September 18, 2020

Free participation of virtual FEFAC XXIX Congress on September 25

The FEFAC XXIX Congress will take place for the first time as a virtual livestream session on September 25 in partnership with BFA (the Belgian Feed Association).

The roadmap towards a carbon-neutral feed and livestock sector is a central theme of the congress. FEFAC will present its Feed Sustainability Charter 2030, providing the EU feed industry response to the EU Green Deal Objectives affecting the European Union’s feed and livestock production. The charter includes five ambitions addressing specific feed related Green Deal Objectives on:

- Climate change: Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by promoting the use of the PEFCR Feed and the GFLI Database;

- The circular economy: Increased use of co-products and human inedible feedstuffs;

- Biodiversity: Upgrading of the FEFAC Soy Sourcing Guidelines to facilitate the transition towards responsible and deforestation-free soy supply chains;

- Sustainable food systems: Optimisation of nutrient efficiency;

- Antimicrobial resistance: Animal nutrition solutions to support animal health and welfare.

The charter contains concrete feed sector actions at both EU and national levels featuring animal nutrition solutions that can help increase the sustainability of livestock farming operations. They are aimed to provide meaningful answers to growing market expectations as well as to increased societal demands at both EU and global levels.

On the road towards 2030, FEFAC will publish annual Feed Sustainability Charter Progress Reports based on robust sector sustainability indicators to measure how FEFAC members are implementing impactful, specific feed supply chain actions.

The congress features a live expert panel debate between Michael Scannell (European Commission), Pekka Pesonen (Copa-Cogeca), Philippe Weiler (Lidl Belgium), Preben Sunke (Danish Crown) and Jean-François Timmers (WWF) on the Green Deal and market expectations to the European livestock and feed industry.

The full programme can be viewed on the Congress website. The debate will be moderated by Rose O'Donovan of Agrafacts.

BFA president Dirk van Thielen said: "We want to contribute to the important public debate about feed sustainability, also in the digital space by providing meaningful solutions for the sustainable development of the European livestock sector. I am extremely proud to welcome a "high caliber" expert panel at our joint FEFAC & BFA Congress."

FEFAC president Asbjørn Børsting said: "We highly appreciate the open dialogue with our partners in the value chain and public authorities, who are willing to assist the European feed industry in setting the right priorities, allowing it to fully exploit its knowledge as a global leader in innovative animal nutrition solutions to support our livestock customers. We consider the FEFAC Sustainability Charter 2030 to be a milestone in this process, raising the bar to a higher level".

- FEFAC