In a study published by Mario Herrero, a chief research scientist of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), it was revealed that the agricultural sector, in particular the farming of livestock—cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and chickens– “contributes around 6 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide) to the atmosphere each year. While estimates vary, this could represent up to 18% of global emissions.”
While this certainly is cause for alarm, there are ways the agricultural sector is tackling the issue. Of interest to URC Agro-Industrial Group (URC AIG) is how the addition of the naturally occurring enzyme phytase to animal diets can help lower the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by the industry. Phytase is defined as a “phosphatase enzyme that catalyzes, or kickstarts, the hydrolysis of phytic acid, also known as phytate.” Present in plant-based foods such as cereal, wheat and other grains, phytic acid is an indigestible form of phosphorus. The ingestion of phytase creates a reaction in the body, allowing the absorption of nutrients.
Since 2005, URC AIG has been supplementing the diets of its poultry and swine with RONOZYME® HiPhos, developed by the Dutch company DSM, which specializes in human and animal nutrition. The food supplement is a powerful phytase that greatly increases the amount of plant phosphorus that poultry or swine can absorb from their diets. According to DSM, “RONOZYME® HiPhos releases twice as much phosphorous. Because far less inorganic phosphorus needs to be added to the diet, the end result is substantial savings on feed costs and less use of inorganic phosphorus.
“Because far more phytate, an antinutritional factor, is broken down, RONOZYME® HiPhos increases live weight gain and feed conversion in poultry and swine. And because it reduces both environmental impact and feed costs, RONOZYME® HiPhos phytase also has a big impact on the sustainability of animal farming.”
For the second year running, URC AIG has taken the Silver Award (ASEAN), a testament to its continuing sustainability efforts. According to DSM, thanks to URC AIG’s use of RONOZYME®, it significantly reduced its emission of harmful greenhouse gases, with benefits equivalent to “Turning off 534,506 lamps or planting 391,065 trees, or taking 6,291 cars off the streets.”
Congratulations to the URC AIG Team!
