Integrating nature into agrarian business management serves a commercial purpose. Certainly where investing in sustainability leads to lower costs. If this isn't the case, it's important that all the links in the chain contribute to it. Only then can farmers and growers be part of the solution for societal challenges, like the production of sustainable, safe and sufficient food, and maintaining biodiversity.

This is one of the conclusions during the ‘MVO Symposium' (CSR symposium) which the Royal Agrifirm Group farming cooperative organised today in Apeldoorn. In the symposium 150 participants from all parts of the food chain – farmers, growers, food processors, supermarket organisations and NGOs – debated the future of farming.

The challenges are enormous, because worldwide demand for food and products is growing, while the production system must come up with specific solutions to minimise the impact on the environment and physical habitat. Increasing attention is also being devoted to bulb-growing which produces sustainably. To achieve this, at the symposium Agrifirm launched its new crop protection strategy.

“We are helping farmers and growers with demonstrably effective advice and innovative solutions for healthy and resilient plants with a minimal influence on man and the environment,” notes Dick Hordijk, CEO of Royal Agrifirm Group. “We are striving for the best of both worlds. Sustainability in both financial and environmental terms. To this end we are of course working together with farmers, growers, suppliers, processors, supermarkets, authorities, researchers, NGOs and citizens.”

With this crop protection strategy the cooperative aspires to a more careful application of crop protection agents, the use of organic alternatives and a 10% growth in the use of low-impact resources which have less impact on the environment and physical habitat. The deployment of IPM and precision farming also contributes on balance to enabling a significant decline in the volume of crop protection agents used.

“A great deal of attention has recently been paid to biodiversity and the influence of agriculture on the environment and physical habitat,” notes Ruud Tijssens, Group Director Public & Cooperative Affairs with Royal Agrifirm Group. “As a cooperative we are extremely aware of the huge societal importance of nature-inclusive agriculture and sustainable crop protection. We devote our energies to making this viable for the farmer, and want to discuss it with everyone.”