Garden of the Future: Unleashing the power of plants
The beautiful, historic town of Arbon, Switzerland, was the setting for Nutreco’s recent grand opening of the Garden of the Future. The new facility is the centre for its groundbreaking phytotechnology programme and the place for experimental cultivation and plant production aimed at supporting the livestock and aquaculture industry with sustainable plant-powered feed solutions.
The facility located in the heart of the Phyto Valley harnesses the power of plants (phytotechnology) for the livestock and aquaculture industries, called ‘phyto-complexes’. These are added to animal feed to support the health and welfare of animals in a natural and sustainable way. The Nutreco Exploration team at the facility have been hard at work developing and creating Nutreco’s Garden of the Future from an idea that came about in 2021.
Feeding the future
CEO David Blakemore opened the programme: “What we are doing is harnessing the incredible power of plants. What you will see here is a team collaborating on a capability that can produce solutions to the biggest challenges impacting our industry.”
He also explained that there was a real need for innovation, and believes the products that are produced at the facility will play an important role in helping the company achieve the ultimate goal of ‘Feeding the Future’.
The Garden of the Future, led by director Bernd Büter, plant domestication and cultivation director, includes a 500 sqm experimental greenhouse for plant breeding and propagation and approximately 30 ha of cultivation ground, plus there is a designated space to showcase the novel plants at the facility.
Solutions for the challenges of tomorrow
Remco van Reenen, managing director global marketing at Nutreco’s livestock feed business line, took to the stage. He talked extensively about the main challenge faced by the industry: the ever-growing population. His focus was animal protein and he drew attention to the fact that there is around 40% of waste in the value chain, from the seeds in the field all the way up the scraps from the dinner table. He mentioned that if the genetic potential of animals could be increased from 60% to 80%, and waste in the value chain decreased, it could produce 50% more animal protein. “When we talk about plants, it’s about harnessing the power through the animal, the host – this is Nutreco’s approach,” he concluded.
“One of the most amazing ways to evolve, coming from the evolutionary perspective, is through innovation. Collaboration is fundamental in achieving this.” – Eduardo Lopes Alberto, CEO Trouw Nutrition
Joining the day was Phyto Valley director, Andreas Bleiker, who spoke about the strategic role and mission of the Phyto Valley. Phyto Valley has a number of renowned phyto-producing companies, a community of professionals and businesses that have taken on the task of tapping into the beneficial properties of nature. They work and invest in 3 megatrends: health, sustainability, and innovation. He concluded his presentation with a few take-home messages:
- Complexity of health problems ask for multi-substance solutions.
- Nature offers a set of multi-therapy products and multi-therapy forms – explore them.
Plant genius
Dr David Bravo, chief science officer and Nutreco Exploration managing director, took to the stage next to speak about the difference between the words complex and complicated. “In a world that is complex, the solutions provided need to incorporate complexity and connectivity,” he said. He spoke about the current challenges the industry faces, and said issues in the animal industry have grown and grown into more complex issues. Think in terms of local issues, such as licence to operate, more global problems such as wars. Sustainably feeding the future is a complex challenge, he emphasised.
The plant kingdom has over 390,000 species. “Plants use their energy for biochemistry energy. They produce 1 million molecules; the majority produced are specialised metabolites,” said Dr Bravo. He aptly explained that those chemical molecules that are found in the plants are in fact vehicles of information transferring between the plant and its environment. If that information could be better understood, then plants could be used for many more things. This is what he calls ‘plant genius’. “The future is complex; we must change the way we think and the way we work,” he concluded.
Workshops
The afternoon programme saw a number of workshops where speakers delved into the various aspects of the business. Workshop 1 discussed the ‘co-development of market solutions at Nutreco’. Participants Dr Alex Obach, Skretting innovation director, and Dr Kathleen Crispi, director of innovation, Trouw Nutrition North America, discussed the different market issues and how the companies are using the plant world to help mitigate the challenges that their customers and consumers face. They are working together to develop tailor-made phytogenic solutions for the aquaculture and livestock industry, ensuring that products are developed and brought to the market as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Workshop 2 was presented by ethnobotanist Dr Karin Berger, Plant Discovery director, together with Dr Bravo. They held an insightful presentation which explored phytochemistry and integrated intelligence. They spoke about Nutreco’s unique algorithm programme which identifies complex plants capable of solving complex market issues. A second algorithm can then produce those same plants to a sufficient scale.
“We don’t kill bacteria with our phyto-complexes. Instead, we strengthen the metabolism of the animal to cope with things like inflammation or gut integrity. It’s a completely different approach from what we are used to doing in the past.” – Dr Karin Berger, ethnobotanist
Dr Bravo elaborated on plant molecules, creating the best ‘mother plant’, the complexity of plants and cultivation. He dove further into plant genotype, and illustrated the fact that although some plants may look the same, their genes may be profoundly different. Dr Berger discussed phytochemistry, the research that has been conducted and creating novel solutions. She indicated the step-by-step process required to produce phyto-solutions for the industry and shared her knowledge on plant compounds and how the algorithm they have created can help find the right plant species to deal with specific health issues.
Workshop 3 was combined with a visit to the several gardens around the facility. Dr Emma Wall, director of discovery for Phytotechnology, and Dr Bernd Büter, plant domestication and cultivation director, who also leads the Garden of the Future, held the last workshop titled ‘End-to-end supply: plant domestication and cultivation’. They spoke about how they ensure global supply is met, where it is needed, and when it is needed using the aforementioned (proprietary) algorithms. According to Dr Büter, the algorithms are ‘revolutionary’. He described the steps required to get from the ‘mother plant’ to the product through true-to-type propagation with references to the many experimental field stations where the propagation is carried out.
“The Nutreco network of growers ensures consistency and sustainability in the production of the plant products. Everything is taken into consideration from environmental factors to specific agronomic measures. Sustainability is interwoven in all levels of the production chain at the Garden of the Future,” he concluded.
The future is now
David Blakemore said in his concluding remarks: “What we are doing here at the Garden of the Future is a game-changer. We’re copying no one. We’re creating a new frontier, a new reality. It started 3 years ago and it’s happening now. The challenges are real. The world is counting on us and counting on innovation. It is happening today – the future is now.”
