Feeding Fermented Agricultural Byproducts as a Potential Approach to Reduce Carbon Footprint from Broiler Production – A Brief Overview

Abstract

Agricultural activities have been connected to greenhouse gasses (GHG) emissions, with carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane being the most GHGs emitted. Despite the fact that broiler production produces less GHG than other animal production farms, the broiler farm does emit GHG, with feed production and broiler excreta handling accounting for the majority of the emissions. It has been confirmed that fermenting and using agricultural byproducts as broiler feed ingredients reduces the use of energy- and protein-rich diets, and so reduces the carbon footprint. Feeding fermented agricultural byproducts to broilers improves feed digestibility and nutrient utilization (especially protein), hence reducing nitrogen excretion as a source of nitrous oxide. This review article provides a brief overview on the role of fermentation in improving the nutritional properties of agricultural byproducts and their use in diets to reduce the carbon footprint of broiler production.