Monheim, Germany-based Bayer CropScience and Oudenhoorn, Holland-headquartered Farm Frites recently started a Food Chain Partnership initiative designed to implement sustainable agricultural practices in potato cultivation in the Netherlands and Belgium. The goal is to support a bottom-up approach with potato farmers addressing value-adding sustainable potato-growing practices at the individual farm level. This is intended to minimize the environmental impacts of agricultural production in order to keep potato farming attractive in the long term.
“Potato is a valuable crop for farmers in Western Europe and a key raw material for the potato processing industry, for example for flakes, mash and french fries,” said Leon Boer, director potato procurement at Farm Frites, a major producer of frozen and chilled value-added potato items. “Therefore, the implementation of sustainable practices is a must for local farmers. With this collaboration we want to enable our contract growers to consistently meet our high-quality standards and stay competitive.”
Within this initiative, Bayer CropScience will share its vast expertise in potato agronomy and sustainability measures.
“Bayer CropScience’s contribution to sustainable agriculture is at the core of our business supporting our customers with innovative solutions, proactive stewardship and partnerships,” explained Silke Friebe, the company’s head of food chain management. “Our core competencies lie in developing and supplying integrated crop solutions that are locally adapted and tailored to the individual needs of our customers. The common goal is to help drive a sustainable productivity increase and to improve crop quality.”
Set-up of Pilot Farms
In a first step, a set of measures to improve sustainability in potato cultivation and the associated in-field activities have been jointly compiled and shared. This toolbox of available measures covers a broad range of topics: biodiversity, erosion, soil fertilization, stewardship, energy, product quality, pest and disease monitoring as well as advice on the efficient and safe use of crop protection products.
Working together for sustainable potato cultivation, Simon Jensma, technical advisor at Bayer CropScience, provides tailored advice to a Dutch potato grower.Five pilot farms – three in Belgium and two in the Netherlands – which supply their harvests to Farm Frites have been selected for the coming potato season. The two Dutch farms are also members of the Skylark foundation, a cooperation between arable farmers and food processors aimed at promoting greater sustainability in agricultural production. All partners are striving to align this Food Chain Partnership initiative closely with the Skylark foundation methodology.
Involved farmers were interviewed individually to identify the sustainable measures best suited to optimizing their own farm operations and meeting individual farm needs. All pilot farms will use the Skylark methodology to assess their last five year developments on sustainability measures. Based on the individual selection and prioritization of activities at the farms, action plans were defined in a bottom-up approach together with Farm Frites and Bayer to jointly implement and follow up on specific activities throughout this coming potato-growing season. Following analysis of the results achieved in the first season, recommendations and refinements will be made for follow-up in the next season.
To encourage interaction and provide a platform for sharing experiences and knowledge among farmers, Bayer and Farm Frites will organize a “Tour de Farm,” a set of open field days at the pilot farms, at the end of May.
About Farm Frites
Farm Frites, an independent Dutch family-owned operation established in 1971, is well versed in breeding, selection, processing and packaging of potato products, especially in the area of frozen and chilled potato items. Serving customers in more than 80 countries, it processes over 1.3 million tons of spuds every year. The company has a large network of 40 sales offices and 8 production plants, and employs about 1,500 people.
About Bayer CropScience
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, agriculture and high-tech materials. Bayer CropScience, the subgroup of Bayer AG responsible for the agricultural business, has annual sales of EUR 9,494 million (2014) and is one of the world’s leading innovative crop science companies in the areas of seeds, crop protection and non-agricultural pest control. The company offers a range of products, including high value seeds, innovative crop protection solutions based on chemical and biological modes of action as well as an extensive service backup for modern, sustainable agriculture.
