Abstract

POSADA, Sandra Lucía et al. Economic analysis of supplementation with arborea and agro-industrial by-products in zebu cattle. Ces. Med. Vet. Zootec. [online]. 2016, vol.11, n.3, pp.23-34. ISSN 1900-9607.

This work aims to assess the economic impact of supplementation with arborea and agro-industrial by-products in zebu cattle. Productive performance test was conducted for 60 days in the municipality of Gómez Plata (Antioquia-Colombia). Twenty castrated males commercial zebu received five diets consisting for Pangola (Digitaria decumbens) (60%) and supplement (40%) containing matarratón (Gliricidia sepium) (MAT), coffee pulp (Coffea arabica) (CP), grape pomace (Vitis vinifera) (GP) or cottonseed (Gossypium sp.) (CS); the control diet (CON) was not formulated with these materials. The economic analysis included the cost-structure of diet, calculation of total and unit production cost, sensitivity analysis and cost-benefit ratio (B/C). In relation to CON diet, the cost per kilogram of diet was superior to CP and GP, 2.39 and 1.87 times, respectively. The value of a kilogram of meat for CP, GP and MAT diets was 3.47, 2.04 and 1.40 times higher compared with CON diet. The B/C ratio was negative for CP and GP diets, however, the sensitivity analysis showed that the introduction of GP is economically viable if its acquisition cost is lower. The costs associated with diet CS were slightly lower than the CON diet (93%), so the B/C ratio was slightly higher. It concludes that the introduction of arborea and by-products is not economically feasible in all cases because factors such as regional availability and dehydration increase production costs.

Keywords : alternative food; cost-benefit ratio; production costs; sensitivity analysis.

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