Nanotechnology in animal nutrition and feed

Balanced and high-quality animal feed is essential to make livestock farming sustainable, competitive, and achieve maximum returns. The development of the livestock sector depends on crucial aspects like animal health, breeding, feed, and market management.

Approximately 70 per cent of the total cost of livestock farming is spent on feed management, with the sector contributing 5.56 per cent to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In Nepal, 12 per cent of the land is covered by grazing areas.

Nutrition for animals

Nutrition refers to the essential food elements required for growth, health maintenance, and production. Nutrients include carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and salts. Feed management teaches what, how much, and how to feed animals in different conditions. Farmers in rural areas are often found to feed more to cows, buffaloes, goats, pigs, and chickens.

It is crucial to feed according to the production stage and age of the animals. Crops like maize, rice, millet, buckwheat, barley, and others serve as sources of carbohydrates, while legumes, oilseeds, and their by-products are used as protein sources.

A deficiency of nutrients in the diet can lead to stunted growth, weight loss, reduced disease resistance, poor development, decreased reproductive ability, reduced milk production, hindered utilisation of calcium and phosphorus, deformed limbs in young animals, the birth of weak offspring, anaemia, fertility issues, and miscarriages.

Nanotechnology for mitigating adverse effects

Nowadays, the excessive use of hormones, antibiotics, feed additives, and mineral salts in animals and poultry is causing negative effects. To mitigate the adverse effects caused by the growing demand for animal nutrition and the excessive use of these substances, nanotechnology has been developed in the field of animal nutrition and feed.

In simple terms, nanotechnology in animal nutrition, also known as nano-biotechnology, incorporates nanoscale materials and technologies to improve the distribution, stability, and efficacy of nutrients in animal feed.

Nanotechnology encapsulates nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, and bioactive compounds into nanoparticles. It plays a significant role in improving feed quality, enhancing disease resistance, and reducing environmental impact. Nano minerals increase the surface area and biological activity of the feed consumed by the animals.

Richard Feynman, known as the father of nanotechnology, first spoke about this technology in 1959. Nanotechnology is being used in various fields, including agriculture, livestock, health, and the environment. Fifty years ago, when medicines were scarce, farmers would feed red clay to sick or poisoned animals, which provided essential micro-nutrients and helped eliminate harmful compounds from the body through excretion.

Generally, nanomaterials are categorised into organic and inorganic types. Organic nanomaterials include proteins, carbohydrates, and fatty acid molecules derived from plants, while inorganic nanomaterials include microscopic mineral salts.

Currently, the most widely used nanotechnology in animal nutrition and feed involves nano-mineral salts such as nano zinc, nano copper, nano iron, nano silver, and nano gold.

Nanotechnology for quality production

Research shows that the use of nanotechnology in livestock, such as cows and buffaloes, increases milk production, and meat yield, improves sperm quality, increases the number of microorganisms in the rumen, and enhances the digestive system.

Nano silver helps increase the alkaline phosphatase in the blood, aiding in the growth of chicken bones. Nano copper strengthens the bones in chickens. Studies indicate that when nano silver, nano copper, and nano iron are mixed into chicken feed, they result in more eggs and better egg quality. Similarly, feeding piglets with nano copper mixed in their feed accelerates their growth.

Therefore, by developing and expanding animal nutrition and feed systems, increasing the production of livestock and animal products, promoting import substitution, and boosting exports, the nation can achieve self-sufficiency.

Attracting more individuals to commercial livestock farming requires the adoption of scientific methods in feed management, improved grass cultivation, conservation, promotion, and utilisation of grazing areas.

The federal government should allocate a budget for animal nutrition and feed sectors, Nepal Agricultural Research Council and the Animal Nutrition Division should conduct studies, research, and production, universities should revise curricula to include such technologies, and provincial and local governments should focus on promoting nanotechnology.

By doing so, nanotechnology can become an excellent technology to increase livestock and animal product production in Nepal, similar to the successes seen in the USA, China, and India.