Interview with Andrea Piva, Vetagro’s president

Vetagro was originally established in 1982 in Reggio Emilia near Bologna, in the heart of the Italian food valley.
In 2008, Vetagro Eastern Europe, KFT is established in Budapest, Hungary to cater for the Eastern Europe countries and, in 2011, Vetagro, Inc. in Chicago, USA.

Today, the Vetagro Group sells directly in Italy, France, Hungary, UK, and USA, and we enjoy commercial partnerships in 52 countries.

Which are Vetagro’s commercial expectations regarding the Latin-American market?

Although Vetagro Latam is a newly formed division, we have made strong in roads in the Latin-American Markets. Currently, we have successfully implemented distribution network spanning the whole continent. Vetagro Latam is now poised and ready to expand our presence and market share in Latin-American in the months ahead.

Which are the benefits for the Latin-American producers, when using products with microencapsulation technology?

Production efficiency and food safety are the unavoidable challenges of the feed and food industry in order to feed the world growing population in a safe and sustainable way.

How does Aviplus® work in the bird’s gut and what benefits can the bird obtain from the product?

Aviplus® thanks to the synergy of organic acids and nature identical compounds modulates the intestinal microflora and acts reducing the inflammation of the intestinal mucosa. This translates in increased growth performance and better animal health.

Why is it so important that a microencapsulated product is released slowly into the animal’s gut?

Thanks to specific matrix and particle size of Aviplus®, we are able to make the active compounds available throughout the intestinal tract even in the more distal part ensuring the modulation of the undesired microflora.

Which are the certifications that the Vetagro products have?

Vetagro holds European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and EU Commission authorization as a non-antibiotic microencapsulated zootechnical feed additive to improve growth performance in feed efficiency in healthy pigs and poultry.

In which stages of the animal’s growth can the Vetagro products be used?

Since the Aviplus® is intended to improve gut health; it’s really important that the product is applied in the first phases of growth, since the action will benefit the entire life span of the animal.

In pigs, Aviplus® is used primarily from weaning until 40 kg of body weight, whereas in broilers, Aviplus® is used throughout the entire cycle.

Do you currently have any R&D projects regarding poultry health and nutrition?

At Vetagro, we consider ourselves to be a science-driven company where the continuous investment in R&D is the key to our future and to the advancement of our customers. The gut wall acts as a first line defense in animal nutrition.

The integrity of the intestinal border, separating the outside from the inside, is the final frontier for intestinal immunity and animal health. Intestinal nutrition is a key concept for the animal nutrition in the years to come.