Carrefour : A first partnership to support dairy producers switch over to organic farming methods

Carrefour and its Foundation, WWF France, dairy group Laiterie de Saint Denis de l'Hôtel and the Centre region's milk producers association (APLBC) have just entered into the first partnership to support dairy producers switch over to organic farming methods

At the Open Agrifood forum (openagrifood-orleans.org) in Orléans on 21 and 22 December, Carrefour and its Foundation, WWF France, LSDH and APLBC Bio announce the launch of a major project to support milk producers as they switch over to organic farming methods. Carrefour and its partners will use this project to meet growing consumer demand for organic products and help producers to switch over by providing them with financial and technical support.

Long-term support for French milk producers

The partnership announced by Carrefour and its Foundation, WWF France, LSDH and APLBC Bio will ensure financial support for a two-year period (the time needed to switch over to organic farming methods) for around 66 milk producers who are members of the APLBC Bio producers organisation. LSDH and the Carrefour Foundation will give producers in the APLBC Bio cooperative €30 and €20 respectively for every 1000 L that they produce for two years - a total of 10 million L of milk.

Furthermore, at the end of this two-year period, the partnership will guarantee the producers an outlet for the volumes that they produce: Carrefour will enter into three-year contracts with them.

An exemplary initiative along the whole length of the value chain

To support growing consumer demand for organic and responsible products, the partners have set themselves the target of developing an exemplary value chain. The milk will be collected and transported by lorries running on biomethane fuel, meaning no fine particle emissions and a 75% reduction in CO2 emissions.
The milk itself will be stored and sold in eco-designed packaging, minimising the cost to the environment at all stages of the packaging's life-cycle.

The first cartons of organic milk resulting from this partnership will be on sale in Carrefour stores in 2020. Consumers will be able to identify them easily via the special labelling, illustrating WWF France's support.

'As far as organic farming is concerned, this is the first partnership of its kind. It will help us meet the expectations of our customers who want French organic products and guarantee our supplies. Furthermore, the long-term contracts will help us establish relationships with the producers, with us committing to purchasing volumes at fair prices. This is further evidence of our commitment to the food transition for everyone!', said Laurent Vallée, Carrefour's General Secretary.

'This is the first time that such a major partnership - involving an NGO, a producers organisation, an SME and a retailer - has been set up in France to support farmers wanting to switch over to organic farming. It's important that production methods change to become more environmentally friendly and less harmful to the planet's biodiversity so that French farming - Europe's leading agricultural sector - can produce food that is healthy for our ecosystem and for consumers', said Arnaud Gauffier, head of WWF France's Food & Agriculture division.

'This complete project, which sets the example at all levels - from the field to the fork - will help us create the agriculture of the future. It groups together all the initiatives that we started several years ago, as well as ensuring that the milk is collected by lorries running on biomethane produced at the dairy farms and then packaged using environmentally-friendly packaging', said Emmanuel Vasseneix, chairman of LSDH.

'The way in which production of organic milk has been established in our producers organisation is in line with all of our initiatives. We are proud to be part of this exceptional project which will support our producers during this highly economically complex period: switching over to organic farming methods', said Henry Ragon, Chairman of the APLBC's LSDH section.