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The Axereal cooperative has put in place an origination business continuity plan for the 2020 harvest to ensure cooperative members receive flawless service. It expects to see a jump in origination under its CultivUp initiative this year.
The 2020 harvest takes on a whole new meaning
Over the next few weeks, the Axereal cooperative’s 12,700 farmer members will harvest 630,000 hectares of crops. All the group’s collection points will be open to receive them. With the heightened strategic focus on the food sector, this year’s harvest will take on a whole new meaning. “Recent events have highlighted the critical importance of our mission to feed France and help supply the rest of the world. Our region, which is often called the grain store of France, plays a primary role in something that is clearly geostrategic for our nation. Farmers are preparing to stow the fruits of their year’s work safely in our grain elevators, and we should all be proud of what has been achieved,” explains Jean-François Loiseau, Chairman of Axereal. Also noteworthy this year is the growth in channels within Axereal: “in 2020, we are expecting more than 3,000 of our farmer members to harvest their crops under the CultivUp* seal of quality, to feed into sustainable channels. This grain will supply many of our long-standing clients, such as Axiane, Ebly, Panzani, Harrys, Saipol, Lesieur and Boortmalt. Thanks to this significant progress, we are well on the way to achieving our ambition of originating a million tonnes of grain from traceable channels by 2022.”
Safe systems and no bottlenecks on sites
As always, grain elevator sites will be organised to guarantee responsive, efficient operations, but this year protective measures and social distancing will also be a priority. “We have adapted numerous aspects of the way our sites operate and receive visitors. For example, masks must be worn at all our grain elevators and visitors will be required to stay in their vehicles while queueing and to drop their delivery notes into a tray. We have recruited and trained our 650 seasonal staff remotely, and we have particularly stressed the importance of protective measures and social distancing. A plan has also been prepared under which permanent Axereal group staff could be made available should the teams on the ground need backup at short notice to ensure business continuity,” explains Jérôme Bos, Agricultural Businesses CEO. On the logistics front, Axereal will continue this year to roll out its “Optimax” system to optimise the supply chain by rationalising costs and improving performance.
Cooperation - a key value comes into focus at harvest time
This harvest is the culmination of a year that has been rich in dialogue and empathy between the cooperative and its members: we have supported farmers to boost income from their production, developed channels and added value by increasing processing activities. Locally based, participative and agile governance is a day-to-day priority for Axereal.
As ever, empathy lies at the heart of the group’s strategy, and will continue to guide its work over the next few weeks, a crucial period for producers.
