30 Feed Technology
A sustainability transformation worldwide How the DSM initiative can move beyond corporate confines to the aquaculture landscape in Asia.
“
We Make It Possible” – this is the challenging cutting edge, but committed initiative, that DSM Animal Nutrition and Health (AHN) launched in August 2020. It is targeted at making sustainable animal protein production while reducing environmental costs – what a populous burgeoning world needs. The goal is better food, health and nutrition and to grow aquaculture, reducing the reliance on marine resources. It is not an impossible challenge, said Ivo Lansbergen, President DSM ANH. “Sustainable animal farming to feed billions at lower cost to the environment is achievable through a holistic, concerted transformation within the agriculture industry itself. It reflects a win-win collaborative effort to benefit all stakeholders, because the goal is to “provide affordable proteins to the world population and make it profitable for farmers while reducing the footprint of animal farming.”
The time has come to step out of merely being a part of the value chain, and be the change agent to advocate for, bring together collaborative efforts of industry players, and lead them into a sustainability transformation that extends beyond corporate confines, farming fields to industry wide spheres, ultimately worldwide transformation. Lansbergen said, “We see ourselves, steering the global conversations, connecting the various stakeholders of the farming ecosystem, thinking ahead, generating ideas and accelerating new smart ways of working.” This initiative comes after many years of investment and innovation in scientific solutions searching for real answers to the challenges facing the agriculture industry. It marks not a new beginning, but a significant acceleration of the journey towards a more sustainable future. How can this initiative benefit aquaculture?
Achyuth Iyengar, Director Speciality Products (Asia Pacific) and Chiow Yen Liew, Regional Marketing Manager Aqua (Asia Pacific), explain what galvanises the company to come up with “We Make it Possible”, what this means for aquaculture, and how DSM will leverage on its expertise to play its part in fostering sustainable aquaculture.
What are the key drivers behind this initiative, specifically on aquaculture? AI: Marine resources and aquaculture act as invaluable sources of proteins around the world; for more than 3.1 billion of the global population, fish protein accounts for at least 20% of their intake of animal protein. Aquaculture growth has been heavily dependent on the extraction of omega-3s from wild-caught fish for fishmeal and fish oil production in aquafeeds, such as for commercially farmed salmon, trout and marine shrimp. Within the next 10 years, we expect global demand for seafood to rise by 30 million tonnes. This growing demand, which is already placing tremendous pressure on our planet’s finite natural resources, will take our food systems well beyond the planet’s boundaries. Already, around 33% of the world’s fisheries are either depleted or overfished. Continuing to operate as we have done in the past is no longer an option. Providing enough animal protein for a growing population, while reducing the environmental costs of farming, calls for urgent, collaborative action across the entire value chain.
January/February 2021 AQUA Culture Asia Pacific
Achyuth Iyengar: Tackling food safety and loss amidst global demand
Chiow Yen Liew: Aquaculture needs to achieve sustainable growth, for now and in the future.
Ours is a global strategic initiative which aims to lead a robust and achievable transformation worldwide in sustainable animal protein production. Through cutting edge science and innovation, the initiative aims to connect stakeholders (from producers, farmers, processors, retailers to consumers) to address the major challenges facing the animal farming industry and accelerate sustainable, scalable solutions that will foster a brighter future. We are working hard to reduce global food loss and waste. Globally, over 1 billion tonnes of food is wasted annually. Our ambition, therefore, is to reduce food loss and food waste by 50% in the next decade, and we have signed the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to affirm our commitment to this cause. By applying our expertise on optimum vitamin nutrition, we seek to limit food loss and waste at every stage in the food supply chain.
