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Sustainability
SAI practices help improve environmental sustainability in different countries
December 2008
WORLD population is growing at an ever-increasing rate and with it comes an increased need for environmental resources.
This is one of the most pressing issues that led to the establishment of the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) in Europe in 1996 and the subsequent organization of SAI Philippines in 2006.
“The food sector relies on the long-term supply of raw materials for its business. The depletion of natural resources and problems faced by rural communities affect agricultural productivity and present a risk of disruption in supply,” reads one of SAI’s statements.
SAI was founded in Europe by Nestle S.A., Danone, and Unilever to promote, the conservation of land, soil, and water for the environmental sustainability of food products as well as to encourage the practice of programs and systems that help improve farmers’ productivity and ensure the quality, safety, and nutritional value of agricultural products.
In the Philippines, its establishment was initiated by Nestle Philippines, Inc. (NPI), which even for the establishment of SAI in Europe was already implementing practices and systems that adhered to its principles.
Conserving natural resources
One of the environmental issues that SAI seeks to address is the saving of trees and in Guatemala, Nestle and Volcafe came up with a system that help achieve this end.
Under its program, highly efficient stoves were introduced to the coffee farming village of Ojercaibal to reduce the consumption of firewood by 70 percent. Ojercaibal produces the highest quality of Arabica beans in the region.
Each of the 300 families in this farming community was likewise encouraged to plant avocado trees for reforestation.
In Ghana, meanwhile, Unilever’s Benso Oil Palm Plantation (BOPP) grows oil palms and extracts oil from the fruit at its processing plant, which in turn generates solid waste that is treated and used to fertilize the fields. Nutrient-rich empty fruit bunches are likewise spread under the palms to improve soil structure and suppress weeds.
BOPP also uses waste fiber and shells as fuel to generate electricity and palm oil processing. Its surplus waste is further used by selling them to local organizations as fuel.
As of this writing, the BOPP is still exploring ways with which these shells can be used for other means.
Consorzio Interregionale Ortofrutticoli (CIO) in Italy, on the other hand, launched a program aimed at improving the soil conditions in the Padana Lowland where the company’s tomato production covers 15,000 hectares of land.
The program comes in the light of CIO’s observation that the practice of deep plowing in the region proved to be detrimental for soil organic matter in the long-term.
Improving farmers’ productivity and food sources in the Philippines
These programs were implemented alongside other projects that likewise addressed SAI’s two other concerns improving farmers lives and ensuring the safety and sustainability of agricultural products.
In the country, NPI has comes up with several programs that addressed these. To help improve farmers’ income and knowledge, its coffee brand NESCAFE has come up with Nestle Satellite Buying Stations across the country that made it possible for them to earn more from the sale of their crops by directly selling their harvests to Nestle at world standard prices.
Its Nestle Experimental and Demonstration Farm (NEDF) in Davao, meanwhile, offers free lectures and hands-on training to coffee farmers on the proper way of growing coffee, reinforcing the importance of good crop management.
NESCAFE has likewise implemented the Coffee-Based Sustainable Farming System (CSBFS) which teaches farmers to plant crops alongside coffee to have an alternative source of income as they wait for the coffee harvesting season. This also gives them the option to wait for the best time to sell their crops and not resort to the harvesting or premature beans. |
