| Summary: | Cassava is an important agricultural product harvested in the dry season of Indonesia. The national production of cassava was about 19.90 tonne/ha in 2007, increasing to 21.99 tonne/ha in 2009. The main product of cassava is tuber for human food; farmers use the leaf and tuber skin for animal feeds, especially for cattle and goats. Previous research has shown that cassava leaf could be used as a protein supplement for goat production. Young carica papaya leaf is mainly used for human food, but more mature leaf may be used as an animal feed. Although its production is lower than cassava, papaya leaf has a high protein content (19.9%, DM basis). A major problem concerning animal production in the rural areas of Indonesia is parasite infestation. Farmers have difficulty in facing the problem, due to the high price of anthelmintic drugs. Dietary tannins may have an anthelmintic effect. Kustantinah et al. (2008) reported that older cassava leaf has a higher tannin content (2.42%) than the younger leaf (1.72%), while carica papaya leaf contains 1.52% of total tannin. The aim of this study was to assess the potential of cassava and papaya as sources of feed and, as anthelmintics for goats.
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