Expert: Matthias Vogelsang, Animal Nutrition President EMEA, ADM
VIV Africa 2026 placed a strong emphasis on Sub-Saharan livestock growth, poultry innovation, dairy expansion, and regional feed efficiency.
- Following your recent speaking engagement at VIV Africa, what did you see as the most urgent needs of Sub-Saharan African poultry and dairy producers?
One of the common themes from the discussions at VIV Africa was that demand for affordable, nutritious animal protein is growing rapidly across the region. The challenge is improving productivity and optimizing resource utilization toward sustainable and economically viable development. The presentation highlighted that Africa remains one of the fastest-growing feed markets globally, while protein consumption per capita remains well below the global average.
For poultry producers in particular, improving feed efficiency, flock health, biosecurity and survivability remains critical. Feed can account for up to 70% of production costs, while preventable disease and mortality continue to represent major losses for many producers.
In dairy, many of the challenges are similar. Producers are looking to maximize the nutritional value they can extract from locally available feed ingredients, improve herd health and reproductive performance, and increase milk yields in a cost-effective way. Across both sectors, knowledge transfer and access to technical expertise are just as important as access to products. Small improvements in feed conversion, animal health and management can compound into meaningful gains in productivity.
- How can ADM’s speciality ingredients, such as palatants and gut-health solutions, help African farmers navigate regional feed-raw-material challenges?
ADM’s specialty ingredients and nutritional solutions help African producers get more value from variable or locally available feed raw materials by improving feed quality, safety and nutrient utilization. Our solutions help mitigate mycotoxin risks, and support gut health, digestive efficiency and immune resilience, contributing to better productivity. Animals in healthy conditions have reduced reliance on antibiotics. By making the most of every kilogram of feed, ADM helps farmers produce safer, more affordable and nutritious animal protein with available resources, strengthening local poultry production, food security and sustainability across Africa’s diverse production market.
Our regional trials and solutions demonstrate tangible results across the continent:
- North Africa (Egypt): Recent trials with Daaforce 100, a functional complementary feed, proved its efficacy in improving nutrient absorption and performance in broilers through improved gut integrity.
- South Africa: We are driving support of animal performance by improving gut health and regulation of feed consumption through our patented solution, B-Safe, which is a combination of copper and clay. Copper is a trace-element supporting iron metabolism, immune function, and recognized for its antimicrobial properties.
- East and West Africa (Kenya, Ivory Coast, Nigeria): Across species, T5X SD is applied to support the animal’s own detoxifying enzymes, binding mycotoxins (Aflatoxin B1) and thus can lower aflatoxin residues in milk as well as support detoxification. ADM also supports dairy farmers using functional solutions like Nexulin, which drives increased milk production while keeping cows healthy. To help navigate the limited availability and high cost of conventional ingredients, ADM provides a wide variety of palatants, such as sweeteners and flavors, that guarantee increased palatability when utilizing alternative local raw materials. For example, Molasweet allows partial or complete replacement of molasses in feed formulations while maintaining ruminant feed intake, helping to mitigate raw material availability constraints and price volatility.
Furthermore, ADM takes proactive action alongside its partners through its integrated, data‑driven ecosystem of smart solutions and services, SINCRO, which includes NIR analysis, wet chemistry and formulation services to tackle raw-material challenges—providing end-to-end support across the entire African continent.
- The EMEA region is incredibly diverse in the challenges and priorities animal protein producers face. How do you tailor ADM’s precision animal nutrition and feed additive solutions strategies to meet the needs of market?
What remains consistent across the region is ADM’s commitment to science-based nutrition. We combine global research and technical expertise with local market knowledge, allowing us to adapt our solutions to the realities producers face while helping them improve efficiency, profitability and sustainability over the long term. For example, a significant share (up to 70%) of livestock output from the African livestock production comes from smallholder or small-scale production systems1, where inputs must be practical, affordable and easy to administer under changing conditions. Innovations such as water-soluble solutions and hydration-focused electrolytes become especially relevant, because they support animals during stress periods such as illness, transportation and reduced feed intake, and they can be incorporated into drinking-water strategies.
ADM’s approach in EMEA is highly practical and partnership led. We focus on working with partners who are closest to the consumer and the producer—distributors, local feed manufacturers, veterinarians, and trusted channel partners who already understand the market and can help bring the product closer to where it is needed. This helps us improve reach, reduce friction in the value chain, and make the offer more accessible and commercially viable for farmers. The goal is clear: combine global science with local partnerships so we can deliver the right solution, through the right channel, at the right cost.
