The Economic Viability of Alternative Rabbit and Tilapia Feed in Puerto Rico
Sponsoring organization: Agroinnova
Team members: Juan Torres Betancur (Civil Engineering ’16), Craig Teed (Biomedical Engineering ’16), Daniel Youkana (Biomedical Engineering ’16)
Abstract: Our project goal was to aid AgroInnova in efforts to increase local food production from rabbit and tilapia rearing in Puerto Rico. We obtained knowledge on effective local farming strategies and alternative plant options in Puerto Rico. We then developed our feed prototypes to be nutritionally equivalent to commercial feed options. Next, we evaluated the economic viability of our feed prototypes and compared the unit cost of the commercial and alternative options. We then developed testing strategies that could be performed to determine the feed efficiency of our prototypes compared to commercial feed. Lastly, we created outreach materials to enable AgroInnova to promote a continued focus on alternative feeds and other economically sensible farming strategies.