Sustainable food supply
Feeding the growing population is one of the biggest challenges facing our planet. Issues include reduced availability of agricultural land, climate change, water scarcity and pollution. As a leading bank in the food and agri sector, Rabobank recognises the need to get the balance right between human consumption and nature. That’s why we work with our members, clients and other stakeholders to make food and agribusiness chains more sustainable.
We have developed five Food and Agribusiness Principles:
- Ensuring enough food is produced using safe production methods
- Promoting sustainable use of natural resources
- Advocating social responsibility for public welfare
- Encouraging ethical treatment of animals
- Raising public awareness
Our commitment to ensuring sustainable food supply is demonstrated by the following examples:
The Xingu River Basin in Brazil is vital to the complex ecosystem that sustains the Amazon Rainforest. Clearing away trees for farm land has damaged the delicate ecological balance. Rabobank is working with nature conservation organisations and local farmers to turn this around. Specially-developed financing mechanisms enable farmers to pay for reforestation. Farmers can sell the emission rights produced from planting trees.
Cotton farming can be devastating to the environment. It uses massive amounts of water and pesticides. But it is a primary source of income for many small-scale growers in developing countries. Helping these farmers to adopt more sustainable farming methods will not only help the environment, but also benefit them.
Rabobank supports projects that encourage sustainable cotton production and give growers a better life. For example, Rabobank Foundation works with partner organizations to give 6,000 cotton farmers in Africa access to much-needed finance, as well as providing training and technical assistance so that they can improve the way they farm, manage their money better and earn more from their crops. In addition, organic and Fairtrade-certified cotton opens up new markets to these producers.
Rabobank’s own promotional clothing is made from Fairtrade, organic cotton provided by a project we support in India.
More about our themes
F&A Principles
Food and Agribusiness Principles.
These principles can play a key role in making food & agri chains more sustainable and contributing to food security.
Contact
Rabobank Nederland
CSR Division
Postbox 17100
3500 HG Utrecht
The Netherlands
