Journal of Agricultural Economics and Development Vol. 3(4), pp. 052-056, June 2014 ISSN 2327-3151 ©2014 Academe Research Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Economics of replacement of maize with cassava peel meal in the growth performance of Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

Fakunmoju F.A., Okeowo T.A, Babalola  O.A, Lawal A.S. and Boboye Ijimakinde.

School of Agriculture, Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu, Lagos State, Nigeria.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: folajuwona@yahoo.com.

Accepted 5 May, 2014

Abstract

High demand of maize as food, feed and industrial uses resulted in its exorbitant price, thereby placing it out of the reach of average fish and livestock producer. The resultant effect causes high cost of fish products and closure of farms. Hence, there is need to seek for alternatives that are relatively cheaper and with lesser cost attached. This study was therefore conducted to evaluate the economics of replacement of maize with cassava peels in the growth performance of Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). Three hundred juvenile Nile Tilapia fishes were cultured for twelve weeks with an average weight of 1.83±0.1 g. They were randomly allotted to five dietary treatment levels with three replications in each at the start of production with 20 fishes in each replication and were used to evaluate the growth and economic performance when fed with diets containing varying levels of cassava peel meal. Diet 1 (0% level of inclusion of cassava peels), diet 2 (25% level of inclusion of cassava peels), diet 3 (50% level of inclusion of cassava peels), diet 4 (75% level of inclusion of cassava peel), and diet 5 (100% level of inclusion of cassava peels) represented 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% replacement of maize respectively. Results revealed that cassava peel meal significantly (p<0.05) affected the feed intake, cost of feed/fish, returns on feed, total cost of production, total revenue, gross margin and profit while it also influenced significantly the weight (p<0.05), the weight gain, final weight and feed conversion efficiency of the fish. Fishes on diet 4 had the highest weight gain, the minimal cost of production and the highest profit. Hence, cassava peels could be used to replace maize in the diet of Nile Tilapia (O. niloticus) with considerable economic gain.

Key words: Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), cassava peels.