Photo: Nestle SrbijaNestlé Serbia has also included domestic sunflower producers in its program of regenerative agriculture, which aims to preserve and restore agricultural land. The advantages of sustainable agricultural practices were presented to the media and the company's partners in the Banat town of Kumane, on sunflower fields sown this spring, while respecting the principles of regenerative agriculture. The host of the meeting was the company Raca d.o.o., which is also the largest producer of sunflowers in the country and a supplier of the company Victoriaoil from Šid, responsible for the production of sunflower oil.
Photo: Nestle Serbia
In this way, Nestlé Serbia, after being the producer of dried vegetables for the famous mixed seasoning Zacin C, included local sunflower producers in the program of regenerative agriculture, which will be processed into oil, which will be the key raw material for the production of Thomy mayonnaise and sauces at the factory in Surčin. As of November this year, the company will use part of the raw materials obtained from regenerative sources, and the plan is that in the future, the entire production will be based on sunflower oil from regenerative sources.
Regenerative agriculture is one of Nestlé's most important global initiatives aimed at improving soil health, protecting biodiversity, and preserving the environment. This year, the project will include close to 750 tons of locally grown sunflowers, which will be used to make 3.5 million pieces of Thomy mayonnaise and sauces.
"We are really proud of the fact that we are the first company in Serbia that started applying regenerative agriculture practices and that by providing support to local producers of raw materials, we are building a sustainable food industry together. By including the first companies and our biggest suppliers for Spice C, Telek Paprika from Martonoš and Geneze from Kanjiža, which produce dried vegetables according to regenerative principles, we achieved extremely remarkable results. We are still on this path of regeneration of our fertile plains, since now we are joined by hard-working sunflower producers, from which oil is later produced as a key ingredient for mayonnaise and sauces from the range of our famous Thomy brand", said Marjana Davidović, General Director of Nestlé for Serbia, Montenegro, and North Macedonia.
In the fields of new suppliers, sunflower is already cultivated according to the principle of strip-till technique, which implies minimal tillage, i.e., shallow plowing, in order to preserve the health of the soil and retain large amounts of organic matter in it. This way of cultivating the land also reduces fossil fuel consumption, which contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
"For those of us who are engaged in agriculture, the introduction of new practices is very important, not only because of the increase in yield and income but also because it preserves the fertility of the soil for the next sowings. The way we cultivate the soil within the Nestlé program of regenerative agriculture is a relative novelty in our country, and the essence is minimal strip-till cultivation of the soil, which brings multiple benefits: it reduces the consumption of fuel and fertilizers, and fewer people are needed for cultivation. The most important thing is that with these practices we protect the earth, which is so important to us all, and we also influence a healthier environment by reducing the emission of harmful gases," said Duško Radnović, technical manager at Raca d.o.o., in the sunflower fields.
The world's largest food and beverage producer is already supporting 500,000 farmers around the world in the implementation of regenerative agriculture, with a plan to invest 1.2 billion Swiss francs in the project globally by 2025.
Preserved soil removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in the long run, which is the main cause of climate change. This is why this program is an important part of Nestlé's overall efforts towards achieving a net zero impact on the environment by 2050. Nestlé's goal is that by 2025, on a global level, 20 percent of the key ingredients of all products will be produced with the implementation of the principles of regenerative agriculture, and 50 percent of the ingredients by 2030.
Source: Nestle Serbia
