Food and agricultural bank, Rabobank has announced a global activation programme, “Kickstart Food”, with an aim of accelerating the transition to a sustainable food supply.
The Kickstart Food initiative has four key focus areas: Earth, Waste, Stability and Nutrition.
Europe alone produces more than 250m tonnes of food waste every year. That equates to consumers throwing out a total of €30bn worth of food annually. It is estimated that the food and agriculture industry loses €60bn every year.
One of the first steps in this programme will be the launch of a $1bn facility to initiate land restoration and forest protection initiatives. This facility is part of the first focus area: Earth, which is centered on sustainable and environmentally sound food production.
The Waste programme will focus on reducing food waste throughout the food supply chain. The Stability program aims to create a more stable and resilient food and agricultural sector. The Nutrition program will focus on ensuing a healthy and balanced diet for everyone.
“Our global lead role in financing food production urges us to accelerate developments on the sustainable food supply. With our knowledge, networks and financing capabilities we aim to further motivate and facilitate clients in adopting a more sustainable food production practice globally.”
Chairman of the Executive Board Wiebe Draijer: “Our global lead role in financing food production urges us to accelerate developments on the sustainable food supply. With our knowledge, networks and financing capabilities we aim to further motivate and facilitate clients in adopting a more sustainable food production practice globally. We are proud of this major initiative with the UN Environment. We will engage others to expand the initiative. It fits very well with our mission of Growing a better world together.”
“In 33 years the world’s population will have surpassed 9 billion. In the current climate this milestone has the potential to create a dilemma for the agricultural industry, with food production having to rise by 60% to accommodate for the growing needs of society,” said Tamira Treffers-Herrera, Regional Head at Rabobank Europe.
“We need to take bold and brave action to address these challenges straight on and that’s exactly what we’re doing at Rabobank as part of our banking for food strategy. Our latest initiative, the Kickstart Food program, aims to speed up sustainable food production and reduce food waste throughout the food and agriculture supply chain.”
With the world’s population growing towards 9bn, the decline in available arable land, and the impact of agriculture on climate change and the environment; food production is now at a critical juncture. Therefore, Rabobank says it is increasing its support for efforts to increase food production by at least 60% towards 2050 while reducing the sector’s environmental footprint by 50%.
