Date of this Version
INTSORMIL Report No. 12, April 1, 2007
With the declining relative prices of chicken compared with other meats, poultry consumption per capita in the USA has been increasing, while that of other meats has been stagnant or declining. Similar developments are occurring in West Africa.
There is interest in substituting sorghum for maize in poultry rations, in the U.S. and in West Africa, for both broiler and egg production. In contrast to maize, which is a thirsty plant and requires large amounts of water, sorghum offers farmers the ability to grow a crop where other crops do not produce well. In Niger, West Africa, locally produced sorghum is generally less expensive than imported maize and should play an important role in diets for livestock and poultry. Yet poultry producers are fearful of sorghum-based diets because of misconceptions about the effect of tannins in sorghum on poultry.
INTSORMIL is dedicated to the promotion of sorghum as a feed for the West African poultry industry. To overcome the misconceptions poultry producers have regarding sorghum grain as a poultry feed, INTSORMIL sponsored activities were conducted in Niger by Kansas State University (KSU) scientists in collaboration with scientists of the National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRAN) in Niamey, Niger.