Woolworths on the good business journey to sustainable farming

Currently, more than 50% of Woolworth's fresh produce is farmed this way and these new farming techniques will be implemented at all the brand's produce supplier farms around the country. By 2012, Woolworths intends to have all its locally grown fresh goods - which accounts for over 90% of its fresh produce - either organically produced or grown through the Farming for the Future approach.

Growing the Good Business Journey

Woolworths chief executive officer Simon Susman explains, “Having realised several years ago that conventional farming methods were not sustainable and were, in fact, depleting the soil's capacity to produce quality fruit and vegetables as its carbon and biodiversity content shrunk, Woolworths decided to work with our produce farmers to look for alternatives. Our agricultural experts have now spent three years developing the practices with our suppliers.

“Our goal here is to grow quality produce while minimising any negative effect on the environment and reducing farmer's dependence on chemical fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides. We've learned that the way to do that is to build and maintain healthy soil and healthy plants. As any farmer will tell you, it takes good soil to produce good food, and without proper soil management now, South Africa will not be able to produce quality fresh produce in the future.”

Long-term damage of conventional farming

Susman continues, “We found that most of our fruit and vegetables were grown in soil that was increasingly depleted of minerals and nutrients. Conventional farming methods extract minerals and nutrients from the soil, so over time, more and more fertilisers are needed. Fertilisers are basically mineral salts, so they also increase the salinity of the soil. As a result, even with additional expensive inputs, experience has shown that the volume and quality of crops decreases over time. In other words, it takes more to produce less. The goal of Farming for the Future is to do the opposite - produce more using less.”

Improving quality, encouraging biodiversity

“When soil is healthy, it requires less irrigation because it is better able to retain water. It is also better able to bind carbon back into the earth, which helps mitigate against global warming and climate change,” says Susman, adding that soil erosion and loss of top soil are also reduced.

“Healthy soil also requires fewer chemical interventions, so these techniques also reduce chemical run-off into water systems, helping to maintain the quality of our water.

“Responsible management of water as a natural resource is a major concern in South Africa and a key focus under Farming for the Future. Both on-farm crop irrigation practices, as well as management of waste water generated in fresh produce pack houses and processing facilities, form an integral part of the … programme,” Susman explains.

Using fewer chemicals and pesticides also contributes to maintaining and encouraging biodiversity, both in and above the soil, not only because a healthy field is a complex ecosystem (which includes everything from microbes in the soil to the birds that enjoy a share of the crop), but as soils are not depleted, there is less need to continually clear new land for farming.

Farm workers also benefit in terms of reduced exposure to pesticides and herbicides.

No extra cost to consumers

More good news for South African consumers is that producing green goods using Farming for the Future methods costs no more than conventional farming. In fact, while yields and quality are more consistent, input costs for fertilisers and the lower necessity for agro-chemicals can reduce costs.

WWF support

The Farming for the Future initiative is supported by leading environmental organisation, WWF South Africa. Mark Botha, Head of Living Lands at WWF says, “Maintaining ecosystem integrity is a major challenge facing South African farmers. This includes issues of soil health, over-allocated and degraded water resources and biodiversity destruction. As key players in the food value chain, retailers and their suppliers can make a meaningful contribution to accelerating the adoption of better management practices in agriculture. We commend Woolworths for taking the lead in driving positive change in this competitive sector”.

Working with nature

In a nutshell, Farming for the Future is a holistic approach based on working with nature instead of against it and combining the best of conventional farming with the best of organic farming. As Susman explains, “We will continue to pursue organic farming but the yields can be inconsistent. We realised this was not a large scale solution - rather a selective choice to offer our customers. We've learned a great deal from our experience with organic farming, for example about managing soil and plant health, as well as about integrated pest management. Now we're able to apply these insights through Farming for the Future.”

Virtually every aspect of the farming process is systematically and scientifically managed, rather than simply based on past experience. This means that “blanket formulae, interventions, such as irrigation or the application of fertiliser, are based on actual measurements and analysis,” says Susman, and therefore water, chemicals or nutrients are only used if and when required.

Monitoring progress

Woolworths agricultural experts have been working closely with each individual produce farmer, ensuring that they understand the principles of the programme, as well as how to carry out the assessments that help them manage their crop production.

Each farm has been individually and independently audited to establish its baseline use of the new methods and to set goals. Farms will continue to be independently audited on an annual basis. Woolworths will be aided in this process by an internationally recognised, independent consulting service. Some farms, which have been practising these techniques for up to five years, are already more than 90% compliant.

On the shelf

Woolworths customers will begin seeing the new Farming for the Future logo on some fresh produce this month. Produce from farms that are at least 75% compliant with the new criteria will carry the full label; produce from farms that are from 50% to 74% compliant will carry an ‘in conversion' label.

In conclusion Susman said, “Farming for the future is a significant paradigm shift and a giant leap forward on how we farm fresh produce in South Africa. In my view, Farming for the future will help to secure the sustainability of South Africa's soils, water resources and productive capacity in the long term. It is clearly kinder to the environment, better for true biodiversity and, best of all, yields and quality are more consistent and there is no extra cost to our customers.”