Company seeks to minimize environmental footprint
Charoen Pokphand Foods PCL (CP Foods) reassures the company only buys corn from the responsible and traceable origin, which have legal documents for their agricultural land and prove their non-involvement with forest encroachment in an effort to mitigate its environmental footprint.
Also, farmers with legal land deed can sell their produce for a better than market price at 17 corn-purchase points, including 15 CP Foods’ feed mills across the country, and 2 new corn-purchase stations near the plantation field in Uthai Thani and Nakhon Ratchasima provinces.
Mr. Woraphot Suratwisit, Vice President of Bangkok Produce Merchandising PLC which supplies raw materials to CP Foods’ feed mills, said that the company together with CP Foods’ feed mills facilitate local farmers by launching corn purchasing points under the responsible raw material sourcing campaign called “Farmer Self Sufficiency Maize Sustainability” project.
“The project mainly focus on helping small sized farmers by providing the arrangement of harvest and transportation trucks for farmers participating the project and the provision of partial financial supports to reduce their production cost and address the labour shortage issue,” Mr. Woraphot said.
To ensure that the corns are sourced from a sustainable practice, CP Foods only welcomes corns from the farmers who can show proper land documents and are registered with the Corn Traceability system. Moreover, Their farms must not burn corn cobs. Meanwhile, its suppliers have been asked to share truck GPS locations to CP Foods to enhance the transparency of the Corn Traceability system.
These practices can reassure consumers of CP Foods’ environmentally and socially-friendly supply chain as well as helping Thailand to solve environmental problem, particularly forest encroachment and air pollution caused by agriculture.
The farmers who joined this project will get a better-than-market price that is in line with the Commerce Ministry’s moisture content standards (not less than 8.5 Baht per kilogram). Fast Track lane is in place for small size farmers who selling their produce directly to the feed mill, without having to wait in the same line with large suppliers.
CP Foods implemented the Corn Traceability system in early 2016 in sourcing corns for its feed mills, as a confirmation of its intention to buy only corns grown sustainably. From plantation fields to factory, the produces are responsibly sourced with the goals to mitigate direct and indirect environmental impacts and concurrently lift farmers’ quality of life.
