Meals of insects reared on agricultural by-products for feed production
The PS-GO FEEDS aims to introduce, adapt and transfer to Tuscan farms an innovative biotechnology, which uses insects with biorefinery tasks, to transform agricultural wastes and byproducts into proteic meal and fats, to be used in the formulation of feeds for aquaculture, broilers and pets. Achieving this goal provides an income opportunity to the agricultural sector, enabling it to compete on the new market that originated from the opening to the use of insect meal in feeds for fish and, in a close future, for chickens.
The coordination and dissemination activities are specifically envisaged in the announcement; the project's core is the construction of two pilot plants, one (WP2) for the rearing of soldier flies (Hermetia illucens) and flour beetles (Tenebrio molitor), grown on the agricultural wastes, and the other one for the composting of the residues of the breeding activity to produce a quality compost (WP3). The scientific partners of the project will supervise the plant, the production (WP4) and the processing of the flours produced and their use in feeds for fish, broilers and pets (WP5 and WP6).
With the Reg. (EU) 2017/893 of 24 May 2017, the breeding of insects was authorized for feed purposes, offering the opportunity to introduce a new breeding activity on the farm. The possibility to use agricultural waste and by-products with low (or zero) cost, to obtain high value products and to introduce concrete elements of circular bioeconomy, make it a very interesting technology. The construction of plants of this type is currently not within the reach of the agricultural entrepreneur, because it requires extensive technical and scientific knowledge on various aspects: type of agricultural waste, insect breeding techniques, compliance with existing regulations. The activity of GO aims to create a prototype of a plant in a pilot company using a network of skills able to address the various aspects related to this activity.
The search for alternative protein sources for animal feed is a deeply felt need in the livestock sector, due to the strong environmental impact of crops and fish meal destined for feed use and for the costs that protein meal sprouts on the market. A wide and recent scientific literature supports the suitability of insect flours in the feeding of both fresh and salt water fish. Moreover, by 2021, the authorization for the use of insect flours in poultry farms is foreseen in EU countries: chicken feeds naturally also with insects that provide a very high share of digestible protein.
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Relazione Scientifica FEEDS_CiRAA
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Relazione scientifica FEEDS_DAGRI
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Relazione tecnica finale PS-GO FEEDS integrata
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