Helping to feed the world affordable, wholesome food while achieving a higher quality of life: this is the vision of Novus International, said the company's CEO, Thad Simons, during the Fourth Global Feed and Food Congress at Sun City, South Africa. Simons was part of the Global Leaders Outlook Panel, discussing the theme "safe feed and food for all."
The central point of discussion in the global feed industry, he pointed out, remained how to feed the nine to 10 billion people that will inhabit the planet by 2050.
"Although this is a tremendously challenging question, the technologies to achieve this are available," he said. "A major objective of Novus International, however, is to find technologies that are relevant and accessible to farmers in various parts of the world. Many technologies are available, but the relevant technology for each individual location and circumstance is not necessarily obvious."
Referring specifically to the African situation, he pointed out that the continent offered tremendous opportunities driven by specific structural changes taking place at the moment. These opportunities include population growth and urbanization, combined with the development of a fast growing middle class with increased spending power. Furthermore a significant supply chain evolution is evident, leading to increased global engagement from the food and agribusiness industries.
One of the core values of Novus International, an animal nutrition supplier, he said, was to provide products with demonstrable value.
"Novus' vision is to help feed the world affordable, wholesome food and achieve a higher quality of life. Manipulating the nutritional value of food through feed is a technological field that holds a lot of potential to significantly enhance quality of life. This is but one example of the contribution Novus tries to make in helping feed the world."
The notion of "you are what you eat" is indeed true for animals as well as for humans, he said, and the question is how the feeding of animals can be improved to such an extent that it results in even healthier food for humans. Obviously the first step is optimal health through nutrition, but the next step is to utilize technology to increase certain levels of nutrients in products.
"The potential of this technology to help provide more nutritious value in food, at a relatively low additional cost has the potential to substantially change the lives of billions of people," he said.
