Research and Innovation

Innovation in animal breeding starts with collaboration.

EFFAB brings together breeders, researchers, policymakers and other partners to ensure
that scientific research responds to the real needs of the sector.

FABRE TP

EFFAB hosts the Secretariat of FABRE TP (Farm Animal Breeding and Reproduction Technology Platform), a European platform that brings together industry, research organisations and academia to define the future research priorities for farm animal breeding and reproduction.

FABRE TP provides a forum where the sector identifies common challenges, develops a shared Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda, and promotes collaboration between public and private partners. By connecting science with industry, the platform helps ensure that future research addresses the needs of sustainable livestock and aquaculture breeding.

Visit the Fabre TP website

EFFAB is a strong partner of EU Research Projects

EFFAB is continuously involved in European research projects focusing on animal breeding and reproduction, animal health and welfare.

EFFAB provides specific support to scientists, breeders and other actors by facilitating the communication and uptake of research and results of EU Research Projects:

Supporting the co-design and co-creation of research proposals by integrating the end-users with researchers to foster discussion on the implications, ethics, benefits and challenges in the development of new knowledge or innovations, through a range of different levels of participation.

Engaging with communities, stakeholders and society by designing innovative communication strategies to cover all the needs of the project including visual identity, website, social media, webinars and workshops, graphic content, audiovisuals and much more.

Translating science and targeted dissemination of research outputs; we create an impact that catalyzes and facilitates innovation that benefits agri-business, farmers and the whole society.

Facilitating the exchange between research and its wider users in an inclusive way that overarches research disciplines and countries worldwide with our expertise in animal breeding, reproduction and production.

EFFAB is currently involved in 9 different European research projects, and is also working on new proposals under different calls.

Discover all the projects we are involved in

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  • EU-LI-PHE

    EU-LI-PHE is a European COST Action that brings together researchers, industry and other experts to advance livestock phenomics—the measurement and analysis of animal traits using innovative technologies and data. The network aims to improve animal breeding, health, welfare and sustainability by developing new phenotyping methods, data standards and collaborative research. Through training, knowledge exchange and stakeholder engagement, EU-LI-PHE helps accelerate the adoption of phenomics across the European livestock sector.

    Check out the website

  • select organic

    SelectOrganic’s overall objective is to develop breeding programs tailored for organic farming of European sea bass, gilthead seabream, rainbow trout, and Atlantic salmon. The project will uphold high animal welfare standards and aim to improve resilience, disease resistance, product quality, and resource efficiency. Another focus is on enabling fish to utilize a greater share of alternative feed materials, contributing to sustainable resource use and biodiversity protection.

    Check out the website

  • transformdairynet 

    TransformDairyNet will unite farmers, researchers, and industry experts to promote cow-calf contact (CCC) dairy systems that prioritize animal welfare, environmental sustainability, and economic viability. TransformDairyNet harnesses the expertise of 26 European partners from 14 countries. Together, they will mobilize 11 National Innovation Practice Hubs and a European Knowledge and Innovation Network. This network will comprise of dairy farmers, veterinarians, advisors, supply chain actors, farmer organizations, researchers, and policymakers, all collaborating to enhance and scale up CCC dairy production and beyond. This will include compiling existing CCC knowledge ready for practice, identifying end users needs, and co-creating new CCC knowledge through funding innovation.

    Check out the website

  • EUAqua.org

    The mission of EUAqua.Org is to invigorate Organic Aquaculture in Europe by adopting a problem-solving ethos and pioneering highly innovative solutions to fill key knowledge gaps and overcome the primary factors limiting the competitiveness of Atlantic salmon, European sea bass, gilthead sea bream, and rainbow trout organic production.

    Check out the website

  • Step up 

    Currently, there is a lack of comprehensive and quantifiable information regarding the sustainability and resilience of environmentally friendly European Livestock Production Systems (ELPS). STEP UP is addressing this gap by accessing and analysing Innovative Livestock Production Systems (ILPS) as a testing ground. ILPS incorporate technology-driven approaches to enhance efficiency, reduce environmental impact, and improve animal welfare. STEP UP aims to identify data deficits and upgrade traditional ELPS based on insights gained from ILPS, contributing to a more informed and sustainable livestock farming approach.

    Check out the website

     

  • DETECTIVE

    The overall aim of the project is to develop, validate and promote innovative detection methods for plant and animal products using new genomic techniques (NGTs) such as gene editing and cisgenesis. This will support the traceability, authenticity and transparency of NGT products.

    Check out the website

  • Digi4Live

    Digi4Live aims to address these challenges by empowering participants in the European livestock sector, enabling them to leverage data generation and digital technologies to their benefit. The project seeks to enhance the adoption of digital technologies and utilize diverse data sources for various livestock, including pigs, poultry, cattle, and sheep. With a comprehensive approach, Digi4Live impact sectors that cover over 35% of the total agricultural output value in the European Union.

    Check out the website

  • HOLICOW

    HoliCow was born from the observation of a dramatic decrease in the number of small and medium-sized dairy farms in our territories. This decrease is multifactorial. First, access to technologies is complicated for these farms because of the investment and time needed to understand them. This leads to economic losses and lower resilience of the animals and farms. A second reason for the decrease of farm number is the detrimental opinion of the general public. Indeed, agri-bashing is very common nowadays, discouraging farmers to continue their activities.

    Given the importance of these farms to maintain our landscapes, biodiversity and resilience, HoliCow partners decided to join forces to allow these farms to use affordable tools to improve their resilience and stay in business. In addition, a promotional campaign is planned to strengthen the relationship of the farmers and their local community.

    Concretely, the partners previously achieved to predict biomarkers related to health, welfare, heat stress, methane emissions and other traits using the milk composition, and in particular the mid-infrared spectroscopic analysis. Now all these predictions will be gathered to create an easy-to-understand indicator to assess farm resilience. A community database will be created for farmers to help them answer the problems highlighted, with continuous improvement of the platform using feedback from users.

    Check out the website

  • HoloRuminant

    HoloRuminant will expand our understanding of ruminant-associated microbiomes to fill knowledge gaps and develop tools for their interpretation. With its holistic multi-omics approach, the project will study the multiple interactions of the ruminant-associated microbiomes with the host animal in early life and throughout fundamental life events. The aim is to decipher the characteristics and functions of livestock microbial ecosystems from different body sites, their heritability and their influence on the host’s resistance to disease and environmental efficiency of production (e.g., efficiency, disease resistance and resilience to changing environmental conditions). HoloRuminant will provide highly innovative, standardized methodologies that will radically advance our understanding of the ruminant holobiont. This knowledge and the tools created will allow the use of microbiome-based diagnostics and solutions for improving ruminant sustainability.

    Check out the website

See past projects