Asaja and McDonald’s collaborate to promote local productions of young producers

The ASAJA agrarian organization and McDonald’s collaborate to promote local productions of young farmers and ranchers through the first edition of the “Campo Innova” Program, recently presented. This initiative represents a step forward in McDonald’s company’s long-term commitment to the Spanish primary sector and its commitment to locally sourced products. Those interested can submit their applications until February 10th, 2017, inclusive, through the platform www.campoinnova.com

The objective of this initiative is to help the young farmers and herders in Spain, a group with an increasing level of professionalism

In line with McDonald’s priority objective of promoting and developing initiatives to improve sustainability in the agri-food sector, this program aims to become a seedbed that promotes and propagates good sustainable practices and, at the same time, represents a great opportunity for the company to share these good practices with the new generations of farmers and ranchers of the Spanish countryside.

Thanks to this collaboration with McDonald’s, ASAJA puts at the disposal of the young farmers and ranchers the possibility of training and acquiring the necessary knowledge to gain access to the market and large enterprise

The candidates selected in each edition will be part of a formative immersion process carried out jointly between McDonald’s Spain and suppliers of its supply chain and will have the opportunity to learn from these experts of the food industry, to better understand the dynamics of the company’s supply chain and how quality and safety are essential elements for achieving excellence, as well as the application of ethical, economic and environmental sustainability principles.

This program will offer the selected ones the possibility of joining the supply chain of McDonald’s Spain, whose priority is to source raw materials, mainly of national origin

At present, 75% of the purchase volume comes from suppliers, agri-food companies, which are part of McDonald’s supply chain.

Also, this collaboration between McDonald’s and ASAJA is part of the US company’s Corporate Social Responsibility policy and joins other important initiatives developed to improve the sustainability of the agri-food sector. In this regard, the MAAP (McDonald’s Agricultural Assurance Program), which includes the high standards required by its suppliers for the company’s agricultural and livestock production practices in terms of quality, food safety and sustainability, is worth mentioning.

In the words of Mario Barbosa, President of McDonald’s Spain “the launch of this program is a step, very important, in the bet that McDonald’s has been making since 1981 by Spain, and by the Spanish primary sector. We are aware of the great potential, level of preparation and innovation capacity of young Spanish farmers and herdsmen and for this, we want to give them the opportunity to join our supply chain in the country. ”

For ASAJA this initiative is, as its president Pedro Barato explains, “a magnificent opportunity to bring the world of big companies, in this case of the restoration, to the young farmers and cattlemen who are part of the business fabric of the agricultural sector. Some young people who are showing their great preparation, their drive and above all their professionalism, that’s why I am sure that this program that we carry out with McDonald’s is going to be a success. ”

Push to a strategic segment

This joint initiative, which will be developed over three annual editions (2017, 2018 and 2019), responds to the interest to support a segment as strategic for the future of the agri-food sector as is the young farmers and ranchers who represent the Generational relief for an agriculture that is currently undergoing a phase of deep changes and constant evolution.

The program is open to the participation of young farmers and ranchers, members of ASAJA, aged 40 years or less, who have holdings in the fields of beef cattle, chicken, milk cow, bakery wheat and products (Lettuce, tomato and onion and tomato for the production of concentrate) and seed for sunflower oil.

The company has selected these areas because they cover the main raw materials that McDonald’s requires for the production of its products, but also because it represents an excellent opportunity to incorporate new members into the supply chain, sharing good practices with them. Sustainability, while encouraging the production of some raw materials such as bakery wheat.

To submit their applications, the interested parties have to fill out the registration form that can be downloaded at www.campoinnova.com and will also be available on the websites of both organizations: www.mcdonalds.es and www.asaja.com

The forms, duly completed, signed and scanned, must be sent by e-mail to secretaria@campoinnova.com, under the reference subject “Campo Innova. Young Farmers and Cattlemen”

A commission of experts, made up of representatives from ASAJA, McDonald’s and its suppliers, will be in charge of selecting the candidates who will have access to the training program. This program will include various activities such as: general training sessions on the commitment to sustainability of the supply chain of McDonald’s Spain, and visits to facilities of suppliers and to farms and livestock.

Specifically, McDonald’s suppliers that will collaborate on the program are: OSI Food Solutions (burgers of beef and chicken products), Aryzta (breads), Florette and Vegenat (garden products: lettuce, onions and tomatoes) Helios (ketchup), ILAS / Reny Picot (milk and ice cream base) and Cargill (sunflower oil).

Since its arrival in Spain in 1981, McDonald’s commitment to our agriculture and livestock farming has resulted in more than 60 Spanish suppliers, which makes it possible to support some 60,000 jobs in our primary sector

During these 35 years McDonald’s Spain has worked to increase the weight of local ingredients progressively in its letter, while expanding the number of Spanish suppliers linked to the company’s supply chain. Specifically in the livestock sector, 30,000 approved Spanish livestock farms – 20% of the herds registered in Spain – supply more than 10,000 tonnes of Spanish cattle annually. This is an important milestone for the company in Spain: self-sufficiency in the supply of 100% Spanish beef for the preparation of hamburgers served at McDonald’s restaurants in Spain.

Also in the shopping basket of McDonald’s include: 6,500 tons of fresh vegetables and more than 9,200 tons of tomato destined to the production of concentrated tomato; 282 tons of fruit; 12,500 tonnes of breads; 11,475 tonnes of sunflower seeds and 6,500 tonnes of chicken, among other products supplied by Spanish suppliers.

In addition, the company has added Spanish suppliers to its European Farms Insignia program, which promotes sustainable practices, animal welfare and environmental care, among others. In Spain, there are already two Spanish farms attached to the project: Finca El Campete, in the Dehesa Extremadura and Castiflor, in Soria.

Source: ASAJA

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