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ruminant feeds, based on their nutritional value, with a particular interest in protein content.


Quite apart from any belching benefits which may emerge from their work, the project partners are also focusing on the prospect of being able to help reduce the UK industry’s reliance on feed ingredients which are imported from overseas, hopefully boosting domestic coastal economies in the process. This is a three-year project, however, with plenty of work still to do.


Morama Beans - a lost crop from Africa Another potentially valuable feed ingredient which has been around for a long time and may be set for a revival is the Morama bean, the so-called ‘lost crop of Africa’.


A team of students at Wageningen University in the Netherlands is currently exploring the bean’s credentials, having been attracted by its proven ability to thrive in the Kalahari desert, an area which is characterised by nutritionally poor sandy soils, extreme temperatures and long drought periods.


“Despite the harsh conditions of its habitat, the bean is high in nutritional value with a protein content range of 30-39% and a lipid content of up to 40%,” said masters student, Tommaso De Santis, who is studying Biotechnology at Wageningen and is part of a Morama Project team which was first established in March 2018. “The beans are also rich in dietary fibres (26%) and provide substantial amounts of minerals and vitamins, such as vitamin E and B12, which are a real asset in the Kalahari region, where malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies are real threats.


“Traditionally these beans were consumed as a roasted product by the local rural communities of the Kalahari. In recent times, however, the importation of non-indigenous crops, such as soy and maize, has threatened the continuing existence of Morama.”


Tommaso and his fellow students (Marie, Mathilde and Ompelege) entered Wageningen University’s Rethink Protein Challenge in a bid to secure backing for their work. The Challenge invites students to develop innovative business ideas, focused on finding new solutions for feeding the world’s expanding population with sustainable, affordable and healthy proteins.


As part of the challenge, student teams are coached by business partners, such as Cargill, Rabobank, Dalco Food and Nutreco, who use a ‘speed dating’ format to help the various teams with commercial feedback and advice.


Tommaso and his team duly made it to the Challenge Grand Finale with their Morama ideas, where they presented the judges with Morama-based products such as cookies and porridge. “The goal was to show the product’s versatility and access its acceptability for both African and European tastes,” he said. “Eventually, we were awarded with the Fuji Europe Africa SDG’s prize for the best inclusive business model, a distinction which encouraged us to go further with our work.


“Promoting underutilised indigenous crops is important for multiple


reasons. One is certainly biodiversity. Of the 5,000 crops estimated to exist worldwide, global food systems are currently dominated by only three crop species (rice, wheat and maize) which provide half of the world’s plant-derived calories.


“This situation is in continuous deterioration and illustrates a PAGE 20 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020 FEED COMPOUNDER


gradual homogenisation of global food production that has multiple negative repercussions on people’s lives. Production systems are becoming increasingly vulnerable to climate change and other shocks; farmer asset development and income generation options are reduced, and consumers have fewer choices for nutritious and healthy diets.” Despite the team’s successes to date, they still face multiple challenges before their commercialisation vision for Morama can be realised.


A 2020 development worth keeping an eye on. Alternative foods


Another major challenge for our industry, or opportunity, depending on your vision and perspective, concerns the potential explosion of alternative foods as the new decade unfolds.


Feeding an expanding global population while coping with climate change demands, alongside the land and water pressures that may be created, is not going to be easy. As such, the search for nutritional alternatives, based on food sources we have tended to overlook so far, is taking us into some pretty interesting areas. Insects, algae and the like have already become commonplace in our thinking, if not yet being mainstream within our dietary base as either feed or food ingredients.


Slightly more ‘outside the box’ than either insects or algae, however, is the latest idea to catch my attention, namely the prospect of drawing on the world’s expanding population of jellyfish. The vision of snacking on jellyfish was contained in Sainsbury’s 150th anniversary ‘Future of Food’ report, published in mid-2019 when, to be honest, a lot of other issues were commanding media attention.


According to the supermarket, however, researchers have found that jellyfish make for a nutritious snack. They’re full of vitamin B12, magnesium and iron but are also low in calories and can be turned into crunchy chips in just a few days.


“This may well become a popular staple in our diets given the abundance of the species due to warmer oceans and reduced predators,” said Sainsbury’s, in another obvious nod to climate change. We shall see, of course, how jellyfish for supper work out in


reality. I should also add that Sainsbury’s included the species in their list of potential foods for development over the next 30 years, so it’s unlikely they’ll become an issue this decade. Definitely one for the future, though.


And so to trade talks


After three-and-a-half years of talking about leaving the EU, the really big challenge of Brexit is about to begin. Reaching a new trade deal with the EU27, all signed and sealed by the end of 2020, is the massively demanding task that lies ahead. Whether or not that is going to be possible is a matter of opinion rather than fact, at least from a political perspective.


From a business standpoint, the trading relationships of 2020 and beyond will simply have to be made to work, whatever is actually signed and sealed by the year end. A bit like the answer given to the person who complained about getting old and hating turning 60, the alternative is even worse.


Happy New Year, decade, Brexit and beyond.


Comment section is sponsored by Compound Feed Engineering Ltd www.cfegroup.com


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