Leading brewer rolls out major farming program

A major global brewer is rolling out a SmartBarley program in China to help support local farmers and communities.

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, the world's largest brewing company by sales, will deploy resources and manpower to harvest barley in Jiangsu province through smarter production methods.

The Belgium-based brewer has partnered with Jiangsu Farming Group Co Ltd to launch the SmartBarley project to boost production in Jiangsu's Sheyang county.

AB InBev, which has global beer brands such as Budweiser, Busch and Michelob, will work on fertilizer testing, protecting the environment and increasing crop production.

"Beverage consumption is a reflection of economic success," said Rebecca Kuo, director of public relations at Anheuser-Busch InBev, APAC North.

"It has become more sophisticated, so the agricultural industry in China has been dramatically transformed," she added.

The AB InBev program involves a cloud-themed farm management system.

This will monitor soil conditions and collect data from fields. Farmers will also receive advice on planting and transportation through the company's database.

So far, the project involves more than 300 farmers from the Jiangsu Farming Group with 300,000 mu (20,000 hectares) of barley fields.

From a global perspective, more than 4,600 farmers from 12 countries and regions, including Argentina, Brazil and Russia, have taken part in the SmartBarley program .

"Through this project and our made-to-order initiative, we can improve barley productivity and agricultural innovation in China, as well as supporting local farmers and communities," Kuo said.

Made-to-order is the purchase deal AB InBev agreed with the Jiangsu Farming Group since 2010. It allows farmers to optimize planting of barley and cuts down costs.

"The first step is breeding (the seeds) and the second is processing," said Masson Zhang, vice-president of procurement of Anheuser-Busch, APAC North.

"After that, comes the order-to-made mode and brewing," he added. "We have created a complete malted barley industry with Jiangsu Farming Group. It also helps with industrial integration and maximizes the profits."

China has a long tradition of growing barley, but its lack of sophisticated techniques and production management has led to low quality compared to crops from countries such as Canada and Australia.

Data from the General Administration of Customs showed imported barley has jumped from 180,000 metric tons per month between 2010 and 2013 to a staggering 1 million tons in 2015.

China's barley production has dwindled while the size of crop fields has shrunk by 21.2 percent last year compared to 2015. Barley output also dropped by 26.28 percent to 1.35 million tons from a year earlier.

To boost production, AB InBev has been working closely with domestic companies to select the most suitable barley seeds for the soil in Jiangsu.

"Malted barley is the most important part of beer brewing," said Zhang Wujiu, vice-president of China National Research Institute of Food and Fermentation Industries.

Zhang pointed out that the collaboration between AB InBev and Jiangsu Farming Group will support the supply-side reform in China.

zhongnan@chinadaily.com.cn