INDUSTRIAL-scale cultivation of ketum ayam (madre de agua) for use as chicken and livestock feed can be one answer to Malaysia’s food security problems, farmer Supardi Bai said.

Besides the plant which is native to tropical areas, cassava and corn can also be used as feed to help stabilise chicken prices, the chicken supplier told The Malaysian Insight on a recent visit to his farm in Terachi, Kuala Pilah, Negri Sembilan.

Supardi, 55, said these three raw materials are basic ingredients can be made into animal feed and reduce Malaysia’s dependence on imported animal feed.

“We have to do this if we want to reduce our reliance on imported livestock feed.

“I have been planting corn, sweet potatoes, and ketum ayam, and can meet up to 85% of what the livestock needs for feed.”

His farm, which covers more than two acres of land, is where he has planted ketum ayam for the past 10 years.

This plant is different from ketum, or kratom, which has stimulant properties and is used as traditional medicine.

In parts of Central America, Madre de Agua is also used as feed for poultry, pigs and rabbits.

Supardi is involved in a collaborative project with Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) to develop a chicken feed formula using ketum ayam, cassava and corn as the basic ingredients.

The study is 90% complete, according to Supardi, who holds an engineering degree from Okayama University in Japan.

“If we can produce 85% of the country’s need for animal feed, that is very good, we can import the remainder.”

In 2020, Malaysia imported around RM6.2 billion worth of animal feed. It also comprises more than 10% of the country’s total food imports.

The price of feed has become a focal point amid a ‘shortage’ of chickens in the last few weeks, with skyrocketing prices blamed on the Russia-Ukraine war, which has disrupted exports of grains and animal feed.

Although Malaysia has plenty of land designated for agricultural purposes, most of the effort and land has been given over to planting commodity crops, such as palm oil.

Benefits of ketum ayam

Supardi said ketum ayam is very easy to grow locally. One acre of land can accommodate around 2,700 ayam ketum trees, he said, which can produce about 30 tonnes of leaves a year.

“By growing feed ourselves, the cost is much lower than imported soybeans or soybean waste. Margins will increase and be more attractive,” he said.

Soybean is used in feed for protein, but ketum ayam is a suitable substitute because it has 23.3% protein content, Supardi added.

Chickens that eat ketum ayam as part of their feed also have tastier, “sweeter” meat, Supardi claimed.

The chicken faeces is also less smelly and attracts fewer flies than birds fed with the usual industrial-produced feed.

“This will address the problem of having chicken farms too close to residential areas. If the smell of faeces and flies can be controlled, then it should not be such an issue,” Supardi said.

The plant also has no natural enemies and does not attract pests. Growing it does not require much care, and it can be easily propagated by using the stem cutting method. Each tree can live for up to 10 years.

It is also a fast-growing tree, reaching 2ft in height in two months and can be harvested from then.

“It does not need regular fertiliser, just as and when needed.”

All this, Supardi said, makes turnaround time for producing feed much faster, thus saving cost.

Test case

Supardi is trialling the use of ketum ayam as chicken feed with the aim of reducing dependence of industrial-produced feed by up to 80%.

He is testing ketum ayam leaves mixed with corn grain on 200 broiler chicks after they reach the age of two weeks.

“The goal is to cut down use of industrial-produced feed to just 20%. So far, we’ve achieved 50%, so I am increasing the use of ketum ayam and will monitor the results.

In one of his previous experiments with mixed-breed kampung chickens, Supardi managed to reduce the use of industrial produced feed by up to 30%, with feed made from ketum ayam making up the rest.

He said buyers reported they were very satisfied with the taste and texture of the meat.

Supardi estimated that using normal feed will make up 70% of a chicken farmer’s total cost.

“As a comparison, RM150 spent on a 50kg sack of industrial produced feed will last up to three days at the most, or less (depending on the number of chickens).

“However, let’s say we spend RM150 on ketum ayam plants, we can continue harvesting from the trees to make feed for 10 to 15 years.”

A sapling of a ketum ayam tree costs around RM15, while the leaves are sold at around RM8/kg.

Supardi said the leaves, which are soft in texture, can be fed to rabbits, quail, tilapia, cows and goats.

“They can be fed to the animal directly after plucking them off the tree, without the need for processing.

“It is truly a worthwhile investment. Just plant once and it will yield a harvest many, many times over.” – June 19, 2022.