Soy-based food manufacturer Alpro has announced that it is combining forces with Aveve, the Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO) and the Belgian Department of Agriculture and Fisheries to help cultivate Flemish soya for the food sector.
The company reports that five farmers are involved in the scheme to cultivate this new crop in Flanders. Their combined soya harvest for this year is estimated to be around 100 tonnes.
Currently Alpro purchases 50% of its conventional soya beans and 100% of its organic beans in Europe, mainly from France, but also from Italy, Austria and the Netherlands.
Successful Collaboration
Bernard Deryckere, general manager of Alpro, said, "We are really happy to announce that we are able to successfully process the Flemish soya with high-quality proteins into plant-based food thanks to the great partnerships with ILVO, Aveve, the minister and, not to forget, the farmers themselves."
He added that "the research phase and discussions in this new chain ran very efficiently.”
Dieter Peeters, sales manager for agriculture and horticulture group Aveve, added that the cultivation of soya will provide new opportunities for local farmers to add to the value of their financial yield as well as to improve the quality of their soil.
"Local soya cultivation leads to a short distance from field to table, which has an enormous positive effect,” he said.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Aidan O’Sullivan. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
