A competitive advantage for Argentine soy farmers: Bayer, RTRS and AAPRESID encourage sustainable soybean production

The first phase of the Bayer, RTRS and AAPRESID initiated “Certification Training for Red Dorados” (Network of exclusive dealers) initiative came to a successful close. It consisted in several meetings which reached more than 80 Argentine growers from Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, Córdoba and Tucumán, representing more than 350.000 hectares of soybean fields.

Bayer is committed to further promoting sustainability in agriculture and launched this initiative which aims to mobilize distributors and producers to certify their soybean production under the standards of Responsible Production of RTRS (Round Table on Responsible Soy) and ASC (Certified Sustainable Agriculture) of AAPRESID (Argentine No-Tillers’ Association).

During the meetings, representatives of Bayer, together with AAPRESID and RTRS, talked about the importance and impact of adopting sustainability protocols and encouraged Argentine producers to implement holistic sustainable production practices that allow them to produce soybean with certified social and environmental responsibility.
The RTRS and ASC certification standards have shared objectives and are widely complementary schemes. This makes the double RTRS/ASC certification, which has been available since 2013, a competitive advantage for Argentine producers because it enables continuous improvement of process management, transparency and traceability of soy produced in a sustainable manner.

“With RTRS and ASC double certification, we work on social, environmental and productive aspects, with the support of an international certification body granting both certifications. By certifying, a greater amount of information is gathered, which allows us to plan improvements, anticipate problems and take preventive measures”, highlighted Marcelo Ruda Vega and Santos Zuberbuhler, from farming company Nogalnotte SA, about their certification experience, in a meeting in Santa Fe Province. Nogalnotte SA is an Argentine company that produces and certifies more than one thousand hectares under the RTRS and ASC schemes in the province of Córdoba.

“These meetings led by Bayer, together with both certifications, can be the kickoff of a paradigm shift that will drive more and more producers towards certification and help us achieve greater transparency and traceability and perform in a better way”, pointed out the Nogalnotte SA representatives.

The second phase of this initiative will continue in 2019 to collaboratively promote sustainable agricultural practices and assist producers along the implementation process. Bayer and RTRS have a strategic partnership and since 2015 have worked together to certify Brazilian growers according to RTRS standards. “Collaboration is crucial to deliver value to farmers and consumers and to protect the environment. We are happy to work together with such outstanding partners as RTRS and AAPRESID” says Dr. Stefan Heinke, Senior Sustainable Development Manager at Bayer.