Opportunity to Export Animal Feed Protein Sources to Europe

Meat and milk are sources of protein for human obtained from animals, especially ruminants, then meat and eggs from poultry and meat from fish. Availability of sufficient animal protein is needed. Protein deficiency will be bad for health. The livestock industry plays an important role for the adequacy of animal protein today. To produce animal protein in the form of meat and milk, a protein source, namely vegetable protein, is needed in the feed source for the ruminant livestock. Gliricidia and calliandra leaves from energy plantations are a source of protein for the ruminants (sheep, goats and cows). The development of energy plantations should also encourage the livestock industry. This is important for the makers or entrepreneurs of the energy plantation to understand.

Learning from European conditions, according to a study conducted by FEFAC (European Feed Manufacturers' Federation), there is a protein deficit condition in the feed industry sector in Europe and for that they have made a number of efforts to obtain environmentally friendly feed protein sources and sustainable. Deficit is a condition where the consumption or use of protein for the feed has exceeded its production. This means that European production in the form of protein sources for animal feed is still far from its needs so that imports cannot be avoided as a result. Although it is estimated that they will not be able to replace 100% of feed protein sources by one mean alone, which as long as most are imported but reducing this dependence with local production of feed protein would be very helpful. Another motivation is to reduce dependence on protein sources from transgenic materials (GMOs), namely soybean.

Their first effort was the use of PAP (processed animal protein). The use of PAP is indeed high in nutrition, and the source of PAP for the feed is chicken and pork. Although a rule has been made that chicken PAP is not allowed to feed chickens and pork PAP is not allowed to feed pigs plus a tool to detect it, in practice this is difficult to be implemented. This is because feed mills that operate are generally multi-purpose feed so that it can be used for various types of livestock. Very few feed mills make specialty feeds. In fact, if it occurs, for example, PAP chickens for chicken feed and PAP pigs for pig feed, then a disease may occur in the livestock. An example is in the case of mammalian meat and bone meal (MBM). In 1996 with the crisis of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) because it was related to feeding from MBM for ruminant feed. The BSE-infected meat causes Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans, which poses a high risk to the human food chain. After the epidemic spread, the use of MBM in animal feed was banned. This regulation causes a high dependence on imported raw materials such as soybean meal for the continuity of the supply of meat, milk and eggs.

The second effort is protein production from insect farming. Although it can be done and a number of insect species have also been approved, the fact is that currently there are very few insect farms there, so it will still take a long time to produce sufficient volumes as a source of protein in animal feed. The source of protein from these insects is mainly for fish feed. The third effort from energy plantations is from rapeseed trees. Rapeseed meal is another source of vegetable protein. But the availability of rapeseed meal depends on European biofuel policy. Canola oil is the raw material for biodiesel in Europe. The European biofuel policy is contained in the Renewable Energy Directive 2020-2030 where the contribution of biofuels from plants for the target use in the transportation sector is up to a maximum of 7%.

The fourth effort from the rejected and expired products of the food industry. The rejected and expired products of the food industry it’s mean from the food and food ingredients industries, such as the biscuit industry, instant noodles, chocolate bars, pasta and so on. But what is meant is not food waste from restaurants, or catering. EFFPA, the European Former Foodstuff Processing Association estimates that in the European Union around 3.5 million tons of food waste is processed into animal feed every year. The European Union encourages the use of rejected and expired food, including issuing guidelines to reduce food waste to become feed, because it is not fit for human consumption. They have also discussed protein sources from micro algae or single-celled plants, but they are not a priority at this time due to quality and some limitations. 

The importance of realizing the potential as well as improving the vision for optimizing the energy plantation. GMO problems, for example, the use of gliricidia leaves can be the solution, for more details read here. “Quality protein” is important because not all proteins are equal. Several parameters for protein quality are the amino acid profile and the absence of anti-nutritional substances. For example, soybean meal has high scores for all protein quality parameters including palatability, digestibility and safety. A case that can also be used as a reference, in 2007 there was a withdrawal of pet food because it was contaminated with melamine and cyanuric acid (which is high in nitrogen content and identified as crude protein) in protein elements that cause kidney failure. 

The use of nitrogen from the above chemical is also carried out in agricultural products and has also led to the withdrawal of agricultural products from China in South Africa, the European Union and the United States. Even America ordered the USDA to inspect all agricultural products from China. In 2008 and 2009 China focused on eliminating the problem of counterfeiting or mixing and the effects of the crisis. In 2010 a revised version of the feed and feed additive regulations was published to further ensure quality and safety. Even though China is the largest feed producer in the world, the need for feed raw materials still relies on imports, especially flour/soybean meal to support food needs in the form of meat, milk and eggs for around 1.3 billion people.

