Increasing mitigation of GHG emissions and feed efficiency through feed additives

Expected outcome

Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• farmers experience increasing benefits from the adoption of safe, efficient, practical and affordable improved or novel feed additives and related practices that reduce GHG and air pollutants emissions, minimize environmental impact and have neither adverse effects on animal productivity nor on animal welfare;
• Farmer and agricultural advisors gain improved access to knowledge, resources and distribution channels for feed additives, that favour the integration of these solutions into common practices;
• evidence-based recommendations are provided for the implementation of EU policies and strategies, including the CAP, relevant to sustainable livestock farming systems, while also serving as a resource for regulatory authorities.

Scope

The projects under this topic are relevant to the EU policies related to the EU Green Deal objectives for resilient and sustainable agri-food systems, the EU climate policy, the methane strategy, the Vision for Agriculture and Food, and the EU Action Plan for the Development of Organic Production.

Livestock production significantly contributes to GHG emissions and resource consumption, making it essential to improve feed efficiency and reduce environmental impact. Enteric fermentation in ruminants produces substantial methane emissions, while inefficient feed conversion increases feed demand, land use, and pollution. Developing and implementing effective feed additives can lower methane production, enhance nutrient utilization, and reduce nitrogen excretion, supporting sustainable livestock farming, improved profitability for farmers, and global climate goals.

Reducing methane emissions from ruminants contributes to environmental sustainability by lowering the climate and environmental impact of livestock production, while also supporting economic sustainability for farmers through improved productivity and cost savings. Only a handful of additives have demonstrated significant effectiveness in reducing methane emissions or have become commercially available. The limited availability of reliable options and the challenges posed by inconsistent efficacy and applicability across diverse production systems represent a constraint. Proposals should address various terrestrial livestock systems, from conventional to extensive systems, considering regional feeding systems. Proposals should address at least farmed large ruminants.

Proposals should address all the following activities:

• develop and test a wide range of additives that reduce emissions in operational environment (reaching TRL 7), their synergies and optimal delivery strategies for diverse terrestrial livestock systems, including extensive and grass-based systems, both under conventional and organic production. Impacts on animal health, welfare, performance, product quality, and net GHG emissions and air pollutants, and potential trade-offs among these factors should be addressed;
• identify clear endpoints for risk assessment of feed additives to demonstrate their safety and define complementarity criteria to demonstrate their effectiveness and environmental impact, all supported by scientific evidence;
• verify the practicalities, applicability, scalability and socio-economic-environmental impacts, including trade-offs with other environmental and social dimensions, of using feed additives across different production systems and in different feeding scenarios;
• promote and facilitate a standardised data collection system for quality control procedures and record-keeping practices that ensures consistency across stakeholder groups and meets the requirements for accurate reporting, keeping in mind the EU and EFSA regulatory framework from the inception and for feed additives;
• identify strategies like improved distribution networks, farmer education programmes, and possible subsidies or incentives to make new innovative feed additives that reduce livestock emissions more affordable;
• assessing consumer perception to understand attitudes towards the use of feed additives to reduce emissions in livestock production and identify key factors influencing their decisions.

The JRC participation could involve contributing to scenario assessment with the integrated agro-economic modelling platform (iMAP), sharing information, and contributing to dissemination of results.

To respect the ‘Do-No-Significant-Harm' (DNSH) principle, proposals need to properly address and exclude any potential risk of feed additives on the environment, animal or human health.

Proposals must implement the multi-actor approach and ensure adequate involvement of the main stakeholders involved in the livestock sectors, including farmers, advisors, private sector/industry (e.g., processors, feed manufacturers), policy-makers, consumers, etc.

Proposals should capitalise on research findings and tools, included those developed under previous and ongoing relevant research projects. Proposals should interact with relevant structures or organizations at European level and beyond such as FAO, Livestock Environmental Assessment and Performance Partnership (LEAP, FAO), Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases.

To better address the requirements of the topic, international cooperation is encouraged.