Donau Soja’s Protein Partnership Program aims to increase production of non-GMO soybeans in Europe
With 2022’s harvest, more than 1 million tons of Donau Soja / Europe Soya-certified non-GMO soybeans, all of them deforestation- and conversion-free, were produced in Europe. This is equivalent to more than 10% of overall European soy production.
Overall, EU soybean plantings increased almost 10% in 2022 over 2021 though output was down due to drought and heat waves, which EU countries experienced.
In Europe as a whole, both areas planted with soy and soy output were strong: plantings increase 9.7% to 4.74 million hectares (11.71 million acres, an all-time high of soybean production area), with output up 3.9% in 2022 at 10 million tons.
Donau Soja established the Protein Partnership Program to boost sustainable non-GMO soy production in Europe, for European use. Protein partners invest in knowledge-transfer activities and certification of farmers and traders in Bosnia & Herzegovina, Moldova, Serbia, and Ukraine. In 2022, an additional 600,000 tons of Donau Soja certified non-GMO soybeans were produced in these countries through the Protein Partnership Program.
Europe still relies on imports of soybeans, including GMO soy from the United States and other countries.
Donau Soja supports the increased cultivation of sustainable Non-GMO soy in, and for Europe. And there is huge potential to close the yield gap (defined as the difference between actual farm yield and the yield potential with good management) and grow soy in non-EU countries including Ukraine, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Moldova, which is where the Protein Partnerships focuses.
“The biggest potential in both production and sustainability increase definitely is foreseen in Ukraine. Closing the yield gap is one of the goals of our knowledge transfer activities. We estimate that additionally 1.3 million tons of soy could be harvested only in Ukraine, if best sustainable farming practices are applied,” says Volodymyr Pugachov, Deputy Executive Director of Donau Soja in Ukraine.
Source: European Non-GMO Industry Association
Organic & Non-GMO Insights April 2023
