Progressive Solutions for European Feed Autonomy through Sustainable Plant Protein Value Chains

Europe’s feed industry depends on imported high protein content sources, mainly soybean meal, with 96% imported annually, creating supply risks and environmental impacts. PROFEED will boost EU self-sufficiency in plant proteins for feed through crop science, participatory demonstration, digital tools and capacity building. It works across diverse pedoclimatic conditions in 9 countries, engaging 40 farmers and 10 Lighthouse Sites, supported by 4 Communities of Practice. The project starts by mapping systems and barriers via workshops and surveys, combined with data analysis of previous projects to feed the PROFEED Digital Platform, an open-access decision-support tool integrating best practices, predictive models and training resources. State-of-the-art growth chambers will screen 130+ soybean, lupin and alfalfa accessions under current and future climate scenarios to identify the most resilient and high-protein varieties, validated in multi-site field trials. Low-impact processing technologies will improve nutritional quality and feed formulations tested in two waves of animal trials with pigs, broilers , gilthead seabream, Atlantic salmon and laying hens. Environmental and socio-economic performance will be assessed through Life Cycle Assessment, Techno-Economic Analysis and value chain mapping, while foresight exercises will co-create regional and EU-level roadmaps and policy briefs.PROFEED will deliver a harmonised EU database, a digital platform, validated formulations reducing soybean meal dependency by up to 30%, and a multilingual Massive Open Online Course offering tailored training for farmers, advisors, industry and policymakers to ensure large-scale adoption. The consortium includes 15 partners from 8 countries, including EUFARMS ( European network of 590 farmers, 300 organic farms from 5 countries), and is supported by an Advisory Board with FEFAC, MOWI and COPA-COGECA’s Working Party on Poultry to ensure alignment with industry needs.