Skira in a new project with Oatly and Berte Qvarn
Skira is collaborating on a project with the oat drink company Oatly and the Swedish mill Berte Qvarn. Through a unique platform built by Skira, the companies can gain better insights into their raw commodity supply chain, and farmers supplying to Berte Qvarn and Oatly can share data on their production and get better paid for increased traceability.
Shared data will drive better pay and increased transparency
The Swedish agtech-company Skira is working towards a traceable food chain. They are teaming up with farmers and the food industry to create a traceable food chain for a future where sustainable food production is profitable. Skira is enabling a project in Sweden with Oatly and Berte Qvarn, intending to increase the understanding of factors that have the potential to contribute to more sustainable production, from field to factory. Together, the companies are implementing a tailored digital platform through which farmers, who share detailed data regarding how their oats are produced, will get extra compensation. Approx. 30 Swedish farmers are participating in the first phase of the project.
Data is collected through Skira's platform
Skira’s platform makes it possible for the participating oat producers to easily collect and report data on how their grains are produced, down to the field and transport level, and share this digitally when trading with Berte Qvarn. The mill can, in turn, track, verify, and consolidate data linked to their trades, and Oatly gains a better understanding of their production chain and pays extra to take part in farmers’ data.
– It’s time for the initiatives happening on the farm and all the hard work behind the production of grains to be seen and given better pay. The future is dynamic, based on the conditions of farmers, and their farms. By systematizing this, increased environmental sustainability will lead to increased financial sustainability. It is a win-win-win for the entire food chain and through Skira’s technical platform and Oatly’s and Berte Qvarn’s ambitions, we are taking big steps forward, says Jacob Morén, COO, Skira.
Skira, Oatly, and Berte Qvarn are working with data collection and quantification based on the 2021 harvest from Swedish farmers and the ambition is to scale the project during 2022, to include more farmers and larger volumes.
– Through Skira’s digital platform, we’re able to aggregate data from the production and get better insights into the climate aspects behind the production of oats on a farm level. This is an important step for us in our long-term ambitions for a more sustainable food system.
Through Skira’s digital platform, we can aggregate data from production and gain better insights into the climate aspects behind the production of oats on a farm level. It is an important step for us in our long-term work for a more sustainable food system. At the same time, we provide farmers with compensation for sharing the information that makes progress possible, says Rianne Vastenhouw, Global Oat Supply Developer, Oatly.
The participating farmers welcome the change made possible by the collaboration of technology, business development, and production, and are happy to be compensated for contributing their data.
– At Heagård we are constantly evaluating new possibilities for better pay based on our initiatives and production practices. So we were interested when we heard Skira and Oatly were offering payment to farmers that shared their data. If the project leads to increased sustainability, both financially and environmentally, it will be very exciting to be part of this in the long-term, says Philip Hedeng, participating farmer, Heagård in Halland.
Contact
Jacob Morén, COO, Skira, moren@skira.se, +46 703 885 574
Fredrik Elisson, PR Manager, Oatly, fredrik.elisson@oatly.com, +46732560032
Fredrik Nilsson, Commodity Manager, Berte Qvarn, fredrik@berteqvarn.se, +46346715242
About Skira
Skira is one of the fastest-growing agtech companies in Europe. With its digital platform, the company does not only enable increased traceability within the food chain but also new pioneering opportunities for farmers to get paid more for sustainably produced crops. The platform connects farmers, processors, traders, and brands by enabling data sharing, on top of existing trade relations, and thus increasing the value of the product sold. The platform combines digital commerce, market insights-, transport-, quality testing-, and payment solutions to give its customers a fantastic overall experience. For more information, visit www.skira.com
About Oatly
Oatly Group AB (Nasdaq: OTLY) (“Oatly”), is the world’s original and largest oat drink company. For over 25 years, we have exclusively focused on developing expertise around oats: a global power crop with inherent properties suited for sustainability and human health. Our commitment to oats has resulted in core technical advancements that enabled us to unlock the breadth of the dairy portfolio, including alternatives to milks, ice cream, yogurt, cooking creams, and spreads. Headquartered in Malmö, Sweden, the Oatly brand is available in more than 20 countries globally. For more information, visit www.oatly.com
About Berte Qvarn
For 450 years we have farmed the land around Slöinge. We have taken care of animals, milled flour, and made ice cream. We have gotten to where we are today through our will and ability to adapt. What we sow today we will reap tomorrow. We cultivate our future by safeguarding what has created our success: viable soils, good raw materials, knowledgeable employees and sustainable profitability. The raw materials are the basis of our business. What unites us in the Bertegruppen – more than anything else – is the desire to ensure access to good Swedish raw materials that reduce climate impact, build fertile land and benefit biodiversity with prosperous animals and nature. Generations of successes and failures, the community in the countryside and lessons from all over the world have taken us all the way here. We believe that it is the same recipe that will take us another 450 years.