In the Nordics, Sweden-headed agricultural cooperative major Lantmännen Group and Norway-headed mineral fertilizer major Yara International ASA have announced a partnership to pioneer the transformation of the food system. The partners will launch a pilot project with the ambition to introduce the world’s first certified fossil free food chain. This move will enable consumers to mitigate their climate impact by making low-carbon food choices.
According to a joint statement, the transformation towards a fossil-free food chain starts in the field. Crop nutrition, which is essential to ensure yield and quality, will play a key role in the transition to a more climate-friendly food production.
The collaboration builds on Yara’s announced plans to pilot the production of mineral fertilizer with renewable energy, combined with the ambition to reduce the carbon footprint of Lantmännen’s end-products. The fertilizers, which Yara aims to bring to market by 2022, will reduce the total carbon dioxide (CO2) impact of grain farming by 20 percent.
Lantmännen has been working systematically for a long time to develop sustainable solutions in many areas, not least when it comes to cultivation methods and concepts. Nordic farmers are leaders in sustainability, with a low climate impact by international standards even today. With this partnership, which is one of our most important initiatives yet, we take further steps towards a fossil free food chain and even more sustainable farming, said Per Olof Nyman, Group President & CEO at Lantmännen.
The use of renewable energy for mineral fertilizer production will increase production costs and have an impact on food prices. By working closely within the whole food chain the ambition will be to minimize the additional cost for the consumer.
This partnership is a first step towards achieving the transformation of our food system. The pilot with Lantmännen will bring together the food chain partners in a joint effort to reduce the carbon footprint of food production. We must look at new business models that span the entire food value chain – from field to fork. A fossil free food chain is only possible with mineral fertilizers produced with renewable energy, said Svein Tore Holsether, Group President & CEO at Yara.
