Soy
The demand for soy continues to grow. But while business opportunities are enormous, producing countries are faced with a number of challenges. In South America, soy production has increased over the past ten years by an average of 1.5 million hectares each year partly at the expense of tropical forests and savannas.
Soy is often planted in monocultures that depend on pesticides, resulting in soil degradation and weed resistance. In India and China, soy farmers are in desperate need of support to improve productivity and sustainability. The negative effects of soy farming on people and the environment can be curbed by making the soy chain more sustainable.
Soy programme: raising awareness, sharing knowledge
Solidaridad's soy programme is working to achieve a sustainable soy chain, in cooperation with farmers, trade and industry. In 2004, Solidaridad was one of the founders of the Dutch Soy Coalition, which has propelled soy into the public debate worldwide. Solidaridad took a leading role in developing the global standard for responsible soy production (RTRS: Round Table on Responsible Soy), which was approved in 2010. Support for responsible soy grows and more companies and stakeholders are joining RTRS. The first RTRS certified soy was produced in Brazil in 2011 and bought by the Dutch food and feed industry.
Impact: groundbreaking producer support initiative
In cooperation with RTRS Solidaridad initiated the Soy Producer Support Initiative (SOYPSI), a four year programme (2009-2012) to prepare 80,000 soy farmers and farm workers in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and India for certification. Local staff in each targeted country are responsible for on-the-ground producer support, helping producers to switch to socially and environmentally friendly farming. The programme has already led to considerable yield increases with fewer inputs, and thus higher incomes for 20,000 soy farming families in Central India.
History and prospects of the soy programme
| Start of the soy programme | 2006 |
| Main issues | good agricultural practices (pesticide use, crop rotation, land preparation), compliance with environmental and labour laws, social and environmental impacts of farm expansion |
| Countries | Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, China, India |
| Partners | RTRS, WWF, Stichting Natuur en Milieu, Gebana, Associação de Plantio Direto no Cerrado (APDC), FrieslandCampina, CONO Kaasmakers, Keurslagers, ARLA, China Soybean Industry Association, India Soy Forum, ASA, Basix,Interchicken, Samarth Kisan and 11 other Indian Soy Producer Companies |
| Donors | Netherlands Ministry of Development Cooperation, GIZ (German government development agency), IDH Dutch Sustainable Trade Initiative and SD Tata Trust |
Outlook
In the next five years the soy programme will focus on:
- responsible growth of the soy sector in South America, respecting indigenous land rights and High Conservation Value Areas;
- expanding the responsible soy market in Europe (starting with North-West Europe);
- helping farmers to improve their production and participate in responsible soy markets;
- expanding responsible soy production and markets in Asia and possibly Africa.
New partnerships
Solidaridad wishes to expand cooperation with frontrunner companies in the Netherlands and Europe. We also seek partnerships with donors in developed and developing countries, including government agencies and private foundations.
Cases
We offer
Solidaridad aims at a sustainable and fair soy chain, from farmer to consumer. The organization consists of a worldwide network of regional expertise centres and cooperates with local partners. Together we deliver the following services:
Our services in the Soy programme
- Training farmers in farming techniques that have less negative impact on people and the environment and lead to better quality and higher yields.
- Supporting agricultural producer organizations and industrial producer companies to qualify for social and environmental certification standards.
- Supporting civil society organizations that empower women, farmers or employees, as well as organizations that protect nature and biodiversity.
- Developing sustainable business concepts in order to broaden the marketplace for sustainable products from developing countries.
- Seeking dialogue with stakeholders and the public using our knowledge, experience and views on sustainable economic development and corporate social responsibility.
Results
Some of the key results in Solidaridad´s Soy programme:
- After 5 years of campaigning by Solidaridad and other NGOs, soy is now a major subject of public debate worldwide. There has been considerable media attention for deforestation and social injustice brought about by irresponsible soy farming. This has raised awareness amongst consumers, companies and governments.
- A premium for certified farmers and support for more efficient farming techniques and better organization led to considerable yield increases with less input use and thus higher incomes for 8000 family soy farmers in India.
- In May 2009 the Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS) developed a global standard for people and environment friendly soy production. Solidaridad had a leading role in the realisation of the standard.
- In cooperation with RTRS and WWF, Solidaridad initiated the Soy Producer Support Initiative (SOYPSI), a 4 year global programme (2009–2012) that targets 25,000 small scale farmers in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and India. The overall goal is to support farmers and farm workers in the soy sector and prepare them for certification.
- Together with Stichting Natuur en Milieu and WWF, Solidaridad initiated responsible soy programmes with FrieslandCampina, Keurslagers (Quality Seal Butchers) and CONO Cheesemakers. For the amount of soy used in their value chain, these companies invested in pre-certification programmes to improve sustainability performance of small scale soy farmers in India and Brazil.