IPB University Lecturer Creates “Analog Corn,” a Low-Cost Animal Feed Solution

One of the main reasons for the rising price of chicken in the market is the surge in corn prices. Corn is a major component in chicken or poultry feed formulas. Corn is used in poultry feed not only in Indonesia but also throughout the world.

Seeing this situation, Dr Heri Ahmad Sukria, a lecturer at the Faculty of Animal Science at IPB University, successfully created the innovative “analog corn” as a substitute for corn in animal feed. This breakthrough is expected to reduce feed costs in poultry production and ultimately lower chicken meat prices, making them more affordable in the market.

Analog corn is a corn substitute feed product that has similar nutritional value but is made from non-corn ingredients, such as grated sago and cassava. This innovation has been successfully tested on native chickens on a laboratory scale. The results show that native chickens fed with analog corn perform just as well as those fed with conventional corn feed.

“About 50 percent of poultry feed comes from corn. Indonesia cannot yet meet its national corn needs from domestic production and is currently not allowed to import,” said Dr Heri.

As a result, corn prices continue to rise, reaching a minimum of Rp 5.500. Even in months outside the harvest season, corn prices can reach Rp 7.000 in some areas, especially in remote areas or islands. “This has a direct impact on the high price of chicken feed and chicken prices in the market,” he explained.

Unlike countries such as the United States and Europe, which use a variety of materials as sources of feed energy, Indonesia is still very dependent on corn.

Dr Heri sees grated sago as having great potential that has been neglected. Indonesia has around 5 million hectares of sago plantations in Papua, or around 99 percent of the total national sago plantation area. However, its utilization is still very low, at less than 5 percent.

“Sago can be harvested directly from sago plants, but we must pay attention to the environmental balance of the sago plantation area, so it has great potential as an energy source for animal feed to replace corn,” he said.

In addition to sago, cassava is also a promising material because it can be grown in many areas such as Lampung and West Java. The main challenges are low productivity and high production costs.

“To make cassava an economical feed material, its productivity must reach a minimum of 40 tons per hectare, and several superior varieties from IPB University are currently able to meet this target,” he said.

The analog corn developed by Dr Heri and his team has gone through various stages of research and testing, both in the laboratory and in the field. To increase its utility to be equivalent to corn, one of the important processes is extrusion, which is a processing technique using the hydrothermal method to improve the physical and chemical properties and utility of feed ingredients.

In addition to containing carbohydrate sources from sago and cassava, analog corn is also supplemented with other ingredients rich in protein and micronutrients. Even moringa leaf extract is used as a source of beta-carotene, vitamins, and microminerals.

Trial results on native chickens showed good performance. This year, trials will also be conducted on broiler chickens after the extrusion process is complete.

This year, the project has received funding from the Community Empowerment Program, Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia for dissemination and implementation in the community. With a larger production scale, analog corn is expected to be a real solution for small farmers.

“Cheaper feed costs will reduce chicken production prices, so consumers can also get more affordable prices,” said Dr Heri.

Dr Heri hopes that this innovation can be commercialized soon and become an alternative animal feed that is cheap, easy to produce, and based on local ingredients. This success could be a major breakthrough in the Indonesian livestock sector.

The analog corn innovation not only reduces dependence on corn imports but also empowers local resources that have not been optimally utilized. Papuan sago and local cassava could be the key to national feed independence. (dh) (IAAS/LAN)