Project cooperationUpdated on 6 May 2025

Enhancing plant protein production to bolster the resilience of agricultural systems and EU self-sufficiency in plant protein used as feed

Alexandru Vlaicu

Senior Researcher at National Research and Development Institute for Animal Biology and Nutrition

Bucharest, Romania

About

We are Romania’s leading institution in the field of animal biology and nutrition, with over 60 years of expertise in: animal nutrition and physiology; feed formulation and alternative feed resources; food quality assessments; biotechnology and feed processing; nutritional modelling and impact analysis; sustainability and circular bioeconomy approaches in livestock systems

Our multidisciplinary teams integrate animal science, food quality, chemistry, biochemistry, and biotechnology to innovate in both animal nutrition and feed resource development, as well as food quality.

Our focus is on identifying and valorising regionally adapted, sustainable plant protein sources and developing innovative feed strategies for livestock. Our role would involve:

• Screening and characterising alternative protein crops and by-products suitable for feed use (e.g., lupin, faba bean, pea, sunflower meal, alfalfa)

• Conducting nutritional, digestibility, and anti-nutritional analyses using advanced lab techniques

• Designing and implementing in vivo feeding trials with livestock to validate performance, health, product quality and environmental impacts

• Supporting co-creation and stakeholder engagement, especially with Romanian and regional farmers, processors, and feed manufacturers

• Contributing to knowledge transfer, communication, and exploitation of results at the national and EU level

Stage

  • Early stage

Type

  • Partner looking for consortium

Organisation

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