LoCoSoy

Why this project?

Local soy cultivation is not new in research. In fact, a lot of studies have been carried out or are ongoing. Local, sustainable production faces quite a few challenges, such as the issue of increasing yields, scaling up (organic) cultivation and securing a sales market. The LoCoSoy project partners aim to operationalise a suitable, low-processing technique for the cultivation of (organic) soybeans at SME level. In addition, despite the fact that the consumption of vegetarian food is increasing, there is still a need to further gauge consumer expectations during the production process rather than once finalised.

This can strengthen (trade) relations between farmers, processors, sellers and consumers, thus boosting the sales market and further expanding the chain. An important aspect in establishing a sustainable chain is a focus on long-term, stable cooperation. In this view, it is essential to guarantee transparency and fair prices at each stage. Manufacturing in Flanders is expensive, which makes it challenging to establish a competitive chain.

Methodology and expected results

LoCoSoy will analyse different revenue models in order to develop a new and necessary economic model allowing all stakeholders in the chain to share benefits, costs and risks. The long-term goal of this project is to enable a local, integrated, sustainable and future-proof value chain for (organic) soy in Flanders.

LoCoSoy's project results will be made available free of charge to all agricultural companies operating in this field.

Target group

Locosoy's target group covers stakeholders in the entire chain, from soybean to finished product. The results are aimed at farmers, sorters, the food industry, retail, catering and consumers.

Project partners

The project is run by a consortium of companies and research partners:

• Flanders’ FOOD
• La vie est belle
• Biograno (farmers Ivan Pollet, Simon Colembie and Karel Dewaele)
• Colruyt
• ILVO
• Inagro
• UCL (KU Leuven)

Keen to join?

Locosoy's partners form a private consortium. However, the results of the project will be disseminated to a wider audience through newsletter articles and the Easy Peasy closing event: Easy Peasy:  Easy Peasy: resultaten voor lokale peulvruchtketens - Flanders' FOOD (flandersfood.com)