Lamb Weston is one of the world’s largest processors of potato products. The company is confronted with water related issues such as drought and flooding. While there are solutions to overcome drought conditions, for example through (drip) irrigation, potatoes begin to rot if they are submerged for longer than 72 hours. And for the production facilities, the risk from flooding is actual and real, and can even be caused by very heavy rainfall.

Lamb Weston / Meijer values sustainbility in each phase of the production process and has taken a number of relevant steps to improve their water usage.

This is why in 2017 they developed a Sustainable Agriculture Plan. The company started collaborating more intensely with their growers to produce a larger potato crop with a lower environmental impact per tonne of finished product and rolled it out in the UK.

They are monitoring water use by tracking growers’ potato irrigation. Healthy soils support the natural water holding capacity, providing the plant with better water access, leading to greater crop yields and a more consistent quality. Using more water-efficient irrigation systems, such as drip irrigation, directly impacts this KPI, as they enable farmers to grow more crop per drop.