From a number of efforts by the European Union to plan for self-sufficiency in feed protein sources, it turns out that the source of protein from rapeseed energy plantataions has become a European priority at this time. Meanwhile, with Indonesia's condition which has a large area of land, there are many energy plantations that can be created, even the Ministry of Environment and Forestry has planned 12.7 million hectares for energy plantations as an effort to support the cofiring program at coal power plants in Indonesia more detail read here. Energy plantation by-products will also be abundant. The production of this leaf can be used as an export commodity to Europe, because the need is large. Animal feed production in Europe is estimated at 160 million tons per year or 16% of the world with 5000 units of feed factories. With the consumption of protein in the feed in the range of 30%, the need will reach 48 million tons. When the domestic feed industry has not been able to absorb it, export is the best choice.

 

Ruminant is herbivore so that their diet comes from plants, the case of MBM in Europe can be a valuable lesson that feeding from mammals actually creates new problems. Moreover, if the food category is najis, then the livestock will become jalalah which are prohibited (haram) to be consumed. Meanwhile, the case of mixing with hazardous chemicals that occurred in China with melamine and cyanuric acid is only to trick the protein content so that it looks high and is also harmful to the health of the human body. Islam is very concerned about food or food issues, even in the Qur'an Letter of 'Abasa: 24, Allah commands humans to pay attention to their food. The food that enters our stomach must be halal and thoyyib (good). Foods that contain harmful substances that can poison the body are not thoyyib foods. And one of the consequences of haram (prohibited) food is a barrier to prayer being answered.        

Production of Gliricidia Leaf Pellets as a Non-GMO and Sustainable Animal Feed Solution

 

Food is a top priority compared to feed and energy. This has a consequence of adequate food for humans before animal feed and energy. When food and energy are prioritized over food, there will be various social unrest. The tortilla riots in Mexico some time ago are an example of how energy is prioritized over food, namely corn is prioritized for bioethanol. Likewise, if feed is prioritized so that food supplies will be disrupted. Soybeans, for example, are a source of food but also a source of feed. The largest soybean production from the United States and Brazil. In a number of countries soybeans are a source of food and feed because the oil is extracted into soybean oil and the meal becomes animal feed, but in Indonesia, soybeans are mainly used for food. Vegetable oil in Indonesia is mainly from palm oil and coconut oil. Even in its history, Indonesian coconut oil was destroyed by the American Soybean Association (ASA) with the negative issue that propagated coconut oil as bad oil on the international vegetable oil market, so that until now coconut oil has not revived.

Indonesian animal feed production also mostly relies on protein sources from soybean and palm oil meal. In fact, because of the great need, it also imports soybean meal (SBM). The more developed the livestock industry, the greater the need for feed. Feed in the livestock industry is one of the key components to its success. Adequacy of feed with good nutrition, safe and affordable is very important for livestock business. As the largest palm oil producer in the world, which ranges from 40 million tonnes / year, the production of palm kernel cake is estimated at more than 6.5 million tonnes / year, if all of these palm kernel cakes are optimized for the domestic feed industry, it would be very good. Likewise coconut cake.

Gliricidia

 Gliricidia leaves are also a source of protein for animal feed, especially ruminants and fisheries. With a protein content of about 20%, gliricidia leaves are very potential as a source of this protein. Moreover, the programs of the feed industry associations are reducing or even eliminating dependence on transgenic raw materials (GMO) such as soybeans and environmental factors in the form of sustainability. With the program of making energy plantationsor biomass plantations which are also increasingly massive for various industries based on renewable and sustainable materials, the production of leaves as a side waste is also increasing. The potential for leaf waste, which is estimated to reach hundreds of thousands of tons, even millions of tons, will be very potential for animal feed, especially reducing feed derived from GMO materials. Environmentally productive efforts like this to meet human needs will further encourage bioeconomics. Halal meat is a very important source of protein for human food, so animal feed production is an integral part of the chain.

The growth rate of the feed industry also varies from country to country. This depends on a number of factors such as a country's food policy, people's purchasing power, availability of raw materials and so on. For example: for countries in Europe, about 20 years ago the average capacity of feed mills in Italy was 11,000 tons / year, while the animal feed industry in the Netherlands has an average capacity of 45,000 tons / year or more than 4 times the feed industry in Italy and has also exceeded the European average capacity today. Currently, the average feed mill in Italy has an average capacity of 29,000 tonnes / year (still about 3 times that of 20 years ago), but at the same time feed mills in the Netherlands already have an average capacity of 140,000 tonnes / year. The majority of animal feed production in the Netherlands is for pig feed, so it would not be suitable for conditions in Indonesia. With majority of Islam in Indonesia, the production of animal feed developed as a top priority is for the halal industry. Based on the potential for raw materials, the potential for land for animal feed production and so on, Indonesia should accelerate its halal industry, one of which is by boosting its animal feed industry. The Netherlands, with its small population and limited land area, is even very strong in developing its research to support the feed industry. We also don't want to lose.