The group anticipates producing and selling its probiotic-infused fermented sweet potato feedstock to animal feed manufacturers from 4QFY2025.

Zixin Group, a biotech-focused sweet potato integrated industrial value chain operator, announced that the Institute of Resource Environment and Soil Fertilisation, Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences has on Dec 17 transferred a patented chicken poultry feed formulation to Zixin .

The patented chicken poultry feed formulation is one of several R&D collaborations between the research institute and Zixin, with the primary purpose of managing the increasing volume of sweet potato agricultural waste as the group’s productivity grows over the years.

One of the contents for this patented chicken poultry feed formulation is the probiotic-infused fermented sweet potato feedstock, which uses the sweet potato agricultural waste generated by Zixin Group’s business activities.

Zixin generated 748.8 tonnes of sweet potato peels for its snack food processing business activity in FY2024, an increase of 11.2% from 673.1 tonnes in FY2023. Previously, the group had to pay to dispose of the sweet potato peels, which are part of the sweet potato agricultural waste, to the local refuse collection points and animal farms in Liancheng County, China.

The R&D process for the feed formulation involves enhancing the efficacy of probiotic-infused sweet potato feedstock, evaluating the nutritional content of poultry feed, and conducting feed trials on chickens to compare the effects of various diets on their growth and health, as well as assessing the animal-derived food’s nutritional value and safety for human consumption.

Liang Chengwang, executive chairman and CEO of Zixin says: "With this breakthrough, Zixin Group is able to transform our agricultural waste into probiotic-infused fermented sweet potato feedstock, which feed manufacturers then use to produce chicken poultry feed. While sweet potato agricultural waste has been a traditional feedstock for poultry and farm animals, this poultry feed has the potential to increase the survival rate of chickens, eliminate residues of veterinary antibacterial drugs, and ultimately make the chicken meat safe for human consumption. We are currently waiting for the analysis report on this patented chicken poultry feed formulation, which was developed based on the recent feeding trials."

Liang adds that the group is on schedule to begin commercial production and sale of probiotic-infused fermented sweet potato feedstock to licensed feed manufacturers as well as poultry farms. This will generate revenue and earnings for the group starting in 4QFY2025 (or January 2025).

"We are confident that our efforts to resolve our agricultural waste will also assist other sweet potato farmers in resolving similar issues. Additionally, feed manufacturers will have the opportunity to incorporate our patented chicken poultry feed formulation into their product offerings, which we believe will be beneficial to a variety of parties, including farm owners," says Liang. 

As at 9.15am on Dec 26, shares in Zixin are trading at 6.9% higher at 3.1 cents.