The EU’s dependency on imported plant proteins has been well documented. In 2017, the EU required around 27m tonnes of crude protein to feed its livestock sector. The region’s self-sufficiency rate varies substantially depending on the source (79% for rapeseed and 5% for soya bean, for example). As a consequence, the EU imports around 17m tonnes annually of crude protein of which 13m are soya-based annually.

These efforts are now likely to intensify under the Farm to Fork strategy, a key component of the European Green Deal

The EU has made its intentions to reduce its dependency on imports clear and in 2018, the European Commission adopted its report on the development of indigenous plant protein in an economically and environmentally sound way.

These efforts are now likely to intensify under the Farm to Fork strategy, a key component of the European Green Deal.

This will inevitably cast attention on the volumes of plant proteins being imported into the EU

As part of European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen’s European Green Deal, it is expected that one of the main principles of the Farm to Fork strategy is to shorten the entire agri-food chain, which will include support for projects aimed at replacing long transport routes for feedstocks and animals. This will inevitably cast attention on the volumes of plant proteins being imported into the EU.

European Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski has also expressed his desire to gradually reduce soya bean imports into the region. While this likely won’t lead to the phasing out of plant protein imports, one would assume that funding will be available for solutions to help bridge the indigenous protein gap. We take a look at some of the efforts to increase native protein production in Ireland which may give us an idea of where funding might be targeted in the future.

Pulses

Peas, beans and lupins are all eligible crops to receive payment under the Protein Aid Scheme. The €3m scheme provided a coupled payment for growing nitrogen fixing crops and was the main driver in increasing area of pulses grown in the country, mainly faba beans.

It is still unknown whether coupled payments for protein crop production will be available under the new CAP

Faba beans have played a critical part in assisting a number of feed compounders develop “all-Irish rations”. The scheme will be available to growers this season. However, it is still unknown whether coupled payments for protein crop production will be available under the new CAP.

Soya beans

The area of soya beans grown across parts of Europe continues to increase. Interest in this crop in Ireland has also been growing. In 2019, Quinns of Baltinglass completed a second year of field evaluation of soya beans in Irish conditions.

A good pod with three full soya beans.

The crop preformed better in its second year, although the drought in 2018 had a big impact on performance in year one. Harvest date was later than first anticipated on 22 October but the crop still yielded 0.9t/ac at 27% to 28% moisture content. The crop was also wholecropped last year for the first time.

Biorefinery Glas project

The Institute of Technology Tralee manages the Biorefinery Glas project. The project is co-funded by the EU and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and uses a small mobile biorefinery demonstration plant to convert freshly harvested grass into a range of products, such as a protein concentrate feed, a sugar stream of fructooligosaccharides, a grass-whey product for fertiliser or bioenergy production and a grass fibre product.

The project focuses on grass but a biorefinery is capable of processing many green materials including beet leaves, lucerne and rushes. The model is expected to play a vital role in Ireland’s bioeconomy in the near future.