The numerous activities and the standards of the organization Donau Soja contribute to all 17 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), according to a new report by Donau Soja together with the independent Swiss institute Sustainable Food Systems (SFS). “The report is intended to help all partners and members address the social, environmental and economic challenges of soy production and processing and be able to demonstrate the concordance of Donau Soja with the SDGs,” said Donau Soja president, Matthias Krön, on the occasion of the midterm of the SDGs. In the last eleven years, European farmers produced more than four million tonnes of sustainable soy, according to the strict Donau Soja/Europe Soya standards.

Very important for the work of Donau Soja are numerous partnerships to achieve the SDGs, first and foremost with the Austrian Development Agency (ADA). Since 2017, the ADA has been working with Donau Soja within the framework of a strategic partnership. The aim is to strengthen GMO-free and sustainable soy cultivation in Ukraine, Serbia, the Republic of Moldova and Bosnia and Herzegovina. In this sense, the partnership is also building competitive and inclusive value chains.

“More than 150 small and medium-sized enterprises and numerous farmers are now part of certified, sustainable and GMO-free value chains. Together with Donau Soja, we are driving both transformation and economic growth. In this way, we contribute to less poverty in our partner countries. And, what is particularly important in view of climate change: Soy imports from South America, for example, are replaced by European soy. This not only saves emissions but also promotes and creates value in Europe,” said ADA managing director, Friedrich Stift. The Austrian Development Agency is funding this initiative for the period 2017-2024 with a total of almost EUR 4.5 million.

The work of Donau Soja focuses on numerous partnerships (#17) to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and also the fight against poverty by building markets and fair, transparent supply chains (#1), for sustainable agriculture and food security (#2), inclusive economic growth (#8), sustainable development (#9), building responsible consumption and production patterns (#12), protecting ecosystems and biodiversity (#15) and promoting global sustainable development (#16).

Download the report here.