FSA Accelerator: Russia (SUBERU)
Overview
Born out of the European Sugar Beet Project, the Sugar Beet Russia (SUBERU) Project is a significant step in extending SAI Platform’s global influence into Russia.
- Duration
- 2018 – 2020
- Location
- Russia
- Commodity
- Sugar Beet
The challenge
Russia is the largest producer of sugar beet in the world, producing over 45 million tons annually (FAOStat). In 2017, 16% of the total amount of sugar beet grown in the world came from Russia.
The Russian sugar beet industry will benefit from SAI Platform members working with local companies to develop an effective, joined-up approach to management, land use and broader environmental best practices.
We are also keen to introduce Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA) into the Russian sugar beet industry. The European Sugar Beet Project proved that FSA is a significant factor in growing the responsible sourcing of sugar beet.
Objectives
- Encourage and provide support to farmers, specialists, agronomists and processing companies, enabling each member of the supply chain to work together and learn how to improve their farm business
- Implement FSA, aligning buyers and decreasing the burden on the supply chain
- Use FSA to bring Russian farmers in line with their European counterparts
- Begin a continuous improvement process that can be rolled out in stages within Russia
- Use resources more efficiently
- Reduce the environmental impact of sugar beet production in Russia.
Support
- SAI Platform organised a meeting to launch the project in September 2018. This focused on understanding the challenges and barriers to sustainable agriculture in Russia. We also demonstrated the value of FSA directly to growers.
Achievements
- Build on the success of the European Sugar Beet Project, which created a clear set of criteria for sustainable sugar beet production that has been implemented by a large number of European producers
- Work closely with farmers to verify the sustainability of their farming, reviewing current best practices, discussing industry challenges and brainstorming ways to improve sustainability in the sugar beet supply chain
- Achieve sustainable sugar production in Russia
- Continue the movement towards sustainable sugar production globally.
