Context

Livestock farming is a key sector that involves 40 % of the total agricultural activity in Europe. representing a total value for products equal to € 170 billion. However, there is an increasing concern due to livestock farming’s contribution to environmental pollution since it generates more than 1.4 billion tonnes/year of manure leading to significant greenhouse gases (GHG) and air pollutants emissions (NH3, NOX) as well as to soil and water contamination caused by hazardous manure chemicals and biological contaminants (called here emerging contaminants). In this context extensive effort has been carried out for years to assess the detrimental effects of farming systems and to develop abatement methods to be implemented.

However, despite major advancements, many fundamental issues are beyond the scope of existing legislation. The main objective of NUTRITIVE is to develop a decision-making tool (DSS, decision support system) able to define the most efficient and sustainable (in its three pillars: environmental, economic, and social) manure management strategies for a given livestock farm limiting manure air emissions as well as soil and water contaminants. This will allow for the formulation of technical guidelines and recommendations that will support policy makers with enhanced knowledge to establish requirements for future European policies. To fulfill this objective, the project is divided into six work packages (WP): WP1 Up-to-date inventory; WP2 Novel management strategies/technologies investigation; WP3 Modelling and LCA; and WP4 Guidelines formulation; WP5 Communication, dissemination, and exploitation; WP6 Management. 

NUTRITIVE anticipates a wide spread of the project outcomes, with the synthesis of the consortium as a baseline: 22 partners (4 Chinese) from 8 different countries across Europe, covering 6 climatic regions (2 Chinese ones), representing the whole supply chain experts, from animal feed to soil application.

Objectives

The main objective of NUTRITIVE is to develop a decision-making tool (DSS, decision support system) able to define the most efficient and sustainable manure management strategy for a given livestock farm. Based on three pillars (environmental, economic, and social) it will limit manure air emissions as well as soil and water contaminants. This will allow for the formulation of technical guidelines and recommendations that will support policy makers with enhanced knowledge to establish requirements for future European policies.

Activities

First, a global data inventory regarding the current full-scale use of available manure management practices in different livestock farming types existent across European climate regions is fundamental (WP1). In addition, the fate, evolution, and persistence of manure-derived pollutants in soil and water bodies needs to be thoroughly quantified, as well as their effects on the loss of native species and harm to biodiversity (WP1, WP2).

Besides, there is an urgent need to investigate, develop, demonstrate, and model innovative, improved, and circular cost-effective management strategies focused on optimizing existent processes effectiveness and reduce impacts (WP2, WP3). Then, once all this information is available, it is needed to improve, update, and adapt existent LCA methodologies and approaches to manure management issues to be able to assess the three sustainability pillars (environmental, economic, and social) (WP3).

Finally, from all this knowledge, a holistic and prospective decision-making tool able to provide, for a given farm and manure characteristics. It will be the result of a joint commitment and collaboration between the scientific community and policymakers, farmers, and other stakeholders.

Together, NUTRITIVE project pretends the development of technical guidelines and recommendations to achieve reduction targets of 2030 and beyond, expand the scope of current legislation and support future agricultural policies at the EU level (WP4).