Potential of Tropical Feed Resources for Inclusion in Commercial Livestock Diet: A Mini Review

Demlie, Mulu and Beyero, Nestanet and Kefyalew, Awoke (2026) Potential of Tropical Feed Resources for Inclusion in Commercial Livestock Diet: A Mini Review. World's Veterinary Journal. 721 - 732. ISSN 23224568

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Abstract

The demand for locally accessible, reasonably priced, and environmentally resilient alternative feed resources has increased due to rapid population growth, climate variability, land degradation, and growing competition for land between human food and animal feed. To address this problem, the utilization of emerging feed resources in the tropics is important. Therefore, the objective of this review was to identify emerging topical feed resources, nutritional potential, limitations, and integration techniques for commercial livestock production. Trees and shrubs, improved legumes and grasses such as lablab and alfalfa, insect-based proteins, aquatic feeds, root and tuber crops, agro-industrial by-products, fruit and vegetable wastes, and fermented or biotechnologically enhanced feeds are just a few of the many emerging feeds that were found to be valuable options. Emerging feeds partly fill the gap in feed supply, reduce competition for food between humans and animals, lower feed costs, and contribute to self-sufficiency in nutrients from locally available feed sources. Despite the high potential of emerging feeds, their utilization remains limited due to several interrelated constraints, including the presence of anti-nutritional factors, high fiber content and low digestibility, variable and inconsistent nutrient composition, poor palatability, high moisture content, rapid spoilage, and seasonal availability. Additional barriers include inadequate processing and preservation technologies, lack of infrastructure and equipment, limited farmer knowledge and technical skills, weak extension services, and insufficient research-based feed standards. Consequently, these factors result in inconsistent feed quality and reduced economic returns for commercial livestock producers. The review highlighted that appropriate processing techniques such as drying, chopping, grinding, ensiling, fermentation, urea or ammonia treatment, heat treatment, enzyme supplementation, and mineral fortification are required to utilize emerging feeds. In conclusion, emerging feed resources represent a viable pathway toward sustainable, cost-effective, and climate-resilient livestock production in the tropics. Strengthening studies, improving processing and preservation technologies, enhancing extension services, and building farmer capacity are essential to unlock their full potential and ensure their successful adoption in commercial livestock feeding systems. © The Author(s) 2026. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	Diet; Emerging feed; Integration strategy; Livestock; Nutritional factor
Subjects:	S Agriculture > SF Animal culture
Divisions:	World's Veterinary Journal (WVJ)
Page Range:	721 - 732
Journal or Publication Title:	World's Veterinary Journal
Journal Index:	Scopus
Volume:	16
Number:	2
Publisher:	Scienceline Publication
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.54203/scil.2026.wvj68
ISSN:	23224568
Depositing User:	Dr. Alireza Sadeghi
URI:	https://eprints.science-line.com/id/eprint/1719

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