Improving sustainability along the Agri & Food chain

Sustainable farm input use & biodiversity

Societal pressure on farm inputs is increasing. On the one hand, fertilisers, pesticides and seeds have enormously improved the quality and yields of crop and food production while dealing with pest pressure and other threats on farms. On the other hand, the use of chemical is criticised for its environmental impacts and effects on human health. Seed development also has to deal with the intense debate on GMOs and new breeding techniques, such as CRISPR-Cas.

Agri commodities & sustainable landscapes

Retailers, food & beverage producers and consumers are increasingly demanding traceability information on product origins and sustainable production. They want a variety of questions answered, such as: does your supply chain have poor labour conditions at farms or processors sites? What are the carbon emissions of your products? Do any links exist with deforestation and if so, how can these be improved? At the same time, future developments such as climate change will define your supply of agri products. Some areas will be severely affected by lower productivity levels caused by droughts or more intense pest control. How can you effectively manage these risks or pro-actively improve the resilience of farmers?

Food and Beverage processors & sustainability

Consumer preferences are shifting towards more sustainable products, while pressure on change is building from NGOs and governments on societal issues like de-carbonisation, plastic waste and labour issues. Simultaneously, F&B processing employees increasingly value sustainability as a condition in their daily work. This puts sustainability high on the agenda for international producers of food & beverage ingredients and consumer products. New targets include improvements on carbon, water and farm conditions in the supply chain towards 2025-2030. But how do you manage or influence sustainable sourcing in farms in Africa, Asia and Latin America? And how do you measure the progress of your interventions and partnerships?

Dairy sector & sustainability

Climate change & sustainability

Whether you are keen on decreasing your carbon footprint along the supply chain or need to anticipate changes in the climate in order to secure agricultural supplies, Wageningen University & Research can support you in tackling these complex and urgent topics. We help companies that are effectively working on improving sustainability in their organisation and supply chain to gain a competitive advantage in meeting the demands of customers, consumers, NGOs and governments.

Rural livelihood & sustainability

If you decide to improve rural livelihoods as a way of enhancing your company’s sustainability performance, there is a lot you can do and achieve. Stable, sustainable conditions for rural livelihoods and surrounding areas are of great importance in any agro supply chain to ensure high-quality, stable and sustainable agro supplies in the long-term. Improving farm communities is part of many sustainability strategies of international firms but remains challenging. Wageningen University & Research can help you reach your goals and gain competitive advantage.

True and Fair Pricing

Wageningen Economic Research investigates how true and fair pricing is established and how it can be used to achieve a sustainable food system.