Yara signs MOU to deliver fossil free green fertilizers to the biggest potato farmer in Argentina

Yara has signed a MOU with El Parque Papas to deliver fossil free green fertilizers to the biggest potato farmer in Argentina. This marks an important step towards making one of the most popular snacks in the country climate friendly.

CEO of Yara, Svein Tore Holsether, signs a memorandum of understanding with Walter Hernández, CEO of El Parque Papas for a future purchase of the new fossil free green fertilizer, which will be introduced to the world market next year

Walter Hernández, met with Svein Tore Holsether, CEO of Yara, at the headquarters in Oslo to discuss the future collaboration for decarbonising the production of potatoes in Argentina.

Walter Hernández, CEO of El Parque Papas, said:″Mass production of potato chips is actually a very complex operation involving many elements. My mission is to introduce a completely green, emission free potato in 2024. To do that, every company in the supply chain must take climate action. Collaboration is the only way to ensure that the end product is climate neutral. A farmer can only do so much. Yara helps us make the last piece of the puzzle emissions free – the fertilizer itself.″

El Parque Papas is the biggest singular potato farmer in Argentina. Led by Walter Hernández, they supply 14 000 t of potatoes every year to the Argentinian potato industry, including production of some of the most popular chips in the country.

The fossil free, green fertilizers Yara will start producing next year will significantly reduce the carbon footprint of farming and food because they will be made with renewable electricity instead of natural gas. Using Yara’s green fertilizers for potato production will remove around 28.8% of greenhouse gas emissions at the farm level. For potato chips specifically, using green fertilizer will reduce the carbon footprint by around 5-10%.

Svein Tore Holsether, CEO of Yara, said: ″Most people probably don´t think about emissions when eating their chips. But there are huge opportunities to decarbonise snacks, if we find business models that enable each step of the value chain to contribute and to benefit. This is why the agreement between Yara and El Parque papas is important, we show that this can be done.″