Consumer goods firm Unilever South Africa has formed a sunflower farming partnership as part of its sustainable living plan and has successfully developed hybrid seeds, which are expected to reduce the country's dependence on sunflower oil imports."This project is currently under way in Limpopo province where almost 30 000 hectares of land is under sunflower crops and expected to yield 20% of Unilever's oil requirements in South Africa," Unilever said in a statement last week.The partnership involves a private group of farmers, verification company Control Unit and the Central Edible Oils Company, which has links to farmers, co-operatives and silo owners.The group of partners follow Unilever's Sustainable Agriculture Code, which is a framework to maintain soil fertility, enhance water fertility, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, protect biodiversity and improve the livelihoods of farmers and workers.
It falls under the firm's sustainable living plan, established in 2010 to drive the company's growth while reducing its environmental footprint.It set a target of 100% sustainably sourced materials by 2020.Unilever also announced it is now sourcing 36% of its agricultural raw materials sustainably, exceeding the 30% target set when the sustainable living plan was launched in 2010."The initial assessments showed varying gaps against Unilever's Sustainable Agriculture Code, but through dedicated work between the Centrol Edible Oils Company and the farmers, every participant now meets or exceeds the sustainability criteria," said Unilever South Africa's chairperson, Marijn van Tiggelen.