Agrifirm, which has partnered with FrieslandCampina to develop a physically separated soy supply chain in Europe, has recently published a procurement protocol for deforestation- and conversion-free soy. The information is available to other parties that wish to make the transition to guaranteed deforestation and conversion-free soy for animal feed.
“Our commitment is to have guarantees that the soy we process in animal feed is completely deforestation-free. On the other hand, we also want to continue to exert a positive influence in areas at risk of deforestation. We choose not to withdraw from high-risk areas, but rather to stimulate demand for deforestation- and conversion-free soy in these areas,” said Ruud Tijssens, group director of public & cooperative affairs at Royal Agrifirm Group. “For example, the first delivery of 12,822 tonnes of guaranteed deforestation and conversion-free soy for our joint pilot came from a high-risk area in Brazil.”
The procurement protocol includes a definition of deforestation and land-conversion-free soy and a study of the risk of deforestation and land conversion in Canada, the US, Paraguay, and Brazil.
For the joint pilot with FrieslandCampina, Agrifirm purchased soy in one or more of these countries and states. Different verification requirements were imposed on the supply chain based on the risk profile of the country or state. Suppliers of soy from regions with a high risk of deforestation and land conversion had to meet more extensive verification requirements than soy suppliers from regions with a low risk of deforestation and land conversion.
“The purchasing protocol provides clear guidelines and the first experiences show that it is possible to set up a deforestation- and conversion-free soy chain to Europe,” said Tijssens. “Since March 2022, over 20,000 tonnes of guaranteed deforestation-free soy have been supplied by Agrifirm and put into production for FrieslandCampina's dairy farmers.”
The protocol, which was discussed with key stakeholders such as NGOs in the spring of 2022, also describes the role of both RTRS certifications and FEFAC Soy Sourcing Guidelines as valid options for purchasing deforestation-free and conversion-free soy.
The procurement protocol was applied to all the soy that Agrifirm purchased in the pilot since March 2022 and the possibility of procuring all imported soy according to the protocol is now being considered.
In the run-up to March 2023, FrieslandCampina and Agrifirm will evaluate the practical experiences with the protocol and the feedback from the stakeholder field to be refined and republished in the spring of 2023.