This year’s EuroTier 2026 theme is “Intelligence in animal farming,” focusing on AI, automation, emission reduction, and alternative proteins such as insect-based feed.
- EuroTier 2026 is showcasing automated systems and emission-reducing feeds. What specific innovations or reformulations will the ADM team be unveiling to help address European environmental regulations?
During EuroTier, Gunduz Ilsever, EMEA Technical Director, Animal Nutrition, will be presenting a session called, “ADM’s SINCRO: Connecting Data, Nutrition and Performance for More Efficient Livestock Production.” This session will be held on the Food & Feeding Expert Stage in Hall 21 Stand E05 on November 10 at 3 p.m. SINCRO is our integrated ecosystem of smart solutions and services, developed to help producers and feed professionals turn insights into action through a combination of advanced data monitoring, nutritional expertise and performance analytics. Leveraging next-generation thinking, ADM is transforming decision-making to optimize animal performance, improve operational efficiencies, reducing loss and optimizing feed efficiency to generate more consistent results, creating measurable value from feed strategy to farm profitability.
As for specific products, ADM’s recent innovation is our Next Gen Bucket, redesigned for precise ruminant rations using 100% polyethylene to align with the EU’s forthcoming Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) sustainability requirements. The container reduces plastic use by up to 15%, simplifies end-of-life recycling, enhances ergonomics and improves pallet efficiency. It features ADM BLOCK feed range, which supports natural licking behaviour and promotes salivation and water intake. Exclusive COOLMIX technology uses a low-temperature, no-pressure poured process that preserves sensitive ingredients such as vitamins, yeasts and plant extracts, and our patented CALYPAC lid system protects the feed product from contamination, moisture and UV exposure while extending shelf life and preserving freshness.
- With EuroTier’s focus on digital technology and AI, how is ADM integrating digital tools or predictive modelling into your EMEA animal nutrition offerings?
Livestock producers face growing pressure to improve efficiency, maximize performance and maintain animal robustness in an increasingly complex production environment. ADM’s SINCRO is built around three integrated pillars— Control, Nutrition and Performance —designed to understand pain points and losses in performance, synchronize data, reduce variability, and improve outcomes across the entire value chain.
SINCRO connects raw material quality, feed formulation and animal performance into one synchronized system, giving producers real-time visibility and control. Instead of reacting to variability, they can anticipate it and adjust in the moment. On-farm audits and analysis create a closed-loop system that links animal performance to profitability. More precise nutrition, improved feed efficiency and optimized cost performance are achieved with matrix-based nutrient formulations and life-stage feeding. Continuous data flow and ongoing recalibration turn quality control into a dynamic process for direct improvement, and advanced analytics—combining NIR, XRF and laboratory validation—deliver faster, more precise insights into feed composition and nutrient variability.
But SINCRO is more than just smart solutions. Just as important is the service model behind it. Local experts, backed by global capabilities, work alongside producers to interpret data, implement changes and drive measurable results. The outcome is not just higher quality feed, but a stronger, more resilient production system and more profitable operations.
- With EuroTier just around the corner, what core message or key nutritional innovations is the ADM team prioritising for the international livestock community?
Gut health is one of the most important determinants of performance, profitability and sustainability in modern animal production. Years of genetic progress have significantly improved growth rates, feed efficiency and productivity, although these gains have also increased animal sensitivity to digestive disorders. Furthermore, producers are faced with rising feed costs, pressure to reduce antibiotic use, increasing sustainability expectations, variable raw material quality and ongoing environmental stressors.
The gastrointestinal tract and gut microbiome are key areas of ADM research and development across species. At EuroTier, Edith Crenn, EMEA Poultry Director at ADM Animal Nutrition, will speak on “Supporting Poultry Gut Health Through Nutrition and Microbiota Management.” Her presentation on the Poultry Expert Stage will be on November 10 as part of a larger seminar that starts at 3 p.m. We encourage visitors to attend and learn more about the importance of maintaining gut health through nutrition for successful poultry production.
1Coetzee A, Swanepoel S, Goldsmith C & Davies F (2025) African Food Systems Transformation Brief 05: Livestock production: The catalytic potential of Africa’s livestock sector. African Food Systems Transformation Collective. Cape Town, South Africa.
Disclaimer: Not all products are available in all regions. ADM makes no representation or warranty, whether expressed or implied, as to the reliability, or completeness of the information. The uses and claims should be adapted to comply with the current local/regional regulatory environment. This information does not imply any express recommendations for the cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of disease.
