IRRIGATION PARTNERSHIP: Benjamin Ware, sourcing specialist at Nestlé, looks at a crop of tomatoes in Italy with Alessandro Piva, the agronomic service manager of Consorzio Interregionale Ortofrutticoli (CIO).
In Italy, Nestlé is a direct buyer from many Italian agricultural producers, and particularly relies on locally grown vegetables for its Buitoni frozen vegetable range La Valle degli Orti. We therefore have a direct interest in helping local growers to adopt the best irrigation solutions, so they increase production, continue to supply quality produce to Nestlé and support their local communities.
To produce Buitoni sauces and frozen pizzas, Nestlé uses locally grown tomatoes. The use of drip irrigation and automated watering technology has maximised crop yields and, at the same time, saved irrigation water. We have achieved an improvement in yield, quality and the water used to grow our tomatoes, and the investment paid for itself in less than two years. Farmers also benefit from lower water bills.
Nestlé also cooperates in a project with key Italian stakeholders, such as water utility companies, farmers’ associations, local producers, the Agriculture Ministry’s Commission and others, to investigate local agricultural water policies. It is evaluating the effects of better water management practices in four areas:
- drip irrigation: saving water, increasing yields and improving the quality of some crops, but this can be expensive;
- automated watering technology: used to cope with dry seasons, but the dominant system in Italy is open channels, not pipes;
- management tools: used to advise farmers on efficient and economical irrigation systems;
- water distribution networks: can save money and water by reducing leakages.
The content of this page was externally assured by Bureau Veritas, March 2011.
