Title: Cyprinus carpio feed cost optimisation using the linear programming technique: a case study in Iraq

Authors: Qusay Mohammed Abdulateef; Syariza Abdul-Rahman; Hazem Sabri Abedalhammed

Addresses: Iraqi Ministry of Education, General Directorate for Education of Anbar, Aanbar, Iraq ' School of Quantitative Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Sintok, 06010, Kedah, Malaysia ' Agricultural College, University of Anbar, Ramady, Aanbar, Iraq

Abstract: Common carp (Cyprinus carpio) is the usual dietary meat in Iraq, as it is reasonably priced for consumers compared to other high-cost fish. However, the relative price increment in recent times has alienated some consumers. The high price is due to the feed, an essential component of the fish farming project. The main ingredients of fish feed consist of concentrated animal protein, yellow corn, soy flour, barley, and wheat bran. Moreover, the feed additive enhancer, i.e., barley sprout powder is also incorporated into the feed, since it can increase fish weight significantly. Therefore, this study proposed a linear programming formulation to ascertain the optimal cost of fish feed. The optimal total feed cost was 41 cents per kilogramme, and the amount of the ingredients in the mixture was: animal protein concentrates (0.10114); yellow corn (0.17077); soybean meal (0.39521); barley (0.12037); wheat bran (0.2); premix (0.01); and barley sprout powder (0.0025).

Keywords: Cyprinus carpio; feed formulation; optimisation; aquaculture; linear programming; Iraq.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMOR.2024.138063

International Journal of Mathematics in Operational Research, 2024 Vol.27 No.3, pp.377 - 392

Received: 30 Jun 2022
Accepted: 16 Oct 2022
Published online: 18 Apr 2024 *

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