Live! Agrivision 2017: AMR, AgTech and Alliances

By Jane Byrne

- Last updated on GMT

© istock
© istock

Related tags Antibiotic resistance

Finding ways for industry to come together, to collaborate to tackle major global challenges such as antimicrobial resistance (AMR) was the theme of the ninth edition of Nutreco's conference, Agrivision.

Knut Nesse, CEO of Nutreco, in his opening remarks, stressed that optimal animal nutrition can play a major role in reducing the use of antibiotics in the food value chain, citing the Jim O'Neil report that estimates, by 2050, 10 million people will die every year due to AMR unless a global response to the problem of AMR is mounted. "We need to be part of the solution, we have to provide leadership. Industry has to speak with one voice. We need to be proactive"

It is the livestock production's own interest to reduce antibiotic usage and to disclose the levels used, he said. Transparency is key in the effort to tackle AMR, he added.

There is no silver bullet in terms of alternatives to antibiotics in livestock production, he said. It is a question of exploring a combination of approaches from genetics to good farm management to nutrition and diet composition. The aim should be to only use antibiotics as a last resort, when animals are sick, and not as a preventative strategy, he added.

Mentioning the ocean stewardship initiative that Nutreco is collaborating in with partners such as Cargill and the major international seafood players, Nesse said a similar alliance could take place within the ag sector to set antibiotic reduction targets globally.

The other big question is how to feed a massive world population in a sustainable way 30 years from now. He talked about stepping up the innovation agenda, and forecast that new technology will transform the ag and feed industry, with the costs of equipment such as sensors rapidly decelerating, ushering in an era of precision feeding, of treating the individual animal. "Farmers are becoming bigger, the landscape will look different." 

And he sees consumers playing a bigger role in the animal feed space, particularly through social media generated pressure. "We need to be more customer driven."

He anticipates an intensified regulatory environment, with a convergence of standards globally, while briefly alluding to the "the new kid on the block” ​and concerns about the trend stateside to reverse free trade deals.

On the investment side, Adam Anders, Anterra Capital, told attendees how the agribusiness and the animal feed sectors are ripe for transformative change, with a forum of tech start-ups in the field, such as dairy cow focused Connecterra, following. They outlined the hurdles they had to overcome at the outset, and the opportunities they see ahead.

A hackathon, the aim of which is discovering what can be done in the feed and livestock production value chain by sharing and integrating data, also kicked off yesterday. Farmhack is the company behind that idea. Data crunchers, coders and analysts were given several sustainability challenges to solve within a 28 hour limit.  The Agrivision delegates will choose the winner this afternoon, the second and final day of the event. 

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