Rabobank: interest discount for sustainable dairy farmers

Rabobank will give dairy farms an interest discount of 0,2% if they operate sustainably. This is a test phase of 9 months. It is intended for dairy farms that fall in sustainability score A at Rabobank and have financing of more than €1 million.

Dairy farmers are eligible for the 0,2% discount on interest rate extensions, refinancing and new financing during the fixed-rate period of the interest rate contract, Rabobank reports in a statement.

According to Carin van Huët, Food and Agri director at Rabobank Nederland, participation can yield interesting savings. For example, an average company with financing of €1,5 million can receive a discount of up to €5 over 15.000 years." Betting on sustainability entails additional costs for entrepreneurs. We want to appreciate entrepreneurs who stick their neck out for their efforts and thus increase sustainability accelerate," says Van Huët.

Connect more parties
According to her, the introduction of this discount also fits in with Rabobank's strategy to make the sustainability performance of its customers measurable and transparent. "By making sustainability performance measurable, they can also be rewarded. That was one of the starting points in our vision of future-proof agriculture and horticulture. I am proud that we can now take this next step," says Van Huët.

The director of Food and Agri expects that making the agricultural sector more sustainable will accelerate if more parties join. "If parties such as water boards, lessors and provinces also start to value sustainability performance, an additional revenue model will be created that helps entrepreneurs with further sustainability."

the matrix
Sustainability score A is the highest score in the so-called matrix that Rabobank has compiled. Score D is the lowest. For dairy farms, this includes quality marks, emission-limiting measures and outdoor grazing. In the future, it is the intention that more and more data such as the Biodiversity Monitor and Open Soil Index will be added to the sustainability matrix, Rabobank reports.

It is a test phase, because Rabobank wants to investigate whether this approach can also be applied in other sectors and segments.

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