Plant proteins – the European perspective Fred Stoddard Department of Agricultural Sciences, Univ. Helsinki frederick stoddard <ät> helsinki fi
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Quick background • EU definition: “protein crops” = pea, faba bean, lupins (3 spp), dehydrated alfalfa • Grain legume areas have crashed, production increased slightly over last 50 years • “We” reported to the European Parliament, informing it about the potential value of the 9 options available to it for increasing “protein crop” production
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Using crop and soil science, economics and sociology to inform policy
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European legume areas have declined 20
Area (Million ha)
15
Soybeans
Lentils
Pulses, other
Chick peas
Peas, dry
Faba beans
Lupins
Beans, dry
10
5
0 1961
1966
1971
1976
1981
1986 Year
1991
1996
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2001
2006
4
Growth in poultry and pig meat consumption is the major driver behind increased plant protein Growth in poultry and pig meat consumption is the imports major driver behind increased plant protein imports Million t 50 45
40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 1960
1965
1970
1975
1980
Beef Poultry meat Net soya import (bean equivalent)
1985
1990
1995
2000
FAOstat 2013.
2010
Pig meat Grain legume production Fertiliser-N consumption www.helsinki.fi/yliopisto
FAOstat 2013.
2005
5
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Why don’t Europeans grow legumes?
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EIP-Agri Focus Group on Protein Crops
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Analysis of gaps • EIP-AGRI: European Innovation Partnership for Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability • Launched by the European Commission “to promote rapid modernization by stepping up innovation efforts” • Focus Group on protein crops set up in 2013, met Oct 2013 & Jan 2014 • 20 members from 11 countries, including me • Breeders, extension officers, feed scientists, feed manufacturers, advisors, farmers
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EIP-AGRI in a nutshell (from EIP advertising) • Aim: Fostering a competitive and sustainable agriculture and forestry sector that ‘achieves more from less’ • Approach: Closing the innovation gap between research and practice and forming partnerships by: • Using the interactive innovation model • Linking actors through the EIP-AGRI Network
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Key factors determining alternatives to soya • High ileal digestibility of the essential amino acid lysine • NB: NOT simply lysine concentration
• Competitiveness of the alternative to arable farmers • The availability of large volumes to the industry
• Defined and discussed at the first meeting in Oss, Netherlands • Key constraints and opportunities identified by the panel • 8 most important determined by a vote www.helsinki.fi/yliopisto
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Our view of how the protein sources interacted with market levels Local market, local consumptio n
Regiona l market, adapted crops
Continental – global market, large-scale production
Oil crops (soya, rape) Starch crops (faba, pea) Forage crops (alfalfa, clovers)
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The 8 constraints and opportunities that we considered for the next 3 months 1. Breeding chain and genomics 2. Yield improvement and stability
3. Transition: developing or adapting a value chain 4. Crop diversity 5. Mixed cropping
6. Extension and farmer’s unfamiliarity with protein crops 7. Diversification of the livestock chain
8. Sustainability and transparency demands
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At the second meeting (Valladolid), for each of the 8, we considered • Knowledge infrastructure • Physical infrastructure
• Market structure • Co-operation and interaction • Values and beliefs
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Part of the task: an economic exercise • Given current prices of protein, starch and oil, how competitive are the crops?
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Yield increases needed to match value of wheat
Crop
Current Desired yield yield (t/ha) (t/ha)
Oil Starch % produced produced increase (Tg) (Tg)
Soya
2.7
3.4
30%
3.9
0.0
Rape
3.1
3.1
0%
13.8
0.0
Sunflower
2.2
2.9
31%
20.3
0.0
Lupin
1.0
4.2
334%
1.9
0.0
Pea
2.7
4.8
76%
0.0
15.5
Faba bean
2.7
4.5
69%
0.0
11.1
22.9
24.8
8%
0.0
0.0
Alfalfa
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• Gaps are large but, for faba bean and alfalfa at least, achievable: desired yields already obtained by good farmers in many countries • Legume starches have high value for some food uses than cereal starches: value gap is probably lower
• Giving incentive to food applications raises the potential value of the grain legume crop (meat and dairy substitutes) • Concerted action on yield and stress resistances can accelerate reduction of the value gap • And will benefit other regions if we go about it right
• So while all crops need adaptation to climate change, legumes need it more, and can help moderate it
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Attention needed: • Crop breeding • Public support identified as necessary
• Closing the yield gap (potential – achieved) • Agronomic interventions
• Crop diversity • Gives many socio-economic and environmental benefits • But the diversity of legumes spreads resources thinly
• Extension and farmers’ unfamiliarity
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An important additional conclusion • Value-added chains are essential • Generating food uses will allow the infrastructure and farmer experience to develop, which will then allow wider scale cropping for feed uses
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More detail • EP report:http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etude s/etudes/join/2013/495856/IPOLAGRI_ET(2013)495856_EN.pdf • EIP report:http://ec.europa.eu/eip/agriculture/en/content/ protein-crops • EIP journal article: http://www.ocljournal.org/articles/ocl/abs/2014/04/ocl140021/ocl14 0021.html
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