“Feed of the Future, For India, By India” is the theme of DDGS Yatra. With the help of Department of Dairy Cattle Nutrition, ICAR National Dairy Research Institute, All India Distillers Association organized this seminar. It was supported by various partners like CLFMA of India, GEMA and Novonesis. Around 150 participants from various sectors attended it.
During Inaugural Session, Dr AK Samanta, Head of DCN Division, welcomed all dignitaries and participants. Dr. Dheer Singh, Director and VC, NDRI was the chief guest. He emphasised on sustainable environment, net zero carbon policy and circular economy and said that the country is gearing up its activities and policies for quantum jump of bio-ethanol production, focusing on cereals (such as maize, rice etc) in addition to sugars. DDGS has high nutritional value and can be used for microbial fermentation feedstock to produce value-added products and can address the immediate challenges of livestock sector by virtue of supplying quality feed ingredients to augment higher production. Mr. Sunil Duggal of All India Distilleries Association (AIDA), New Delhi, briefed about the activities of the particular organisation and highlighted their future roadmap on DDGS. Dr. Rajan Sharma, Joint Director (Research), NDRI highlighted the significance of DDGS for partial replacement of conventional concentrate ingredients and emphasised on quality and safety issue.
Mr. Sunil Dugggal, AIDA gave presentation about objective of conducting DDGS Yatra. The Ethanol for petrol (EBP) programme is an ambitious initiative of Gvernment of India aimed at achieving 20 % ethanol blending with petrol by 2025/26. Currently we are at 13.5% and the target is 15% in FY 23/24. Currently ethanol is produced from sugar, rice and maize. DDGS is extracted from rice /maize ethanol production process. More than 170 ethanol plants are spread all over India, but density is high in Haryana and Punjab states. With increased DDGS availability, feed millers will get assured and consistent supply of good quality protein source at affordable and stable prices throughout the year. Presently DDGS use is very low in poultry and dairy feeds. This is mainly due to lack of awareness amongst nutritionists about this economical source of protein. Getting consistent quality in terms of colour, texture and moisture was challenge during last few years. Aflatoxin, if present, in DDGS limits its use. We will need to educate DDGS manufactures about testing of raw materials used and of DDGS for important parameters like moisture, aflatoxin, crude protein, crude fibre, oil, total ash and sand silica. NIR machines can also be used for this purpose. BIS standards will be also made for DDGS. Education needs to be done on DDGS storage protocols as well. Trials are also going on for aflatoxin management protocols. Maize production will be increased from 38 MMT to 45 MMT by 2030. Maize is produced in three seasons in India – Kharif (77.1%), Rabi (18.2%) and Summer (4.6%). Leading states (productivity per Ha)are Tamil Nadu, Bengal, Telangana, AP and Bihar. Areawise top states in Kharif are Karnataka, MP, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and UP. In rabi season, are Maharashtra, Bihar, Telangana, AP and Tamil Nadu. In summer season are Bihar, Bengal, UP, Maharashtra and Karnataka. Maize will be first preference for ethanol, as sugar and damaged food grains are limited in quantities. Maize can be produced in all three seasons. Maize can be produced all over India and can be used by local distilleries which will reduce transportation costs. Growing maize is environmentally sustainable as compared to rice and sugarcane. 100 kg maize produces around 35-42 liters of ethanol and 25-32 kg DDGS.
Dr. Dinesh Bhosale, Past Chairman, CLFMA of India talked about how to use DDGS in animal feeds. He explained various factors which affects DDGS quality. Major challenge is variable quality. High level of unsaturated fatty acids also makes DDGS more susceptible to oxidation. Mould inhibitor should be used while storing DDGS. DDGS Moisture should be below 12%. All waste materials should be removed. DDGS should not be used to adulterate other feed ingredients like DORB and soybean meal. Lysine content is low in maize and rice DDGS as compared to soybean meal. Digestibility of lysine in DDGS is lower (65%) as compared to lysine in Soybean meal (89%). Tryptophan and arginine are the limiting amino acids in DDGS. For dairy animals, DDGS is an excellent source of Rumen Undegradable Protein. It is rich source of highly digestible fiber. Low concentration of starch in DDGS reduce the occurrence of acidosis. High concentration of fat in DDGS makes it a high-energy feedstuff. Presently, DDGS is used at 2-3% in broiler feeds, at 2-8% in layer feeds and at 5-10% in cattle feeds.
Dr. AK Samanta gave presentation about challenges while using DDGS. Main challenges are transportation, safety, nutrient availability, contamination, oxidized lipids and salt content. DDGS use will reduce carbon footprint of animal feeds. It will help to achieve SDGs. More research on how to feed DDGS to poultry, aqua and dairy animals is needed to be done.
Dr. Preeti Subhedar of Novonesis talked about “Innovative Bio-solutions for Repurposing Corn DDGS: Unlocking Multifaceted Applications”. Her key message was, with the help of biotechnology, it is possible to develop new process to enhance the protein content or the quality of Corn DDGS similar to Rice DDGS, Additionally, the new process also benefit biofuel plants by enabling them to extract a higher alcohol yield compared to rice, bio-solutions plays an important role in transforming low-cost Corn DDGS into a high-value products.
Dr. AK Sharma, Retired Head, AN Division, ICAR IVRI, Bareilly Chaired the session. Participants asked several questions. Dr. Sachin Kumar, Organizing Secretary gave vote of thanks.