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The final day of the retreat began with a session on ECOWAS procurement codes and IT system development guidelines. (Image source: ECOWAS)

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The Directorate of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) successfully concluded a five-day strategic retreat held from 10-14 February at Zuma Resort in Nigeria

The retreat brought together DARD leadership, project managers, monitoring and evaluation (M&E) experts, and staff working with DARD. The event focused on strategising, knowledge sharing, reviewing past achievements, aligning with ECOWAS’ vision for agricultural development, and fostering collaboration to achieve food security and sustainable rural development across West Africa. It was also an opportunity to provide technical onboarding for four new professional staff that joined ECOWAS between December 2024 and January 2025.

The five-day working session was opened by the director of Agriculture and Rural Development, Alain Sy TRAORE, who welcomed all staff and Experts, including the newly recruited staff, and emphasised the importance of the event in aligning the directorate’s efforts with ECOWAS’ broader vision. “This retreat is a critical opportunity for us to reflect on our achievements, align our efforts with ECOWAS’ broader vision, and chart a course for the future. By fostering collaboration and innovation, we can ensure that our agricultural programmes have a lasting impact on food security and rural development across the region.”

Each unit within DARD gave detailed presentations highlighting their achievements, interactions with projects and programmes, and future perspectives. Participants also engaged in knowledge-sharing sessions on communication tools and internal management systems, including SharePoint, WhatsApp, Twitter, and Facebook. One of the highlights of the retreat were the team-building activities anchored by the team building expert, Olubusola OGUNLOLU. Insights were given on work planning and reporting, with participants collaborating to prepare quarterly work plans and reports. Group presentations and discussions allowed for the exchange of ideas and best practices, ensuring alignment across the directorate. The retreat concluded with a session on various procedures and IT guidance, providing clarity on key operational processes.

The final day of the retreat began with a session on ECOWAS procurement codes and IT system development guidelines. The DARD director delivered a keynote address, outlining expectations for staff and encouraging innovative thinking to drive the directorate’s mission forward.   

 

 

PUPIL AI vision technology, SmartBase software and HMI touchscreen control all add intelligence to the VC-i. (Image source: Marel)

Poultry

Primary poultry processing receives a revolutionary upgrade with Marel introducing the world's first intelligent vent cutter—VC-i

The vent cutter's job in the primary poultry process is to drill out the cloaca without damaging the intestines and hang it over the back of the carcass. Being the first operation performed inside the product, vent cutting needs to be done with surgical precision and hygiene. This is because mistakes cannot be corrected by the remaining operations in the evisceration line.

The Marel VC-i vent cutter sets a new benchmark in accuracy by meticulously drilling out the cloaca without touching the intestines, thereby preventing any soiling or contamination. Designed to optimise hygiene, efficiency and automation, the VC-i eliminates manual adjustments and ensures precise, contamination-free vent cutting. This precision is driven by PUPIL (Precision Unified Processing with Intelligent Learning) AI vision technology, which provides real-time insight into the machine’s performance, ensuring that cloacas are extracted and positioned correctly.

Promoting automation

Advanced features including the HMI touchscreen allows users to set the VC-i on-the-fly with a few taps. Pre-defined recipes are controlling the automatic machine settings to achieve optimal parameters, such as drill depth and product positioning, for the incoming flock. Thanks to these digital machine settings, manual adjustments based on guesswork are a thing of the past. PUPIL visually monitors performance, eliminating human error and ensuring consistent, high-quality results irrespective of significant variations in bird weights and sizes.

Automated adjustments along with PUPIL AI monitoring maintain high performance across all shifts and flocks, even with wide weight ranges. Internal SmartBase software contributes to VC-i’s consistency by monitoring the machine’s health in real time. It offers early warning alerts on performance at both machine level and unit level, enabling proactive adjustments and maintenance.

Prioritising hygiene

When it comes to VC-i design, soiling or contamination is strictly unacceptable. The open structure of the 20 newly developed, robust carousel units not only reduces wear and tear, but also residue buildup and contamination risk, while offering enhanced cleanability. After each operation, the individual drill units are thoroughly cleaned by their own spray washers. The VC-i’s vacuum system also adds to hygiene by removing initial feces from the intestines, preventing soiling of the clean process and contamination in downstream processes. Moreover, to save water, empty shackles are identified by the smart product detection system and switched off. 

 

Novonesis will vertically integrate the complete value chain of the Alliance, adding dsm-firmenich’s sales and distribution activities alongside its existing product innovation and production capabilities. (Image source: Novonesis)

Agriculture

Novonesis has signed an agreement with dsm-firmenich to take over the sales and distribution activities of the Feed Enzyme Alliance in exchange for a total cash consideration of US$1.5bn 

This acquisition aligns with Novonesis’ growth strategy and expands its presence across the animal biosolutions value chain. Financially, this transaction is accretive to revenue growth, adjusted EBITDA margin and adjusted EPS excl. amortisation, with attractive revenue synergies.

Novonesis will vertically integrate the complete value chain of the Alliance, adding dsm-firmenich’s sales and distribution activities alongside its existing product innovation and production capabilities. The fully integrated business will be better equipped to serve existing and new customers with strong insights into core markets and product technologies enhancing R&D and unleashing further innovation. 

Through the successful combination of Novozymes and Chr Hansen, Novonesis is now an industry leader in animal biosolutions with one consolidated go to market model and leading technological know-how. With this transaction Novonesis will have a greater customer reach and a broader offering of market leading biosolutions, combining enzymes and probiotics, for both animal nutrition and health. This acquisition will accelerate Novonesis’ sales growth of animal biosolutions by a low-single-digit CAGR above market growth.

“The Alliance has been a great success for both companies, establishing a global leadership position in feed enzymes," said CEO of dsm-firmenich, Dimitri de Vreeze. I am confident that this business will continue to thrive under the leadership of Novonesis, and I am pleased that the long-term commercial relationship with our Animal Nutrition & Health business will continue.” 

Westfalia Fruit’s sustainable dye extraction on display at Fruit Logistica 2025. (Image source: Westfalia Fruit)

Machinery & Equipment

Global leader in the avocado industry, Westfalia Fruit has partnered with Efficiency Technologies to develop the most recent development—an innovative technology that specialises in the extraction of a natural, sustainable dye from avocado stones

This marks a significant advancement in total crop utilisation. The process extracts perseorangin, a rare and sought-after natural pigment from avocado stones collected at Westfalia's UK facility. The pigment offers eight distinct shades ranging from light yellow to rich reddish-brown, creating new opportunities for sustainable colouring solutions across multiple industries. The specialised extraction method isolates perseorangin, which constitutes approximately 3% of the avocado stone, and processes it into a dried powder form, offering extended shelf life.

Besides the dye extraction, remaining materials from the avocado skins and stones are also processed into additional valuable products. For example, starches are directed to paper manufacture as a precursor to packaging production, while ground materials find applications in cosmetics as natural exfoliants, as alternatives to micro-plastics.

The natural dye extraction process represents a significant advancement in sustainable practices, particularly as industries increasingly seek alternatives to synthetic dyes. The powder format ensures stability and ease of use across various applications, while the range of the eight distinct natural shades offers versatility for different product requirements. This innovation comes at a time when consumer demand for natural, sustainable products continues to rise across fashion, beauty and packaging sectors.

The commercial potential and versatility of the natural dye have already been demonstrated through several high-profile applications. The company's integrated operations ensure efficient collection and processing of avocado stones and skins from multiple production sites, which will help to maximise the sustainable impact of the initiative and builds upon Westfalia's commitment to sustainability and circular economy principles.

 

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