Objective
The objective of the project is to increase the supply of meat in Egypt by providing fodder for small ruminants.
The goals of the project are :
* Strains of white-rot fungi with at least 20 % higher efficiency of straw conversion and which are suitable for on-farm technologies.
* Methods for pre-treatment of straw for fungal upgrading.
* Fodder with high enough in situ digestibility for sheep and goats that is economically feasible.
* Establishment of a pilot plant for feeding goats and sheep on farms in Egypt.
Expected Outcome
The work carried out in this project should provide guidance for the selection of the most suitable type of straw, the best pre-treatment for fungal upgrading and the best fungi for increasing the digestibility of the straw for ruminants. The pilot operations will serve for the following tasks : transfer of the methods to farm conditions, test of the upgrading in feeding experiments, and training of the local farmers for the implementation of the process at a broad scale in Egypt and possibly other countries.
The key activities envisaged are :
* Pre-treatments of three different straws : wheat, rice and corn, at a laboratory scale : heating by solarisation, treatment with a non-toxic, biodegradable detergent, amendment with potato pulp or tomato pomace, or combinations thereof.
* Monitoring of fungal upgrading of the pre-treated substrates.
* Selection of the most active fungus for each type of straw.
* Biochemical evaluation of the degree of degradability.
* Feeding trials with small ruminants.
* Upscaling to the cubic meter level.
* Establishing a pilot operation.
* Analysis of the economy of the operation.
* Training of personnel for the operation.
Fields of science
Topic(s)
Call for proposal
Data not availableFunding Scheme
CSC - Cost-sharing contractsCoordinator
37077 GOETTINGEN
Germany