A Sustainable Approach to Non-Conventional Feeding Resources and Rearing Strategies

Dear Colleagues,

Global agriculture is facing two challenges: ensuring adequate food production for an ever-increasing human population, and protecting natural resources. Due to the growing demand for animal products, there is a need to design new livestock production systems that allow the combination of food security and environmental sustainability. The livestock sector is of great importance to support rural economies and pastoral ecosystems; in this context, local breeds appear to be a significant component of sustainable agriculture, thanks to their excellent adaptation to specific environmental conditions and to their traditional products that are unique and part of cultural heritage. Moreover, studies on non-conventional feeding resources are strategically important not only because they decrease the marked deficit of feedstuff, but also because they could increase the sustainability of crop-livestock systems. Recently, some non-conventional feeding resources have also been considered as an interesting and promising alternative source for agriculture in human and animal nutrition, owing to the controversy related to the use of genetically modified organisms. Given the wide agroecological biodiversity across the world, the aim of this Collection is to explore new strategies to increase the sustainability of rural economies.

Prof. Dr. Biagina Chiofalo
Prof. Dr. Serena Calabrò
Collection Editors

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