The faba 4

A £2.6 million project examining the potential to replace imported soya bean protein in salmon feeds with Scottish-grown faba bean protein concentrate (BPC), has produced promising results.

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Called Beans4Feeds (www.beans4feeds.net/projectreports), the InnovateUK-funded project was the subject of a very illuminating talk by Professor Euan James, of the James Hutton Institute (JHI), at a workshop organised by the Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC) this week, which focused on finding alternative locally-sourced, sustainable proteins for use in the aquafeed industry.

Led by JHI’s Dr Pete Iannetta, the project includes involvement from a number of commercial partners, including EWOS and Biomar, Marine Harvest, Harbro, Limagrain and the Processors and Growers Research Organisation (PGRO), together with academic partners from SRUC and the Universities of Stirling, Aberdeen and St Andrews.

Trials with the Scottish-grown BPC have proved very encouraging, with a Marine Harvest trial using feeds containing 15-20% faba BPC, showing comparable, or better, growth rates, flesh quality and fish health status to their soya equivalents – making faba “a natural substitute for soya”.

Professor James believes that it would be a realistic goal to grow enough faba beans in Scotland – 33,000 tonnes – to account for a 5% share of the 264,000 tonne UK salmon and trout feed industry, and he claims that the potential for even greater faba bean inclusion rates are desired by the fish producers.

Given that the average yield per hectare is around 4-4.5 tonnes, this would require Scottish farmers to cultivate some 8,000 hectares of the leguminous crop. As a natural nitrogen fixer, it would also help to improve Scottish soils and reduce our reliance on fertilisers and act as a green alternative to South American fishmeals or soya proteins which currently make up a substantial part of the protein content in feeds.

As a result of these two factors, it could boost the green credentials of Scottish farmers – of both the terrestrial and aquatic varieties.

Outcomes

The outcomes of the alternative protein workshop, as well as the two others that took part in the event – one on the health effects of feeding, including gut microbiome, changes in diet and susceptibility to disease, and the other on sources of EPA/DHA – are currently being distilled by SAIC and are due to inspire a call for expressions of interest in the next few weeks, as the centre seeks offer industry-backed funding packages that will inspire the next generation of feed research.