Vegetable waste: bioconversion for poultry farming

W2FLY2FEED is a project funded by the Emilia-Romagna Region under the Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, measure 16.1.01 "Operational Groups of the European Innovation Partnership for agricultural productivity and sustainability", Focus Area 3A.
The plan runs for 30 months (October 2019 – March 2022). The Operational Group is made up of Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (UCSC, Piacenza campus), the Centro di Formazione Sperimentazione e Innovazione Vittorio Tadini (CFSIVT), Azienda Agraria Sperimentale Stuard, Azienda Agricola Marco Nicelli, Azienda Agricola La Ciastra Ed San Michel of Pavan Lorella Laura, Azienda Agricola Cà D'Alfieri of Sgarbossa Luisa and Azienda Agricola Peracchi Andrea.

The aim of the plan is to add value to vegetable waste by turning it into high-quality feed for the poultry sector. It will follow a supply-chain approach covering the transformation and upgrading of waste from organic fruit, vegetable and cereal farms by means of insects, to be used to supplement the diet of chickens, along with preserving the added value of production, minimising waste and limiting environmental impact, through to involving marketing operators and reaching the end consumer.

The specific objectives through which the plan is carried out are:

  • Collection and characterisation of fruit, vegetable and/or cereal waste from organic farms;
  • Use of insect larvae (Hermetia illucens, Diptera: Stratiomyidae and Tenebrio molitor, Coleoptera Tenebrionidae) to convert this waste into animal biomass with a high protein and lipid content, also assessing how efficiently any mycotoxins present in the starting material are detoxified;
  • Use of the larvae as a dietary supplement in poultry farms, both for local meat breeds and for laying hens, measuring the efficiency and quality of conversion (meat/eggs) compared with standard diets;
  • Presentation of the production and supply chain to consumers, in selected retail outlets, with a dedicated questionnaire to assess how well it is received.

The W2FLY2FEED plan therefore sets out to efficiently transform fruit, vegetable and cereal residues and waste, so as to make use of them as feed in the poultry sector from a circular economy perspective. The plan will make it possible to:

  • Achieve a more efficient use of natural resources, also supporting the competitiveness of farms;
  • Obtain feed for poultry farming by adding value to products that would otherwise be discarded, reducing pollutant emissions and limiting the loss of, and competition for, agricultural land;
  • Obtain low-cost, low-impact protein feed offering absolute food safety guarantees;
  • Obtain protein feed with no GMO risk, which organic farms can also use;
  • Help overcome some critical stages in raising traditional poultry breeds.

The project includes training activities for farms under Measure 1 of the Rural Development Programme of the Emilia-Romagna Region.

COORDINATOR AND TECHNICAL-SCIENTIFIC MANAGER: Emanuele Mazzoni, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (UCSC)

DURATION: 10/2019 – 03/2022   BUDGET: € 226,709.68