From the interest of the Planet O-live Academy scientific program to the relevance of the Sanders Breeders' Aid Plan: the agricultural world bears witness to some of the highlights of 2022.
Planet O-live Academy on track with Costa d'Oro
Launched in 2022, Planet O-live Academy is a scientific program initiated by Costa d'Oro, a subsidiary of Avril and the leading Italian producer and distributor of quality olive oil, in collaboration with Italian agricultural associations, and under the scientific direction of the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna of Pisa and the University of Perugia. The aim is to make the best practices of environmental, economic and social sustainability accessible to all and to apply them in order to enhance the value of the entire sector, encourage circularity of production and continuous improvement of product quality.
Since the launch of Planet O-live Academy, we have been in contact with universities to work with experts on improving olive growing practices, reducing the use of pesticides, managing a rare and precious resource like water, identifying the best harvesting period, and also recovering neglected olive groves in order to upgrade them.
CEO, Costa d'Oro
The project leaders also approached the associations Assoprol Umbria, which brings together 800 olive growers, and Confagricoltura, which represents 400,000 agricultural enterprises, 80,000 of which are involved in olive growing. The aim was to define the project's vision and mission together.
What is interesting for us, olive growers, is to be accompanied in a logic of sustainability. To prepare the future of our olive groves as well as possible, in Umbria in my case, and at the national level for the Academy. We are happy to benefit from the knowledge of the Planet O-live Academy, which adopts a scientific approach to improve our agricultural practices and to make better use of the co-products of oil pressing, such as water.
Olive grower in Umbria
Sanders aid plan for livestock farmers, first year, first success
Laurine is a young farmer in dairy farming in Haute-Marne and has been working with her parents since January 2021. She called on the Sanders aid plan for livestock farmers, which aims to promote the transfer, installation and sustainable development of farms, in a complicated economic context. She explains.
The assistance provided by Sanders enabled us to simultaneously incur all the expenses for the investments we needed: an automatic feeder to improve the quality and regularity of the calves' feed, an additional silo to increase our feed storage capacity and secure our supplies and orders, and finally a secure restraint and weighing area to cut the cows' hooves, a delicate operation!
Dairy farmer in mixed farming
4.3 M€ have been allocated to farmers under the Sanders aid plan between September 2022 and February 2023. Four months after its operational implementation in September 2022, nearly a thousand farmers had already submitted an application.
A year like no other for Lesieur and Expur, Vivien Paille's entry into the Avril Group: a selection of news that marked the year for the Group's activities.
War in Ukraine: Lesieur and Expur report on the year
The sudden war in Ukraine has upset the world market balance. Consumer concern generated precautionary purchases of table oils, leading to a fake shortage. We had to adapt quickly and mobilize to make these products available again on the shelves.
To address the immediate consequences of the war in Ukraine, we increased our production by 30%, thanks to our operators in the factory, but also to the mobilization of all the support functions from upstream to downstream. A whole team was able to manage this acceleration in production, without taking any risks, either for the teams or for the consumers.
Director of the Lesieur plants in Grande-Synthe and Coudekerque
The crisis also had an immediate humanitarian impact, with nearly two million people, mostly women and children, crossing the country to other European destinations and more than 100,000 of them settling in Romania. Expur testifies.
We had to quickly provide them with shelter, food, and we contributed by providing financial aid to the NGOs, but also vegetable oil for the mobile kitchens. There is no written plan for such situations, it was the agility and humanity of our teams that made the difference.
CEO of Expur, a subsidiary of Avril in Romania, since 2022
Vivien Paille: a new adventure with Avril
Vivien Paille (formerly Soufflet Alimentaire) needed to open up new prospects for the legume and rice sector and to develop high value-added products. For these two aspects, Avril was by far the best partner, especially since the two entities share a common vision and values that put people at the heart of the project. The company joined Avril in the summer of 2022. Today, there are many collaborations within Avril: Vivien Paille works in particular with the Group's plant protein R&D teams on the technology for manufacturing protein concentrates from legumes and its market applications. With Lesieur, the new subsidiary is developing recipes for vegetable dishes, sourced in France, which are healthy, nutritious and can be kept at room temperature. The Group is also making major investments in the development of Vivien Paille and in improving the safety of its teams.
+ 50 % AT THE VALENCIENNES SITE, INVESTMENTS WILL INCREASE VIVIEN PAILLE'S MILLING CAPACITY FOR LEGUME AND RICE FLOURS FOR INDUSTRIAL MARKETS BY 50% FROM 2023.
From a zero deforestation and zero conversion soy supply to the Lesieur Cristal Diversity and Inclusion Charter: in 2022, the Group's stakeholders have made progress on projects that are important to them. They tell us about it.
Earthworm’s ZDC methodology, a new progress for the sector
Earthworm Foundation is working against deforestation caused by raw material imports, with both an environmental and social approach. Since 2016, it has been assisting Avril in the implementation of a responsible sourcing policy thanks to its ZDC methodology.
Traditionally, imported raw materials are brought into the French market and information is sought afterwards to ensure that they meet expectations. The ZDC methodology ensures that raw materials entering France already have all the necessary guarantees, verified upstream through information and satellite monitoring. For a transparent supply chain from upstream to downstream.
Member Manager, EarthWorm Foundation
Of the five major soybean traders present in France Solteam , a company specializing in the import of non-GMO and zero deforestation soybean meal for animal feed and a subsidiary of Avril since 2022, was the only one able to provide the transparency guarantees corresponding to the ZDC methodology. Together, the two partners carried out a complete verification of traceability in the supply chain.
Avril's commitment to secure zero deforestation and non-GMO animal nutrition is enabling the sector to progress. It is a real added value for French breeders to be able to trace and secure all of their production, and thus to enhance its value for buyers and consumers. Our sourcing know-how helps them meet the challenges of climate, energy and society. A lot is being asked of agriculture today, and we are proud to contribute to providing answers to these challenges.
Co-director and founder of Solteam
Lesieur Cristal stands up for diversity
In October 2022, Lesieur Cristal launched the deployment of its Diversity and Inclusion Charter, to allow each individual to express his or her uniqueness within the company. One of the objectives is to increase the number of women in Lesieur Cristal's professions.
2027 Objectives of the Diversity and Inclusion Charter: 20% of women, 6% of disabled employees and 20% of rural recruitment within Lesieur Cristal by 2027.
I am convinced that cultural transformation is a necessity to move the company forward, and Lesieur Cristal knows how to turn its values into reality for its employees.
Key Account Manager CHR, Lesieur Cristal
