Okara, or soybean residue, is a by-product of artisanal soy milk production, which is still underutilized in rabbit feeding in Benin. In the context of expensive soybean seeds and soybean meal, the high-protein potential of okara deserves to be explored as an economic alternative. To assess the effect of dried-okara-based diets on bioeconomic performances of growing rabbits, a four-week experiment was conducted with twenty-seven weaned rabbits of eight-week-old. Based on their live weight, rabbits were allocated into three homogeneous groups of nine each. They were fed respectively with three dried okara based diets containing 0% (A0); 10% (A10) and 20% (A20) of okara. Proximate analysis of dried okara revealed 26% of crude protein content. One-way analysis of variance showed that dried-okara-based diets slightly reduced appetite, while significantly improving average daily gain (19.73 and 21.72 g) and feed conversion ratios (3.28 and 3.67) in rabbits fed A10 and A20 compared to respectively 17.69 and 4,43 in A0. Economically, feed cost per kilogram of live weight gain significantly decreased, from 451 FCFA (A0) to 344 FCFA (A20). These results highlight the interest of dried okara as a local valuable protein feedstuff, usable up to 20% in growing rabbit balanced diets without a need of soybean meal.

The uncontrolled use of synthetic fertilizers pollutes the environment. These products cause soil imbalance, leading to their leaching and infiltration by water into groundwater or waterways. It is therefore important to turn to sustainable, environmentally friendly agriculture based on biological improvement techniques using organic waste to mitigate the effects of synthetic inputs. This study aims to compare the effect of organic and/or mineral amendments on corn cultivation. To this end, the experimental design consists of a randomized Fisher block with three (3) replicates in which four (4) treatments were applied with compositions based on Tithonia diversifolia leaves, poultry manure, and NPK. The effects of the treatments were assessed using growth and production parameters. The organo-mineral amendment (poultry manure + Tithonia diversifolia + NPK) indicates that each of the fertilizers significantly induced vegetative growth. The yield of the treatments was 9.50 t/ha for the control, 13.47 t/ha for Tithonia diversifolia + chicken manure, 16.88 t/ha for NPK, and 21.55 t/ha for Tithonia diversifolia+chicken manure+NPK. The results show greater growth and yield in corn grown on plots amended with Tithonia diversifolia+chicken manure+NPK. This combination of fertilizers proved beneficial for soil amendment by mobilizing nutrients for the plant.