By 2050, the Food and Agriculture Organisation puts the national population of Kenya at 96 million people! This means we shall have doubled our current population and more. This population is also expected to have an enormous demand for food. The demand for beef alone then compared to today is estimated to rise by over 300 per cent.
The harsh reality
Humans are then faced with a dilemma; the need to produce more but as this happens, climate change becomes real. To survive, there is urgent need to device ways to produce more; the secret lies in intensification of production.
- Fighting Fall Army Worm KALRO
- Seed production bulking to address the challenge of livestock feed
- Improving vegetables production through smart agriculture technologies
- New maize variety to cut costs for farmers
Intensification is increased production in a small space and under reduced timelines. This if not done carefully, will complicate public health through diseases shared between people and animals known as zoonoses and this may also see a rise in non infectious conditions such as cancer.
The opportunities
Such will be because of contaminants and residues that will occur in food. These will include drugs, chemicals and heavy metals that will find their way to our food as treatment or as chemicals used in crops and animals.
To solve this potential food crisis, there is a safer food production alternative — raising animals in feedlots. Animals raised in feedlots produce high grade beef as well as healthy food.
Feed lot beef production is a technical word for confining animals, in a relatively small space and feeding them on the best food ratios to be ready for the market in the shortest time possible. This can vary from 60 – 120 days. But it has to begin with already grown animals that only need to optimally gain weight so that they are ready for slaughter in a short time. This is usually majorly high carbohydrate diets, sufficient proteins and optimum mineral salts. During this period, these animals depending on age and nutrition can gain between 50 – 200 kilos.
Ever wondered why a kilo of meat will cost Sh750 in places like Kakuzi (non feedlot) and as low as Sh300 in Dagoretti? The secret here is quality! The difference is like day and night. So is feedlot meat.
Feedlot meat has a desired characteristic called marbling. Marbling is the visible healthy intramuscular fat that accumulates within the muscle and between the muscle strands. To a layman’s eye, for chilled meat, marbled fat appears white and will become less obvious as the meat comes up to room temperature since the fat begins to melt. The presence of marbling has an extremely positive effect on the eating quality of beef. It is more tender, juicier and full of good flavour. The fat makes the meat softer and easier to chew, as there is simply less muscle fibre per unit volume of meat.
Demand for prime beef
The demand for prime beef is on the rise. Every hard working middle-income earner wants good quality beef. In urban areas, the demand for this kind of meat has not been met and is growing daily. This is because feedlot animals despite producing high quality meat are also kept in confinement and by this they do not pick up common animal diseases which can be transmitted to humans. Such cows end up not being treated for over 90 days and this ensures their meat does not contain undesired chemicals.
Feedlot as a business
Countries like South Africa are ahead of other African nations on the feedlot business. They have done this for so long and this has made livestock a vibrant sector. As much as they experience the same challenges as Kenya, they have managed to create disease free zones and compartmentalise their regions and thus are able to access prime markets such as countries in the European Union who have stringent measures on meat imports. Kenya however lags behind as we have not invested in our livestock sector. Feedlots are highly capital intensive ventures; they require appropriate structures as well as the cost of buying the stock and feed. The most expensive of it all however is the feed for the entire feedlotting period. This costs almost 50 per cent of such investments with a profit margin of about 20 per cent . Many investors have stepped in to this niche, besides smiling all the way to the bank; they are feeding the nation in a healthy way.
[The writer works at Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO)
mosesolum@gmail.com]
