to increase supply and availability of plant
proteins for use by the animal feed industry.
4. Government and associated institutions should develop appropriate and
cost effective feed processing technologies for both animal and plant
protein sources, that can be used by both small and large scale feed
compounders.
5. Investigations should be made to evaluate potential incorporation of
animal waste as protein sources (such as that from the hatchery industry).
Converting biological waste as animal feed would create a new industry
and market, and would reduce pollution.
6. The Government should also seriously promote investment in oil crop
refining companies. This could increase the availability of oilseed meals
which are good protein sources.
7. There should be an increase in institutional capacity for human resource
development in animal nutrition and feed technology, as well as support
in terms of animal nutrition laboratory facilities for chemical analyses.

REFERENCES
Chisowa, D. M. 2002. Comparative evaluation of performance of growing rabbits fed
Leucaena leucocephala-cereal basal diet supplemented with legume grains.
University of Malawi, Bunda College of Agriculture. (M.Sc. thesis)
Edje, O. T. 1975. Phaseolus Beans. Agriculture, Report No. BC/CP/95/75, University
of Malawi, Bunda College of Agriculture.
320 Livestock production, protein supplies and the animal feed industry in Malawi

Kalimbira, A. A. 2000.The effect of incorporating legumes on quality acceptability of

cassava-based complementary foods. University of Malawi, Bunda College of
Agriculture. (M.Sc. thesis)
Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation (MoAI). 1999. National Livestock
Development Master Plan. Malawi, Department of Animal Health and Industry.
Mwangwela, A.M. 2000. Relation of phytic acid and calcium to culinary
characteristics of freshly harvested dry beans. University of Malawi, Bunda
College of Agriculture. (M.Sc. thesis)
Simoongwe, V. 1998. The performance of large white and local Malawian pigs fed
rations based on soybeans, cowpeas and pigeon peas. University of Malawi,
Bunda College of Agriculture. (M.Sc. thesis)