Lantmännen contributes to lower carbon dioxide emissions in Finland – an important step towards a fossil-free food production
Lantmännen will be the first in Finland to use fertilizer with a low carbon footprint in its cultivation program for the agriculture of the future, Climate & Nature. With this, Lantmännen contributes to a significant reduction in the carbon dioxide emissions of Finnish rye manure. In Sweden, Lantmännen became the first in the world to implement fossil-free production of food on a large scale – throughout the value chain from field to fork. Now the company is taking a big and important step in Finland as well.
"All available means are needed to reduce the climate impact of cultivation and food production. To achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, emissions must be reduced quickly. As a major player in the agriculture and food sector, we want to lead this change, find effective solutions and bring them to the market together with our partners," says Markku Multamäki, CEO of Lantmännen Agro.
The low-carbon fertilizer from Yara will be included in Lantmännen's Climate & Nature in Finland cultivation program. 93 Finnish rye contract farmers are involved in the program, whose farms accounted for about 17 percent of domestic rye production last year. The program requires, among other things, that contract farmers use biofuels in tractors and other machinery and take measures to support biodiversity.
"Fertilizer plays a crucial role in reducing the climate impact of grain-based foods, such as bread, throughout the value chain. Therefore, low-carbon fertilizer is an important innovation that enables a big step in the food chain towards more sustainable food production," says Tuomas Mantere, CEO of Vaasan Oy, part of the Lantmännen Group.
"The partnership between Yara and Lantmännen is an excellent example of how important cooperation is to promote sustainability throughout the food chain," says Roland Westerberg, Commercial Director at Yara Finland.
For more information, please contact:
Lantmännen’s Press Service
Phone: +46 10 556 88 00
E-mail: press@lantmannen.com
About Lantmännen
Lantmännen is an agricultural cooperative and Northern Europe’s leader in agriculture, machinery, bioenergy and food products. Owned by 18,000 Swedish farmers, we have 12,000 employees, operations in over 20 countries and an annual turnover of approximately SEK 70 billion. With grain at the heart of our operations, we refine arable land resources to make farming thrive. Some of our best-known food brands are AXA, Kungsörnen, Scan, GoGreen, FINN CRISP, Schulstad and Vaasan. Our company is founded on the knowledge and values acquired through generations of farmers. With research, development and operations throughout the value chain, together we take responsibility from field to fork. For more information: www.lantmannen.com
