The Department of Agriculture has developed a cheaper aquaculture feed product, which uses locally produced raw materials, that could bring down the production costs of tilapia and milkfish by as much as P10 per kilogram amid soaring prices of imported feed products.
The feeds will be field tested for milkfish and tilapia, which are the top aquaculture commodities in the country. The field tests were conducted by SEAFDEC-AQD and NFRDI in partnership with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. The DA said initial trial results showed that the SEAFDEC-AQD formulated aquaculture feed can “compete with the commercially-fed in terms of growth performance and other biological parameters.”
“Commercial fish feeds usually consist of fish meal, which is both expensive and resource-intensive since it requires harvesting fish from the oceans for feed production,” it said. “While plant-based protein sources like soybean meal and wheat gluten can provide lower-cost alternatives, the ongoing Ukraine crisis has made prices of imported feedstuff volatile and therefore unsustainable,” it added.
“PAP is a vital ingredient in aquafeed, serving the bulk of its protein requirement. Tilapia, bangus, shrimps, they require a high protein diet compared to hogs and poultry, which only require low protein in their feeds,” Chris Co, Vice President for Marketing of Oversea Feeds, said in a recent news statement.
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