In the beginning of 2008, the EUFETEC started with the development of a questionnaire which was designed to get a perception of what the key priorities for research, training and service provision are for producers of (feed) additives, premixtures and compound feed (see the questionnaire in annex A). The EUFETEC should provide innovative answers to these key priorities through a structural and sustainable cooperation between several European stakeholders (feed industry, academic world, research centers, etc.). In a first phase this questionnaire was conducted in Belgium and in a second phase the questionnaire was conducted among feed producers in Europe. Twelve challenges in three areas of interest have been addressed in the questionnaire: Feed & Food Quality and Safety, Sustainable Feed & Environment, and Production Unit Management. All these 12 topics have a common European legislative basis or represent common challenges to all European feed producers. For the data obtained from the Belgian questionnaire, it was possible to do a weighing based on the production capacity of the respondents. Hence eventual differences in response between SME’s and larger companies can be detected if present and extrapolated to the EU response.
The results of the questionnaire have been summarized in a table. For more information and the interpretation of the results, please refer to the vision document.
