A Review of Bio-Processing of Market Crop Waste to Poultry Feed in Uganda

This paper reviews the current state of bio-processing of market waste to poultry feed in Uganda. A focus was put on crop wastes since previous studies have indicated that, they contribute the biggest percentage (about 90%) of the total organic waste generated in markets. These wastes majorly comprise of fruits and vegetables like mangoes, pineapples, jackfruit, watermelon, cabbage among others. They are usually in form of residual stalks, leaves, peels, and damaged/rotten crops. Crop wastes are rich in various bioactive and nutraceutical compounds, like carotenoids, polyphenols and dietary fiber. The wastes are a major worthwhile raw material and present feasible solutions to the problems of poultry feed scarcity and high costs associated with the conventional feed stuffs. This transformation can be achieved by developing appropriate technologies for valorization of wastes by nutrient enrichment. In concern to this, solid state fermentation (SSF) and rearing insects and earthworm using crop wastes are the promising novel technologies. High value added products/feeds can be produced through microbial fermentation of crop wastes. Insect protein can also be produced to replace the expensive silver fish and soybean protein sources. The review indicated that, the technologies have not been fully cherished within the country’s poultry feed industry. All the attempts and work done are still under research and pilot scale level. However, the on-going endeavors are continued widely to better conversion technologies in order to produce products that are safe for poultry feeding. Lastly, the limitations and strategies for processing poultry feed from market waste are reviewed.