Detoxification of cottonseed meal for sustainable livestock breeding in West Africa (Nutrifeed)

About this project

As population growth increases food demand in West Africa, climate change is reducing agricultural production and arable land. Livestock feeding by conventional protein resources (e.g., soybean meal) competes with human nutrition. Cottonseed meal (CSM), a byproduct of cotton seed production with a nutritional value comparable to soybean meal, is a potential protein-rich feed source. However, CSM contains gossypol, a naturally occurring toxin, which severely limits its suitability as a feed. Research shows that CSM can be detoxified by fermentation, but laboratory results require verification and practical upscaled applications. Through applied interdisciplinary research, this project aims to develop low-cost sustainable technology to obtain low-gossypol and nutritive CSM, enhancing livestock productivity and profitability. This project will involve stakeholders from the onset through policy dialogues that address detoxification of CSM by bioprocessing, formulation and assessment of nutrient-dense poultry feeds, and taking a gender-transformative approach to gender equality. Capacity-building will take place through eight research projects. The development and dissemination of these technologies will support rural development, strengthen climate resilience, and increase the food and nutrition security of low-income households through improved availability of affordable protein-rich food. This project is part of the Climate-Resilient Animal Fund initiative (RECAF), co-funded b…

Published by

International Development Research Centre · Other public sector

Countries

Benin

Sectors

Agricultural research

Focus

Gender equality · Also contributesClimate mitigation · Also contributesClimate adaptation · Main focus

Published by International Development Research Centre to the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI), last updated 1 Sept 2026 and imported automatically. IATI identifier: XM-DAC-301-2-110494-001.

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