“Demand for animal protein calls for new thinking, to create a sustainable industry”
Royal DSM is a global, purpose-led, science-based company active in Nutrition, Health and Sustainable Living. DSM’S purpose is to create brighter lives for all. DSM addresses with its products and solutions some of the world’s biggest challenges while simultaneously creating economic, environmental and societal value for all its stakeholders – customers, employees, shareholders, and society at large. DSM and its associated companies deliver annual net sales of about €10 billion with approximately 23,000 employees.
The company was founded in 1902 and is listed on Euronext Amsterdam. Rajeev Murthy, Head, Animal
Nutrition & Health, Asia at Royal DSM speaks about the status of animal nutrition industry in India and growth opportunities in animal nutrition sector with Agrospectrum. Edited excerpts;
What is the status of the animal nutrition industry in India?
Much like other sectors, the livestock industry has been adversely affected by the continuous nationwide lockdowns brought by COVID-19 which led to loss of consumption and supply.
However, the animal nutrition sector has definitely matched pace with the industry changing requirements over the years brought about by improvements in genetics and management practices. At DSM, we are continuously working to transform the animal nutrition and health industry in India and beyond. With the use of our science & innovationbased solutions, we are making the sustainability of animal farming possible by improving the lifetime performance of farm animals, reducing food loss and waste, reducing emissions from livestock, reducing our reliance on marine resources, making efficient use of natural resources, and helping tackle antimicrobial resistance.
Recently DSM launched intelligent sustainability service Sustell.
How will it be useful in improving the environmental footprint and profitability of animal protein production?
With the population in India projected to rise to over 1.64 billion by 2050, the demand for animal protein is also expected to increase rapidly. This calls for new thinking, new technologies, and new business models to create a more sustainable industry that can feed the growing population, sustainably and responsibly.
To achieve this meaningfully, we launched Sustell, a holistic animal protein sustainability service that measures and provides real databased, independent guidance and solutions at farm-level for profitably improving the sustainability of animal protein production. It is
designed in recognition that every supply chain and every farm is different, and therefore the impact of an intervention will vary the footprint on a case-by-case basis, requiring a tailor made environmental footprint assessment and plan of improvement. It not only provides a credible and validated data-driven analysis of environmental sustainability performance of animal protein production; it also gives a clear intervention advice to further improve sustainability and business performance. This leads to real action and results that make a positive difference.
By doing this, we underline our strategic initiative “We Make it Possible” which drives us to lead a robust transformation in sustainable animal protein production and create brighter lives for all.
Royal DSM has successfully completed the trial feed ingredient which reduces methane emissions in beef cattle in Canada. How will it boost sustainable cattle feed practices?
Methane release forms a major chunk of anthropogenic Greenhouse Gas (GHG) that contribute to climate change. With our novel feed ingredient, Bovaer, we are able to reduce the enteric methane in ruminants by an average of 30 per cent. The scientific 3-NOP ingredient is a significant breakthrough technology in promoting sustainable cattle feed practices.
The 2-year large scale trial in beef cattle has effectively exhibited how Bovaer helps reduce methane emissions in Canada. It was further identified that it can be incorporated in commercial feedlot diets to lower the emissions by 80 per cent with no negative effects on animal wellbeing, carcass traits and performance indicators. It’s also the most sizable trial effective till date for methane reduction in beef, which reduced the GHG emissions by 1,473 tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2E). We believe that this provision of protein to meet the current demands while balancing the environmental costs will redefine animal farming.
What are the growth strategies and plans of the company for FY 2021-22?
Year-on-year, we have significantly accelerated our solutions to the market that underpin our purpose to create a sustainable future for animal farming. Sustainability shall always remain embedded in our DNA. Our recent launch,
Balancius enables broilers to produce more food from the same amount of feed, improving their profitability while reducing the environmental footprint and making farming more sustainable with less waste. Having aligned our agenda closely with the UN’S Sustainable Development Goals, we’re focusing our passion and expertise on 6 key sustainability platforms in Animal Nutrition & Health, which seek to support the livestock value chain and address the challenges facing our planet: Improving lifetime performance of farm animals; Reducing food loss and waste; Reducing emissions from livestock; Making efficient use of natural resources; Reducing our reliance on marine resources; and Helping tackle antimicrobial resistance. We are continuously collaborating with our customers and partners to transform the animal nutrition and health industry worldwide so that we can create sustainable food systems within the planetary boundaries. With our recent acquisition of the Erber Group’s Biomin and Romer labs, we have also strengthened our portfolio to offer additional performance solutions. Thus, we look ahead at FY 2021-22 to consolidate our leadership position in the animal nutrition sector.
What are the opportunities in the animal nutrition industry in India?
On the consumer front, the increasing demand of animal protein within the food and beverage industry is also driving growth for us. With Indian market getting more globalised and consumers being more aware, the industry will grow stronger and transform to produce animal protein more sustainably.
What is the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the animal nutrition industry in India?
The global pandemic wreaked havoc across industries. The initial stages of the lockdown hit the animal nutrition industry in India with an acute demand shrink. With restrictions on exports and border disruptions, supply chains were impacted.
However, the industry was resilient and ensured production was not impacted. With these changes, the industry was able to maintain pace with the current challenges.