EU Pig Innovation Group

Project Information

Eu PiG

Grant agreement ID: 727933

DOI

10.3030/727933

Project closed

EC signature date 14 October 2016

Start date 1 November 2016

End date 31 October 2020

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine, maritime and inland water research, and the bioeconomy

Total cost

€ 1 999 999,99

EU contribution

€ 1 999 999,99

Coordinated by

THE AGRICULTURE AND HORTICULTURE DEVELOPMENT BOARD (AHDB)
United Kingdom

Periodic Reporting for period 3 - Eu PiG (EU Pig Innovation Group)

Reporting period: 2019-11-01 to 2020-10-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

EU PiG is a thematic network to increase the health, welfare, meat quality and use of precision farming within the European Union (EU) pig industry. Funded by the EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, EU PiG fosters the development and dissemination of practice-based innovations in pig farming, targeting key challenges faced by the pig industry across the EU. EU PiG commenced on 1st November 2016 with an expected project duration of 36 months. EU PiG spans 13 countries, encompassing 93% of the EU’s pig meat production (92% of slaughterings) and 90% of the EU’s pig herd (88% of the breeding herd) in 2016.

The project adopts the interactive model of the European Innovation Partnership (EIP), putting farmers at the centre of practice-based innovation, adapting and developing new and existing scientific knowledge to produce implementable solutions, which can then be shared across the network. In EU regions, multi actor ‘RPiGs’ (Regional Pig Innovation Groups) come together to target specific challenges for the pig industry. EU PiG partners have been active to stimulate the establishment of these ‘multi-actor’ groups, and the network will link these cross-border, so that innovations identified in one country/region, can be shared with another. The project aimed to establish 32 (8 per year) of the most innovating pig farmers across Europe to demonstrate best practice, and push boundaries in the application of new knowledge. These innovative farmers are to be decided through a Grand Prix of innovation, with winners decided by the RPiGs.

Specific objectives are, to:
- Map and consolidate existing knowledge from producers, advisers and the EU research base on four specific themes (health management, precision production, welfare and meat quality)
- Stimulate dialogue and knowledge exchange between ‘actors’ in the industry including producers, producer groups, innovation support organisations, levy/development boards and researchers to enhance farm-driven innovation
- Close the gap between research and commercial pig production by facilitating the application of science led innovations into practice
- Facilitate user driven knowledge exchange by identifying and sharing best practice within the industry (both nationally and internationally)
- Develop and disseminate end user material to demonstrate best practice and affect behaviour change by EU pig producers
- Encourage the sustainable integration of science and practice through innovation by enhancing dialogue between the scientific and farming/advisory communities

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

EUPiG has produced 32 ambassadors (8 per year) across the 4 themes (Health, Welfare, Precision and Meat Quality), these have been captured on the EUPiG website which has been transformed from a website that discusses how the consortium works into a dissemination vehicle offering multiple sources of information. These include 360 videos, video stories, photos and translated factsheets in local languages of the consortium partners. The ambassadors were chosen by means of a Grand Prix, in which the competition was advertised to the farmers and producers in each RPiG based on 2 challenges under per theme e.g. Under health the challenge of antibiotic resistance and African Swine Fever (ASF). Challenges were nominated by producers in each RPiG with the steering group ratifying the challenges for each year Each year the entries were submitted alongside suggestions for future challenges, the thematic networks run by work package leaders and made up of industry and producer 'experts' reduced the entries to a top 40 (5 best challenges under each theme). With the top 5 decided, the entire consortium has the opportunity to score the entries 1 - 5 with 5 being the 'best'. Scoring is done on the following premise: The ambassadors solution to the challenge is replicable, impactful and backed by positive cost benefit data. The top scoring solution from each challenge becomes the ambassador. Entries have declined over the 4 years the project has run, but entries under each challenge have still remained high and the quality has overall improved, making the judging more challenging. In year 1 there were 248 entries, year 2 230 entries and year 3 195 entries, Year 4 160 entries. All of the entries will be made available as a resource at the end of the project. Dissemination has progressed beyond the website with RPiGs and consortium members supporting each other at conferences and workshops across the EU targeting EU pork producers and farmers. Social media and communications platforms are used extensively to disseminate the best practices to an audience of EU stakeholders.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The specific areas of focus for EUPiG always use four main themes: Health, Welfare, Precision and Meat Quality, as their base for seeking innovation. However, to reflect a changing landscape of industry, consumer pressure and policy, challenges linked to those four constant themes, are changed each year (Grand Prix). This will result in 32 ambassador case studies that provide detailed solutions to the 32 identified industry challenges supported by multiple resources including cost benefit analysis and a range of digital and physical resources.
Solutions to challenges identified and available for producers to implement with methods, cost benefits and contacts (all in local languages) include:
Health solutions such as: Biosecurity Tools, methods for optimising antibiotics to zero level, how slaughter data can improve health and profitability. Solutions have been used to respond to policy change e.g. removal of zinc oxide, improving gut health and fermentation as alternatives to zinc. Under policy boar taint and castration along with rearing with intact tails have also been identified with best practice case studies available. Other every day challenges such as how to deliver clean and accessible water, methods for Systematic routine weighing are described that have proven benefits or return on investment. A key focus of challenges has been engaging with the consumer looking at innovations in the supply chain (Meat Quality) e.g. Heart pig branding, feeding olive oil to pigs, social media to engage the consumer and support for niche breeds. Increasingly due to both policy and consumer demands the environment has been a key focus of challenges and ambassadors, with reduction of emissions, improving of the farm atmosphere, more sustainable feeds and methods of auditing sustainability have identified solutions with best practice case studies available.
There has been a maturing of the EUPiG entries, showing its value to the industry as a test bed for solutions that allow production to become more efficient, underpinned by detailed cost benefit analysis available as part of the EUPiG resources. The increase in efficiency (Profit) is captured in all challenge solutions especially those that effect consumers (people) and the environment (planet).
EUPiG at closure had completed an analysis of the 830 examples of best practice against the RESET model of behaviour change. The data suggests that EUPiG attracted entries from largely innovators who have a bias towards technology to solve challenges. It did however, show that farmers/producers are adaptable and can utilise multiple strategies to find solutions to challenges including engaging socially with peers and consumers.

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