Orffa, Pioneering in sustainability

Our contribution to a sustainable livestock production

The global population is growing rapidly, just as the industrial activity across the globe increases. Developing economic activity encompases increasing global pollution, leading to international issues as global warming and climate change. These phenomena have a major impact on the quality of life and on the level of poverty in many countries.

In order to cope with these changes, in the nineties, the UN issued warnings and recommended to take drastic measures to mitigate the climate change. This lead in 2015 to an important protocol with 17 sustainability objectives, an initiative which was supported by all members of the UN.

Agriculture is often seen as one of the major causes of pollution and of a reduction of biodiversity. The main challenge is to provide a high quality protein supply and a balanced diet to a growing global population in a sustainable way. It is consequently obvious that the stakeholders in agriculture have joined the UN in their target to stop climate change and to fight global warming.

Very often, large scale livestock farming is pointed at for producing a significant amount of greenhouse gasses, and for having an unreasonably high carbon footprint. Ruminants emit methane whilst digesting the fibre in their rumen, and pigs and poultry are consuming vast amounts of soybean meal, which travels the globe and the culture of soybeans is introducing an undesired monoculture, detrimental to the original vegetation. In aquaculture, fishmeal is still often used as the main protein source. It is essential to find alternatives to these feeding principles.

Animal production is however managed in a very scientific way, allowing the industry to take measures and to find solutions to significantly reduce the footprint of the industry.

The EU has translated the UN recommendations in a very ambitious Green Deal policy. Our animal feeding industry, represented by FEFAC and FEFANA shows strong commitment to this policy and issued their Sustainability Charter, listing objectives to be met by 2030.

Orffa, as a leading company in the development and formulation of novel feed additives, is already involved in products which may contribute to reaching that objective. Orffa is strongly committed to invest continuously in R&D in order to develop new concepts and solutions, allowing the industry to better cope with the sustainability issues.

This charter explains more in detail the ambitions of Orffa and the solutions presented.