LIVESTOCK-BASED BIOECONOMY: IT'S TIME TO BE ACTIVE

Abstract

Recently the Editorial articles of the Slovak Journal of Animal Science addressed two topical issues of great interest: international cooperation and European Commission opportunities. Both topics give the National Agricultural and Food Science (NPPC) institute the prospect to be protagonist in the European horizon and face priority challenges in the Agriculture sector. Nowadays, NPPC (Francesco Vizzarri) and the national Forest Centre (Rastislav Rasi) received official nomination, by Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth of the Slovak Republic, as the new members of the States Representatives Group (SRG) of the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) in Brussel (Belgium). CBE JU (https://www.cbe.europa.eu) is a €2 billion partnership between the European Union and the Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC) that funds projects advancing competitive circular bio-based projects under Horizon Europe, the EU's research and innovation programme. The role of Circular Bio-based Europe is to bring together various actors from bio-based industries, ranging from farmers to scientists, to solve the technological, regulatory and market challenges of the sector. Its public-private funding scheme boosts innovation and market deployment and paves the way for future investments. In this framework, Slovakia will have the possibility to be part of this international partnership with the goal of strengthening the collaboration of all bioeconomy actors, but also supporting research and innovation for sustainable bio-based solution, placing sustainability and knowledges transfer at the center of its operations.

In the third Editorial article of 2024, I am going to introduce the contents of the articles collected and published in the third issue of 2024 year.

Aro et al. investigated the growth performance and carcass traits of broiler checkens fed dietary Citrus sinensis peel-based diet. Authors concluded that the dietary supplementation caused an increase in the weight of the spleen which is an indication of immune immune-boosting property of the peel. Judging from the comparable body weight gain and feed conversion ratio between the control diet and experimental animals, dietary inclusion of Citrus sinensis peel could be used up to 5.00 % in broilers diets without any deleterious effects on growth and carcass parameters of broiler chickens.

Bankole et al. assessed the effects of different weaning regimes on weanling pigs' growth, stress and behavioural responses. This study revealed that different weaning regimes have varying effects on the performance and welfare of pigs. It is important to carefully consider the weaning regimes implemented in pig production to minimize stress and promote healthy growth.

Adedire et al. studied the response of broiler chicken to pelletized feed coated with the oil extracted from Chrysophyllum albidum kernel in comparison with palm kernel oil. It can be concluded that Chrysophyllum albidum oil can successfully replace palm kernel oil in broiler pellets for optimum performance. It exhibits potential to serve as natural preservatives in feed and its amino acid profile served as added advantage. Its inclusion in feed did not pose any negative effect on physiological and nutritional status of the experimental birds.

Editorial Team looks forward to evaluating your submitted contributions and providing all necessary support to Authors in order to best serve animal science and the scientific community, with commitment to research integrity and the highest publishing ethics.

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