Gert: I am Director Agro Development at Cosun. Together with all Cosun business groups we work on a creating a future-proof agrochain and making crop cultivation sustainable at Aviko (potatoes), Cosun Beet Company (sugar beets) and Sensus (chicory). The importance of sustainability at Agro in fact generates new positions; this way we expand our teams with dedicated sustainability professionals at Agro.

Sita: I work at Aviko as a Sustainability Officer. Sustainability is my daily work. Every day is dedicated to 'future-proof farming' and the connection with our growers.

Sita: We aim to safeguard the supply of raw materials through the cultivation of crops – now and in the future. Together with our growers we are working on the future-proof cultivation of our potato crops: profitable and sustainable. To do this we look at various things, such as the soil, crop protection, CO₂, the use of water, biodiversity and the best potato varieties. To make our growers future-proof, we facilitate knowledge sharing about these topics, among other things. For example, we opened our first inspiration farm on 16 March 2023, and there will be more! At the inspiration farms, growers share their knowledge about new and sustainable techniques with other growers. This dialogue among growers is very valuable. To promote this, we are closely working with our parent company Cosun on the ‘Groeikracht’ [Vigorous Growth] programme.

Gert: 'Groeikracht' is a network of and for our growers. Our growers aim to be future-proof and to grow their crops sustainably. 'Groeikracht' provides them with a platform for sharing knowledge about this with each other. Things that come to mind here are soil management and water quality, plant health, climate and energy. At the present time, 'Groeikracht' focuses on Dutch growers. In the future we intend to expand the programme to other countries as well. 'Groeikracht' seeks to establish personal connections among growers and also provides them with a digital platform and their own website.

Gert: Sustainability is highly diverse and therefore covers various themes. For example, Aviko is involved in multiple projects to identify the impact of crop cultivation. We use the acquired insights to make improvements. For example, there is ongoing research into nitrates leaching into groundwater. In addition, we are also going to identify the CO₂ emissions associated with the cultivation of our crops. We will also be expanding on this research by doing further research among a selected group of representative growers. As a last example, I would like to mention the Natuurakker [natural arable fields] project. This involves research into the significance of strip farming. In strip farming, different crops are cultivated in strips that are adjacent to each other. This creates more diversity on arable fields.

Gert: There are three main objectives designed to make crop cultivation more sustainable. First, we are working on improving groundwater quality. By using suitable fertilisation strategies, we prevent too much nitrate from leaching into groundwater. Second, we are devoting effort to reducing the use of crop protection agents. Third, we are working on reducing CO₂ emissions.

Sita: In addition, we have a number of specific objectives focused on facilitating our growers. For example, our goal for 2030 is that half of our growers is very actively involved in the development of future-proof cultivation, we are looking forward to opening multiple inspiration farms and for 2030, we aim for 100% of the potato crop to be FSA Gold certified, an international standard for sustainable agriculture.

Sita: Agriculture is confronted with many challenges, such as the nitrogen crisis and the rapidly changing laws and regulations. Furthermore, the war in Ukraine has had a tremendous impact and we are faced with climate change. All of these are major challenges for our growers, and for ourselves as well.

Gert: These new situations demand innovative solutions. For example, to provide for a good harvest despite increasing droughts, it is possible to use more targeted irrigation to water our crops by making use of sensors, perhaps also with more electrically powered pumps than fossil fuel pumps. This makes it possible to distribute the water more precisely, which also saves water.

Sita: We are in a transition towards more sustainable agriculture. It is a nice development! Our goal is to make crop cultivation future-proof and to bring our growers along with us in this process. With 'Groeikracht' we facilitate the necessary knowledge sharing. Growers who are frontrunners in the area of sustainability can motivate and inspire others.

Sita Posthumus - Sustainability Officer Agro, Aviko