Valorisation of agricultural production wastes through fermentation into pig and poultry feed

Background and Objective

Agroecological and organic production systems are continuously evolving. They aim to strengthen the integration of crop and livestock farming, promote farm self-sufficiency, and close nutrient cycles at the farm level. At the same time, livestock production systems are under increasing pressure to reduce external inputs, become more sustainable and circular, and improve animal health and welfare.

In 2021 alone, more than 58 million tons of food waste with a market value of 132 billion euros were generated in the European Union. A quarter of this came from primary agricultural production. These residues represent an untapped resource that—rather than being discarded or used for biogas production—can be valorised through fermentation and used as animal feed.

The overarching goal of the project is to apply the agroecological principle of circularity by using residues from vegetable and fruit production as feed ingredients for pigs and poultry through fermentation. This approach not only aims to reduce environmental impacts but also to strengthen the link between regional agriculture and the food sector, while fully complying with all feed safety standards.

Fermentation is a practical and low-tech method that farmers can apply directly on their farms with relatively little technical effort. In this way, locally available by-products and residues can be turned into regional feed sources for pigs and poultry. The project’s objective is to develop and implement scenarios for competitive, regionally produced feed in close cooperation with farmers in the participating countries.

Approach

At the core of the project lies the Living Lab approach, an open innovation platform where farmers, advisors, scientists, and businesses collaboratively develop practical solutions. In these Living Labs, scientific knowledge is directly linked to on-farm practice, ensuring that the developed strategies are adapted to regional conditions and implemented sustainably.

The project partners – INRAE PEGASE (France), Thünen Institute (Germany), Utrecht University (Netherlands), Ghent University (Belgium), and Bioforum (Belgium) – combine their interdisciplinary expertise to develop and test innovative feeding strategies.

Three main approaches are at the heart of the Living Labs:

• Identification and evaluation of by-products and residues from the production cycles of partner farms to determine their potential as feed for pigs and poultry.
• Use of fermentation as a key method to upgrade these plant-based by-products, improving their nutrient availability, digestibility, and hygienic quality.
• Development and practical testing of feed mixtures that include fermented components, tailored to the respective production phases and final products (meat and eggs).

This stepwise and participatory approach ensures that scientific innovations are developed in close collaboration with practitioners and can be directly transferred into agricultural practice.

Our Research Questions

The main research questions are:
Which waste streams are suitable for fermentation?
Which fermentation process is the most suitable for which waste stream?
How can fermented waste streams be included in pig and poultry feed, in combination with own produced feed ingredients?
Can these fermented waste streams improve animal health and welfare?
Do these fermented waste streams help improve animal nutrient utilization?
What is the ecological and socio-economic impact to the farm of these strategies?

Links and Downloads

www.agroecologypartnership.eu/valoragro