TOMATHO Operational Group: Use of tomato pomace enriched with beta-glucans for sheep feed and improvement of sanitary conditions

GO TOMATHO will introduce technologies such as carbon footprint estimation, which will lead to greater professionalization and efficiency in lamb breeding and fattening. The project aims to engage the various stakeholders represented in this consortium, including the tomato and livestock sectors, knowledge and technology transfer agents, an Agri-food Technology Center, and two universities.

Therefore, it is expected that new avenues of cooperation between these sectors will open up through the proposed innovations. Given the close association of the extensive sheep farming sector with rural areas in Andalusia, it is anticipated that the knowledge generated in this proposal will benefit the sector, leading to greater development.

The improvement in animal welfare and health achieved through this project allows the sheep sector to better prevent and control biological risks that can affect lambs, which generates uncertainty in the Andalusian livestock sector, threatened by the arrival of exotic diseases that could cause its commercial closure.

At the same time, the improved health achieved in this project will reduce the use of antimicrobials and, therefore, the likelihood of developing resistance, which harms the public health of society in general and of professionally exposed personnel in particular. Finally, the activities focused on estimating and reducing greenhouse gas emissions will also lead to an improvement in environmental quality.