Animal feed developers who think they have a “breakthrough innovation” which just cannot wait, have been invited by the global feed firm, Nutreco, to take advantage of the company’s new FeedTech Challenge.
Nutreco says the competition is part of the company’s “continuous quest for innovation in animal nutrition and aqua feed” and that the unique prize on offer for the world’s brightest feed development minds is the chance to expose their product innovations to a scientific on-farm validation trial on one of Nutreco’s research farms.
“With a world population growing to over 9 billion by 2050 and finite natural resources, the animal nutrition and aqua feed industry needs to step up its efforts,” said Nutreco, adding that its FeedTech Challenge will create a “greenhouse & pressure cooker” environment aimed at identifying, nurturing and enriching high potential concepts in pilot or proof-of-concept phases.
Nutreco CEO, Knut Nesse, added: “We know that validation and knowledge on how to apply new technologies in a real farm environment are crucial for farmers to embrace innovation. As such, our challenge, and in particular the validation trial, can provide a significant contribution to introducing new breakthrough innovations into real life.
“For start-ups it is a great opportunity to accelerate the development of their innovations, possibly even leading to a funding offer from Nutreco or one of our partners.”
The competition is set to run for two months with contestants participating via an online platform where entries will be open for comments, discussions and contributions from others. The company also said that its aim is to provide a unique opportunity to connect with other start-ups, industry experts, scientists, and ultimately with farmers and the rest of the world.