Fonterra sets up green farming program

Fonterra Co-operative Group Ltd, a global dairy exporter and manufacturer from New Zealand, has developed a green program to strengthen sustainable farming in the Chinese animal husbandry industry.

The company launched the strategic cooperation between the two countries on Aug 29 at the Sino-New Zealand Animal Husbandry Green Development Forum held in Beijing.

"We plan on carrying out a number of activities to promote exchanges between government and industry experts and companies in China and New Zealand, and contribute to the revitalization of China's dairy industry," said Hans Berghorst, vice-president of China farms and manufacturing at Fonterra.

"The Eco-Win program is an important step for us to implement and practice sustainable dairy farming in China."

The program will introduce the comprehensive utilization of effluent, practice a circular economy model with farming and cropping, and build a sustainable ecosystem.

The company said it plans to promote extensive and in-depth exchanges and cooperation among all parties, explore sustainable development models for large-scale dairy farming, and drive structural reform, transformation and development of the agricultural supply side.

"It is a key priority for Fonterra to contribute to the development of the Chinese dairy industry, and we believe there is a lot to be gained by both New Zealand and China through the sharing of knowledge, research and dairy expertise," Berghorst said.

The purpose of the forum was to discuss the utilization of livestock and poultry manure, and how to find sustainable solutions for the utilization of farming byproducts.

It was jointly organized by Fonterra and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs' National Animal Husbandry Station, China Feed Industry Association and National Livestock and Poultry Breeding Waste Resource Utilization Technology Innovation Alliance of China.

Berghorst said Fonterra is committed to integrating into the Chinese dairy industry, and providing safe and quality dairy products for Chinese customers and consumers.

Fonterra cares about the communities they work in and alongside, he said.

"We attach tremendous importance to establishing strong links with local businesses and communities, and doing our best to support local communities," said the vice-president.

"We want to help create a better future for the families, communities and industries we work with. We applaud the great efforts by the Chinese government to promote the use of livestock and poultry manure as resources," he said. Fourteen years ago, Fonterra and the National Dairy Industry Technology System of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs jointly established the Sino-New Zealand Dairy Exchange Center, to support the sustainable development of the dairy industry in both countries.

The New-Zealand company has implemented experimental programs in Ying County of Shanxi province and Yutian County in Hebei province.

The company expects to utilize 100 percent of livestock and poultry manure by 2020 in all of its farms in China.