26 I EUROPEAN SEED I EUROPEAN-SEED.COM F arm animals can’t do without plant proteins. As a source of amino acids for livestock, they are an essen- tial component of animal feed. The EU is raising the ambition on growing more protein crops, although agro-climatic conditions are such that our farmers are more efficient in producing high-yield- ing energy-rich crops. European Seed sat down with Alexander Döring, Secretary-General of the European Feed Manufacturers' Federation (FEFAC), to get his take on what needs to change. EUROPEAN SEED (ES): ALEXANDER, THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION WILL PUBLISH ITS HIGHLY ANTICIPATED EUROPEAN PROTEIN PLAN IN NOVEMBER. WHY IS THIS PLAN NECESSARY? ALEXANDER DÖRING (AD): The EU has been reliant on imports from non-EU countries to satisfy its needs for protein-rich feed materials to feed its livestock population for a long time, which in public debate is referred to as the so-called “EU protein deficit”. The deficit is covered with imports of mainly soybean products from Brazil, Argentina and the United States. One of the reasons for the European Commission to launch a European Protein Plan is to boost EU vegetable protein production to increase the EU’s resilience of crop production sys- tems, even though we will remain reliant on imports for the foreseeable future. FEFAC fully supports the initiative, as we know that for livestock production, protein will increasingly become the lim- iting resource on the global agricultural commodity market. At the same time we invite policy makers to take a look at the broader picture. The deficit, and therefore the need for imports, is felt the strong- est in protein-rich feed materials. We shouldn’t forget the contribution of a lot of “low” (cereals) and “mid-range” (rape & sunflower) meals as important home- grown protein sources, while cattle rely on grazing & forages as the main source of vegetable proteins. And there are other protein sources of non-vegetable origin, such as insects, processed animal protein & fishmeal for fishfeed, single cell pro- teins and microbial biomass and yeasts. ES: CONCRETELY, WHAT WILL THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION DO? WHAT HAVE THEY DONE SO FAR? AD: They have held a very successful online stakeholder consultation and con- ducted three thematic workshops with invited groups of experts, the fourth and last one takes place in September 2018. They cover topics such as research and innovation, agronomic challenges and environmental benefits, and market potential in feed and food markets. An independent market research study is scheduled to be released before the end of the summer 2018. The conclusions of the consultations, the market research study and experts’ workshops on the draft European Protein Plan will be presented at a high-level conference on Plant Protein Production in the EU in Vienna on 22 and 23 November 2018. The Commission has highlighted that the European Protein Plan will attempt to provide a blue print of options within the context of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) that can inspire Member States to encourage the production of vegetable protein at national level. In that sense, the European Protein Plan will not deliver new legislative actions at EU level, but will refer to the level of ambi- tion by the Member States as laid down in their future CAP national Strategic Plans, which are a key part of the new CAP delivery model. The Commission Mind the Gap HOW TO OVERCOME EU’S PROTEIN DEFICIT. BY: MARCEL BRUINS has thanked FEFAC for its contributions during the drafting process and high- lighted that the level of success depends to a great extent whether the European feed industry is able to incorporate the cultivated protein crops and their pro- cessed products in their feed formulations to meet nutritional requirements of our farm animals. ES: IN YOUR VIEW, WHAT KIND OF POLICY MEASURES ARE NECESSARY FOR THE EU TO BE ABLE TO PRODUCE ENOUGH PROTEIN PLANTS? AD: First of all, we call for a more ambi- tious, broader long-term protein strategy at EU level. This topic should not disap- pear from the agenda of the European Commission after the European Protein Plan is published. There are different EU policies that affect the production of vegetable proteins in the EU, the most important one being the Renewable Energy Directive (RED). The RED II (2020-2030) continues to incentivise the production of crop-based biofuels by fiscal support measures, from which we get the highly valued rapeseed meals. The ‘stra- tegic protein dimension’ should be felt in the future development of this energy policy. Another financial instrument to boost competitiveness is through the CAP, which allows for coupled support measures at Member State level and may offer more flexibility for shifting support to protein crops. At the same time we do take a more critical view of some Member States who seem to call for a reshape of the current supply and demand balance of protein sources focusing on niche mar- keting for “non-GM” protein crops. This could jeopardise our call for a more com- petitive livestock sector, which increas- ingly relies on exports. ES: TO ARRIVE AT THE MOST RESOURCE EFFICIENT USE OF AVAILABLE PROTEIN SOURCES, IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THE FEED AND THE SEED INDUSTRY WORK TOGETHER ON THIS. HOW IS THIS COOPERATION TAKING PLACE AT THE MOMENT? IS THERE ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT? Alexander Döring