Research and development are those activities contracted by corporations or governments for the development of new products and services or their improvement. R&D activities comprise two primary models that differ from one institution to another: either engineers working in direct collaboration on new product development, or those who work with industry scientists given the research done in the fields of science and technology.

It is very important that companies have Research and Development (R&D) departments. The main goal of the R&D department is the generation of information and knowledge to resolve uncertainties or understanding gaps in the face of various aspects or situations to be improved. Therefore, we must raise awareness about the importance of R&D investments and their multiple benefits. In this context, investments in R&D have been fundamental in the generation of technological advances and innovations, leading the growth of productivity through the continuous improvement of production processes and parameters and the introduction of higher quality and added value standards in products and services. All this has favored the satisfaction of social needs and improved living standards.

In the animal nutrition industry, R&D enables the delivery of the highest quality, scientifically supported products to clients and prospects. There may be an improvement and development of new products, the achievements in production parameters, as well as reaching the discovery of possible new solutions to unknown diseases that may arise.

There are challenges for which we must continue investing in R&D, among these we have:

1. Create a healthy environment: animals affect the environment, but the environment also affects animals. The sustainability of livestock production will benefit from continuous improvement on issues such as optimizing diets to improve animal digestibility, water management, or genetic resources (controlling and using these to create animals that are more efficient and productive).
2. Climate and temperature changes are likely to impact crop production and animal life. Therefore, we must continue to develop feeding alternatives to ensure that animals receive sufficient nutrition during periods of stress.
3. Consumer perception oh health: animal nutrition must now include understanding of public values related to the treatment of animals and an increased awareness of diseases of animal origin that affect humans. The current perception is that consumers believe that safe food comes from healthy animal and that healthy animals result from good animal welfare practices. For this reason, the use of ecological and / or natural products is of utmost importance.
4. Diseases: There are diseases in animals that we may don’t know, so research is key; either by the appearance of a new disease (virus, bacteria) and that we can attack quickly, as in the case of existing diseases where it can be possible to eliminate or reduce them so that the productive parameters are optimal.

In many cases, R&D is not fully valued against the vast majority of corporate activities. Mainly because many times there are no immediate benefits and, generally, it involves great risk and uncertainty in the return on investment.