Seemai Karuvel commonly known as Mesquite tree, is a waste-land tree found abundantly in areas where water and soil fertility are limiting factors. In Thoothukudi district, this tree is very common. It is similar to weeds and is a menace for normal crops.
Local farmers are trying to control its further spread due to its fast spreading nature and thereby posing danger to their crops. But this tree does have a use, during summer, when availability of green grass or hay is scarce, goat, sheep and cows are fed on the dry pods. “Unutilized pods if properly collected and ground into flour can be used as a cheap alternative in livestock feed for grains like pearl millet and wheat bran,” says Dr. G. Alagukannan, Programme Coordinator of SCAD (social change and development) KVK, Thoothukudi.
The potentialSCAD saw the potential of this tree and started promoting the use of its pods as livestock feed from the year 2010-11. Farmers were motivated to collect the pods at a cost of Rs.3 a kg and then dried for 10-15 days to reduce the moisture level and ground into flour which was then given as feed for milch cows for trial purpose in order to test its suitability as alternate feed. Trials conducted in two consecutive years showed encouraging results in terms of and 8 to 10 per cent increase in milk yield, improved quality too. One of the participants, Mr. T. Ganesan of Keelathattaparai village, says: “The pod flour is cheaper when compared to other commercial concentrate feeds. We are able to get at least one litre additional yield of milk a day during its peak lactating period”.
Positive feedbackAfter getting positive feedback from several livestock keepers about eight tonnes of pod were procured and a grounding mill was set up at Vilathikulam last year. Within a month, all eight tonnes were sold out by collaborating with traders and cattle owners which showed that opportunity exists in promoting this enterprise. The pod flour is produced and marketed under brand name MS mesquite. The pods are collected during the month of April and May.
A person collects an average of 30 kg pods in two to three hours of work. For this they are paid Rs.150 (Rs.5 per kg of seeds collected) as wages.
“In fact many people in the village preferred to go for pod collection instead of going for the minimum guaranteed work scheme run by the government, in which they get 150 days of work per family per annum. By starting this venture it created an additional employment of 40 – 60 days. Besides, during the processing it provided additional employment opportunities for the mill workers for about 240 man days,” explains Dr. Alagukannan.
This venture has resulted in creation of 240 man days of work at mill and 267 man days of work for the pod collectors during 2014 just by collection and processing of eight tonnes of pods. We expect that in the coming year we can procure about 50 tonnes of pod and create an additional employment opportunity of 3,166 man days of work in the region, according to Dr.J.X.Amali Cletus, Member of Governing Council of Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS) and Vice Chairperson of the institute.
The savingsBy feeding this flour as a cheap replacement for pearl millet / wheat bran livestock owners are able to save up to Rs.5 a kg (cost of the pod flour in Rs.16 where as the cost of wheat bran or pearl millet in Rs.21 a kg).
For details interested readers can contact Dr. G.Alagukannan, Programme Coordinator, SCAD Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Vagaikulam, Mudivaithanendal post, Thoothukudi District – 628 102, mobile: 9942978627, phone: 0462-226930, email:pcscadkvk@
gmail.com
