At the forefront of the latest developments in poultry nutrition, Rizwan Azhar provides a vital cog, connecting ABN’s technical developments with customer requirements, helping to bring product innovation and nutritional strategies into the commercial environment.
Joining ABN as poultry nutritionist in 2019 on completion of his PhD at Harper Adams University, Rizwan’s work within the nutrition team involves product maintenance and development across the entire broiler and layer range.
Research is key to everything he does, and this includes new product introductions, from instigating trials right up to the launch of a viable and beneficial commercial offering.
Changing requirements
“As one of the biggest producers of poultry feed, we need to continuously investigate new products and bring innovation into our product portfolio,” says Rizwan.
“With changing requirements of birds, consumers and the raw material supply chain, it is crucial that we are up-to-date with current challenges and offer innovative solutions for our customers,” he adds.
“By conducting commercial scale trials, we can collect valuable data to provide a strong base for a nutritional strategy. This provides us with the confidence to introduce a new product or nutritional solution to our customers.”
Partnership approach
According to Rizwan, this is reliant on a joined-up approach not just amongst the ABN teams, but with customers and the supply chain as a whole.
“Customers are always looking for the best way of feeding their animals and when we approach customers with a potential trial, it is great to see that they welcome these new ideas. It also demonstrates ABN’s willingness to help bring solutions to their challenges,” he says.
“We have a team of technical and commercial colleagues who help collect the data, and within the nutrition team, we analyse and conclude the results. A structured programme is in place from start to finish, from initial idea to dissemination of results.”
The partnership approach is very much about bringing products and solutions to market that not only meet processor and retailer requirements, but that are practical and can benefit the customer
Benefits
According to Rizwan, this means customers can benefit from improvement in performance and welfare of birds, while at the same time tackling disease challenges.
“Our trial work has enabled us to evaluate potential new and future raw materials, such as alternatives to soya, and has also helped to develop strategies to support customers in reducing antibiotic use,” he explains.
Rizwan’s team has also looked at reducing reliance on certain raw materials with challenging supply chains.
“It is important to be able to be reactive and flexible to the challenges of volatile raw material prices and supply chains, and this involves close interaction with our raw material procurement team,” he explains.
Challenge
Rizwan enjoys the problem-solving element of his role, meeting customer demands by trialling new products and strategies, and delivering results.
He also finds attending conferences and interaction with the industry, both from a technical and non-technical perspective, provides him with a great source of information to support his work.
What does the future of poultry production look like to Rizwan?
“With innovation, meeting customer demands and keeping a tight grip on the challenges faced by the current poultry industry, I see the path is bright,” he says.
With the rising cost of production and volatile raw material markets, Rizwan believes it has never been more important to work with customers to ensure they get the best possible value from their birds, helping to maximise producer margins.
“It is our role to help producers maximise margins by helping to improve performance and feed efficiencies through nutritional strategies. By working across our teams and in partnership with our customers, our trial programmes can help deliver these benefits to our customers and the industry.”
