In addition to fries with, war or special, you may also be able to order fries CO2-neutral in the future. French fries producer Farm Frites, together with the province of South Holland, HAS University of Applied Sciences and Wageningen University (WUR), will be working on climate-neutral chips.
The 'Green Circles' initiative was founded in 2013 by the province of South Holland, Heineken and WUR. Through this approach, a complex problem is tackled by various parties; For example, Heineken is working on a climate-neutral brewery and there is a project for soil subsidence and cheese, in which the De Graafstroom dairy factory is involved. Farm Frites now joins the French fries sector.
Consequences for the farmer
The above parties jointly try to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and stimulate the use of sustainable energy. There are also consequences for the farmer. Biodiversity must be promoted and work must be done on healthy soil.
The goal of Farm Frites is to reduce CO2emissions in their chip factory in Oudenhoorn, South Holland, to 0, and a first step is to disconnect from the natural gas network. In addition, logistics is also an important point; for example, many potatoes are delivered daily by truck. That not only creates CO2emissions, but also for nuisance to local residents.
French fries producer Farm Frites partly sells its products via the port on the Second Maasvlakte. It will now be examined whether transport movements to the ports can also be reduced.
Local potato cultivation
The potato processor wants to work with local potato growers for better cultivation. WUR provides the scientific substantiation and HAS University of Applied Sciences then links research to education. Finally, the province of South Holland is responsible for the policy. The plans have been worked on since the autumn of 2018, and were signed by the stakeholders on March 15.
Biodiversity and closing cycles are mentioned as common ground for the potato grower. In concrete terms, this means: healthy soil, a pleasant rural environment and vital companies. The buyer wants to guarantee a local potato supply, for which it supports various companies in the region. The size of that region is not mentioned.
To guarantee quantity and quality, healthy soil is required, the document states. This means actively capturing organic matter, to contribute to climate-positive agriculture, and increasing biodiversity on and around plots. To finance all this, a new revenue model is required.
Higher price and better risk distribution?
The document further states that the covenant partners are committed to new revenue models that are aimed at multifunctional agriculture. This should contribute to a balanced risk and income distribution in the chain. Examples of this are that agricultural entrepreneurs must be rewarded for ecosystem services, such as capturing carbon, water storage or supplying biomass and soil energy.