A study was carried out in some Local Government Areas of Cross River State of Nigeria to identify and ascertain the availability, level of production and the yields of crop by-products derived from commonly cultivated crops that can serve as feed for small ruminants. The results show that the various staple crops commonly grown in Cross River State produce the following crop by-products in a decreasing order of yields- cassava peels> yam peels> corn cobs> maize sheaths> plantain peels> maize offal> rice offal> cassava sievets> banana peels> fried garri sievets> groundnut haulms> sweet potato peels. The annual yield of crop by-products per Local Government Area is estimated as follows: cassava peels 89,226.40, yam peels 32,318.80, maize sheaths and offal 358,050.00, rice 0ffal 37,140.00, cowpea haulms 34,064.00, groundnut haulms 41,872.00, banana peels and rejects 18,420.00, plantain peels 7,598.40, cocoyam peels 11,944.00, sweet potato peels and rejects 8,024.00 tonnes per selected LGA.The total amount of crop by-products (638,657.60 tonnes) generated each year from the staple food crops will go a long way in solving the problem of feed scarcity for ruminants during dry season.

Current fall in supply of feedstuff and high price of feed ingredients is mainly due to Covid-19 pandemic which has put farmers out of farms. Maize, sorghum and millet the major cereal grains used in poultry feed production have become more expensive and strategies need to be adopted to ameliorate this. Hence a review study was carried out to unravel the potentials of acha grains as a feedstuff which is in the class of maize in poultry feeds. Acha is a tiny cereal grain grown in Northern part of Nigeria which is not popular in poultry feeds. Its starch content (80%) is high, low crude fibre (1.0%), appreciable level of lysine (more than 1.0%) and methionine (0.40%) and higher metabolizable energy (3700 Kcal_ME/kg) compared to maize. Its nutrient digestibility is high in terms of starch, crude protein and crude fibre. Though acha contains anti-nutritional factors such as tannins, saponin and phytic acid, the levels of the anti-nutritional factors are comparable to maize and are tolerated by chickens. Both the polished and unpolished acha grains could be used in place of maize, sorghum and millet. With vast area of land in Northern part of Nigeria, production and supply of acha to feed millers could be sustained, which could lead to a reduction in the price of maize and improved profit maximization by farmers.     La baisse actuelle de l'offre d'aliments pour animaux et le prix élevé des ingrédients alimentaires sont principalement dus à la pandémie de Covid-19 qui a poussé les agriculteurs à quitter les fermes. Le maïs, le sorgho et le millet, les principales céréales utilisées dans la production d'aliments pour la volaille, sont devenues plus chères et des stratégies doivent être adoptées pour y remédier. Par conséquent, une étude de revue a été menée pour démêler le potentiel des grains d'acha en tant qu'aliment qui appartient à la classe du maïs dans les aliments pour volaille. Acha est une minuscule céréale cultivée dans la partie nord du Nigéria qui n'est pas populaire dans les aliments pour volaille. Sa teneur en amidon (80%) est élevée, faible en fibres brutes (1.0%), un niveau appréciable de lysine (plus de 1.0%) et de méthionine (0.40%) et une énergie métabolisable plus élevée (3700 Kcal_ME / kg) par rapport au maïs. Sa digestibilité des nutriments est élevée en termes d'amidon, de protéines brutes et de fibres brutes. Bien que l'acha contienne des facteurs antinutritionnels tels que les tanins, la saponine et l'acide phytique, les niveaux des facteurs antinutritionnels sont comparables à ceux du maïs et sont tolérés par les poulets. Les grains d'acha polis et non polis peuvent être utilisés à la place du maïs, du sorgho et du millet. Avec une vaste superficie de terres dans la partie nord du Nigéria, la production et la fourniture d'acha aux meuniers pourraient être soutenues, ce qui pourrait entraîner une réduction du prix du maïs et une meilleure maximisation des profits par les agriculteurs.

The study was conducted to ascertain the potential feedstuffs available for livestock management in three senatorial districts of Cross River State, Nigeria. A total of 192 structured questionnaires were administered to sole livestock and crop-livestock farmers in 24 villages at eight per village. At collection only 176 were retrieved from the respondents representing the farm households. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results showed that the livestock farmers comprising both livestock and crop-livestock farmers were made of males (58.0%) and females (42.0%) within the age bracket of 34 -44 years out of which 56.2% were illiterates and 43.8% literate. Crop-livestock farmers (86.4%) dominated the farming operations, managing their livestock under the semi-intensive and extensive systems. The crop-livestock system was worthwhile since farmers recycled agro by-products as feedstuffs for an average of 3 goats and 2 sheep per household. This system will help to improve farmers' income and their livelihoods.