Global food insecurity is worsening at an alarming rate, further exacerbated by factors including the Covid-19 pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine. We need to explore new approaches to the issue as a matter of urgency. Dr David Bravo, Nutreco’s Chief Science officer, examines how the animal feed industry must adapt its thinking to shift the dial.
Chief Science Officer
Nutreco
It cannot be denied that the world has changed. The Covid-19 pandemic, conflict in Ukraine and extreme weather events have significantly impacted food production, food supply and food security across the globe. For more than 100 years, wealthy nations have largely believed in the myth that food is a cheap commodity. It’s not, and it never has been. Now, in light of the challenging economic, environmental and geopolitical conditions we face today, this truth stands out like a beacon.
The environmental context in which we operate today is radically different from even a few years ago, and the speed of this evolution is having a major impact on food production. Not surprisingly, the traditional approaches of food production that we’ve utilized for so long will shortly become obsolete. We’re in the thick of a worsening crisis that will deteriorate further as we scramble to find ways of feeding an ever-growing global population, sustainably.
There’s no single solution to the challenges we face, but certain courses of action are imperative. Among these is an urgent need to deliver genuinely new and radical thinking. This starts with a reappraisal of the methods of innovation.
THE SHOCK OF THE NEW
As a leading player in the animal feed industry, Nutreco has always been committed to innovation. Today, we have more than 265 scientists in research and development working across 12 different research units, and we collaborate with more than 200 research institutions worldwide.
We’re proud of this commitment. We’re also very mindful of the need to stretch further – to innovate the process of innovation. This insight has led us to focus on building organisational ambidexterity, which means dedicating resources to both existing and new capabilities at the same time.
Relying on traditional approaches to R&D won’t deliver the transformative impact that is required to support customers and to help build resilience in food supply chains across the world. Rather, an approach that focuses on building existing strengths while exploring new capacities will bring about change with the most impact.
A MODEL FOR ORGANISATIONAL AMBIDEXTERITY
The essence of organisational ambidexterity is dedicating equal attention to the exploitation of existing themes, ideas and businesses, alongside the exploration and discovery of completely new ones. The longer-term objective is to create new organisational capabilities.
We have embedded this principle within Nutreco in the shape of a new, dedicated business unit known as Nutreco Exploration (NutEx), which was launched in June this year. The focus of NutEx is to develop novel and proprietary ultra-specialities, which provide solutions to the unmet needs of needs in animal nutrition and feeding.
The initial scope of the scientific discovery on which we’re focused encompasses three important and complementary programmes: phytotechnology, biotechnology and physical chemistry. There is so much that can be done in these spaces. Indeed, during the last 15 years, accelerated technological development sparked a biological sciences big bang – with major impact on the animal nutrition industry.
On one hand, the recent progress in animal physiology can be leveraged to enter a new era for phytotechnology in animal nutrition and health. In the last 20 years, these phytochemicals have been exploited to meet the challenges of evolving regulatory requirements. In this context, these compounds were successfully used for their antimicrobial properties. However, there is much more to do with phytochemicals in animal nutrition and health.
Beyond the now classical use of essential oils because of their intrinsic antimicrobial properties, the field of medicinal plants is vast. In human medicine today, there is a major movement towards a (re)appreciation of these plants, integration with conventional medicine, and the modernization of traditional medicines. In our field of animal and aqua nutrition, this work is essential: to explore medicinal plants with a new lens and refined scientific rigour, to discover new ways to contribute to the immense challenge of feeding the world.
On the other hand, this scientific progress has allowed for a better understanding of the mechanisms underpinning old unsolved field issues production animals face. It also redefined the role of the feed, as the old wisdom “food is health” was rediscovered. Finally, it opened avenues for the creation of specific solutions in animal nutrition and health as, thanks to advanced biotechnology concepts, feed ingredients can improve production and welfare because they mitigate health challenges. Today, there are a plethora of concepts that are now developed using advanced biotechnologies. Which are the ones that will have an impact? Only a focused discovery driven agenda, combined with inspired and consistent regulatory efforts, can respond to this question.
THE DISCOVERY-DRIVEN AGENDA
A discovery-driven agenda requires unique expertise and working processes. It is built around not only new ingredients but on addressing unmet current and (predicted, or unforeseen) future needs. If we have learned anything from the events of the last few years, it is to expect the unexpected, which highlights the importance of an open approach.
Our objective – which ought to be the same for every player in our industry – is to raise the bar on delivering solutions that better serve customers at the sharp-end of food production. In Nutreco’s case, that’s about evolving stand-alone additives, functional feed or smart mixtures.
THE TIME FOR ACTION IS NOW
By putting organisational ambidexterity at the heart of our business, we’re reinforcing our belief in the need for urgent action. It’s also an invitation to other peers in the animal nutrition industry – and the wider food production supply chain – to embrace a more open innovation process.
The conflict in Ukraine is rolling on, rather than abating. The impacts of extreme weather events caused by climate change are increasingly affecting our abilities to produce food efficiently. Population expansion is huge and rapid. A new approach to innovation is a necessity – now.
About Dr David Bravo
Dr David M. Bravo is an established industry scientist and innovation leader with over 100 peer reviewed papers, and a track record of product creation and development. He holds two M.Sc. (nutrition; molecular and cellular nutrition) and a Ph.D, and is a Harvard University alumnus. His career in the feed industry to date spans 25 years, at a number of leading companies including Neovia, Pancosma and Land O’Lakes. David is now Chief Science Officer at leading animal nutrition company Nutreco, where he oversees the creation of the corporate explorer group NutEx.
