Atras

A Productive World: Supporting responsible use of land

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Our sustainable development plan, Prosper, envisages a productive world, where land is used responsibly, food supply is secure, biodiversity is protected and brewing crops can be accessed at fair prices. Here’s a small taste of what we’re doing to achieve this productive world.

By creating secure and sustainable supply chains for local brewing crops and malting barley, we can also help farmers increase profitability and productivity, and contribute toward social development, right here at home.

 


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Farming For
the Future

The agricultural raw materials that we use include malted barley, maize and hops. SAB’s agricultural activity supports local economies through the number of jobs created by the commodities we buy.

A study conducted in 2009 by the independent economic group Econex found that SAB’s beer operations have particularly high spin-off effects on rural employment. In fact, 110 000 (or 2.5%) of all jobs created in rural areas can be traced back to the beer division. The majority of these jobs are in low-skilled and informal sectors, which is why we realised that this is an important place to focus our attention.

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Working
in Harmony

We believe that sustainable agriculture is so much more than just protecting our environment by farming in ways that protect our natural resources. True sustainability requires the inclusion of local farmers in the process and, to this end, the SAB Go Farming initiative has made local farmers pivotal in our plans to supply new plants with essential raw materials.

By enabling farmers to elevate their businesses to levels that become self-sustainable, we are in turn creating a strong supply chain for malt and barley; a symbiotic relationship that delivers rewards for everyone. Read about the Go Farming initiative, here.

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Focusing on
the growth of
small-scale
producers

At least 102 emerging farmers with a collective 1, 115 hectares of irrigated land are included in the Better Barley Better Beer programme. Run in conjunction with the World Wildlife Fund for Nature of South Africa (WWF-SA), this programme encourages and supports sustainable farming practices among South African barley farmers. This initiative is centred around a user-friendly guide for farmers on how to improve the economic value of their farms, protect the environment, and ensure sustainable socio-economic conditions for themselves and their workers.

This programme also provides guidance for farmers on how to conserve natural resources, protect biodiversity and ensure that ecological systems are maintained and sustainably used. This includes guidance on the correct use of soil, plants, natural vegetation around the farm and the crop itself, and water.

Agriculture is water intensive. So much so, that 84% of the water used to make one litre of beer goes into growing crops. How can we reduce the amount of water used for irrigation while still producing quality ingredients? The Precision Irrigation of Barley Project is currently helping 290 barley producers and 120 small-scale farmers in the dry Northern Cape to save more than 19 000 million hectolitres of water annually without compromising their yield.

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Commitment from
the ground up

We’ve seen that by supporting the growth of emerging, small-scale producers and assisting their migration into the mainstream agricultural sector, we are contributing to the development of a sustainable, reliable and commercially competitive local agricultural footprint that is able to provide SAB with its total raw material requirement.

Responsible farming and land usage helps create jobs, strengthen the local economy and build SAB’s supply chain – a winning recipe for a sustainable, productive world.

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SAB_Blog_Post_slices_01

SAB_Blog_Post_slices_04

_________________

Our sustainable development plan, Prosper, envisages a productive world, where land is used responsibly, food supply is secure, biodiversity is protected and brewing crops can be accessed at fair prices. Here’s a small taste of what we’re doing to achieve this productive world.

By creating secure and sustainable supply chains for local brewing crops and malting barley, we can also help farmers increase profitability and productivity, and contribute toward social development, right here at home.

SAB_Blog_Post_slices_08

1
Farming For
the Future

The agricultural raw materials that we use include malted barley, maize and hops. SAB’s agricultural activity supports local economies through the number of jobs created by the commodities we buy.

A study conducted in 2009 by the independent economic group Econex found that SAB’s beer operations have particularly high spin-off effects on rural employment. In fact, 110 000 (or 2.5%) of all jobs created in rural areas can be traced back to the beer division. The majority of these jobs are in low-skilled and informal sectors, which is why we realised that this is an important place to focus our attention.

SAB_Blog_Post_slices_12

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2
Working in
Harmony

We believe that sustainable agriculture is so much more than just protecting our environment by farming in ways that protects our natural resources. True sustainability requires the inclusion of local farmers in the process and, to this end, the SAB Go Farming initiative has made local farmers pivotal in our plans to supply new plants with essential raw materials.

By enabling farmers to elevate their businesses to levels that become self-sustainable, we are in turn creating a strong supply chain for malt and barley; a symbiotic relationship that delivers rewards for everyone. Read about the Go Farming initiative, here.

SAB_Blog_Post_slices_19

3
Focusing on
the growth of
small-scale
producers

At least 102 emerging farmers with a collective 1, 115 hectares of irrigated land are included in the Better Barley Better Beer programme. Run in conjunction with the World Wildlife Fund for Nature of South Africa (WWF-SA), this programme encourages and supports sustainable farming practices among South African barley farmers. This initiative is centred around a user-friendly guide for farmers on how to improve the economic value of their farms, protect the environment, and ensure sustainable socio-economic conditions for themselves and their workers.

This programme also provides guidance for farmers on how to conserve natural resources, protect biodiversity and ensure that ecological systems are maintained and sustainably used. This includes guidance on the correct use of soil, plants, natural vegetation around the farm and the crop itself, and water.

Agriculture is water intensive. So much so, that 84% of the water used to make one litre of beer goes into growing crops. How can we reduce the amount of water used for irrigation while still producing quality ingredients? The Precision Irrigation of Barley Project is currently helping 290 barley producers and 120 small-scale farmers in the dry Northern Cape to save more than 19 000 million hectolitres of water annually without compromising their yield.


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4
Commitment
from the
ground up

We’ve seen that by supporting the growth of emerging, small-scale producers and assisting their migration into the mainstream agricultural sector, we are contributing to the development of a sustainable, reliable and commercially competitive local agricultural footprint that is able to provide SAB with its total raw material requirement.

Responsible farming and land usage helps create jobs, strengthen the local economy and build SAB’s supply chain – a winning recipe for a sustainable, productive world.



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