How Farmerproof is PlanetProof?

Boerenbusiness and Foodlog will hold a webinar on February 11 from 19:30 PM to 21:00 PM with experts on the On the Way to Planet Proof quality mark.

Farmers regularly criticize the On the Way to Planet Proof quality mark. In collaboration with Foodlog, Boerenbusiness research into the value that farmers experience from PlanetProof for their business operations and profit and loss account. The responses are critical and contain suggestions for improvements.

With a panel that is very expert in the field of standards, revenue models and marketing, we discuss 4 questions:

1.What is the purpose of the quality mark?

2. Does the execution meet the goal?

3.Is the peasant criticism real?

4. Can it be done better and, if so, how?

Panel
The panel consists of Laurens Sloot (Professor of Retail Entrepreneurship, University of Groningen), Bert Urlings (Vion Food Group Quality Director), Jeroen Elfers (Corporate Director Dairy Development & Milk Streams), arable farmer Jaap van Wenum (Chairman of Agriculture Department LTO Nederland) and Gijs Dröge (director SMK, standard setter of the On the Way to PlanetProof quality mark).

According to Dröge, the purchasing power of supermarkets is a central factor that can have both negative and positive effects. He wrote in ESB that supermarkets are helping to make agriculture more sustainable under pressure from social organizations and because of the urge to profile. However, due to their mutual competition on price, they also stand in the way of sustainability. Dröge is looking for the solution in government intervention. Arable farmers in particular see linking up with existing widely used international certifications as an obvious solution.

The conversation is moderated by the editor-in-chief of Foodlog, Dick Veerman. The webinar is mainly aimed at farmers, but processors and retail organizations are also welcome as discussion partners and questioners to the panel.

Following an introductory conversation between the panel members, the chat is open for the participants to ask questions. The results can provide important insights into the way in which the Netherlands deals with private labels in its sustainability policy.

We described how dairy farmers and arable farmers judge PlanetProof in two articles in response to a reader survey:

PlanetProof is especially a 'must have' in arable farming

'We do PlanetProof, but we don't have enough'

We conducted the surveys in response to criticism of the quality mark. It could be found on the LTO Nederland news site under the headline Confidence in PlanetProof among horticulturists, growers and arable farmers is crumbling and on Boerenbusiness and Foodlog under the headline Fruit growers and arable farmers give up the On the Way to PlanetProof quality mark.

Sign up here to access the live video call. Admission is free for paying members and subscribers of Boerenbusiness and Foodlog. Anyone who is not a member can this offer use to participate.

© DCA Market Intelligence. This market information is subject to copyright. It is not permitted to reproduce, distribute, disseminate or make the content available to third parties for compensation, in any form, without the express written permission of DCA Market Intelligence.