Code: Re-farm – Consumer-driven demands to reframe farming systems

Project aim: Code:Re-farm research project focuses on poultry & goat production systems with the goal of understanding the links between husbandry systems and intrinsic quality of derived products.

 

About the project: Intensive livestock production systems (ILPS) are growing fast to satisfy the increasing demand. The evolution of these systems follows the growing interest of investment funds in the sector, the current scientific knowledge, state-of-the-art (SotA) technologies and genetics which are the leading factors for their sustainable development. However, there is public skepticism about intensification in livestock production, driven primarily by adverse links to environmental aspects such as climate change, global warming, and sustainable utilization of natural resources. Moreover, ILPS are perceived as being detrimental to animal health and welfare and may potentially undermine the quality of animal-derived products. Economic sustainability of such systems is often questioned as they are greatly challenged by natural resource limitations, adverse climatic conditions, and diseases. Products from extensive systems are considered of superior quality, but the resource-limited environment in these systems undermines their safety. Understanding the key strengths and weaknesses of different farming systems is crucial for sustainable animal production and delivery of quality products Therefore, it is critical to develop strategic plans and conduct a profitability analysis of the system-oriented challenges and the added-value resulting from consumer-driven demands and niche products. Code: Re-farm deals with the challenges and focuses on poultry and goat production systems with the overall goal of understanding the links between husbandry systems and intrinsic quality of animal products. Conventional and novel technologies will be exploited for assessing the intrinsic quality of products along the value chain (Product Lifecycle Monitoring), from farm to fork.