Sharing is caring

Sharing knowledge in agribusiness is a good example of where big steps can be made by providing ‘simple’ knowledge to those who need it. Think of projects in Africa, where countries like the Netherlands share knowledge on proper and safe cooling of fresh milk on dairy farms. It may sound simple, but it can step up profitability and food safety to a great extent.

Another great example is the MyToolBox project, in which the European Union is gathering and sharing knowledge on mycotoxin research. The way the EU deals with registration and testing of mycotoxin products is innovative. And now, within the MyToolBox project, this knowledge is being shared with China. This is great, because there is currently no authorisation procedure in place in China for detoxification additives. As such, no standard protocol is available to verify the efficacy and safety of mycotoxin binders/deactivators on the Chinese market.

For the latest issue of All About Feed I talked to John Gilbert, who is leading the project between the EU and China (as part of the MyToolBox project). The collaboration between the EU and China will be focused on several topics, including mycotoxin detoxifier feed additives, and also will look at collaboration on improved grain storage by using improved sensors and modelling conditions for fungal growth in silos. Additionally a web-based tool is being developed by MyToolBox to help farmers to minimise pre-harvest contamination with DON contamination data and this model will be tested in China using DON contamination data.

According to Gilbert, China can learn from the EU to make registration and testing of mycotoxin products effective and safer and the stepped up collaboration will certainly speed up this process. Again, sharing knowledge is essential. With this example, sharing knowledge will definitely lead to even better formulated animal diets, safer feed and feed in China and the rest of the world.