Sweden. Lantmännen ekonomisk förening

Date of agreement:21 Mar 2023
Country:Sweden
Customer:Lantmännen ekonomisk förening
Amount in EUR:EUR 45 million
Maturity:7 years
NACE sector / loan type:Research and development

Project

The loan has been provided for co-financing the cooperative’s research and development expenditures of approximately SEK 1 billion during 2022-2024.

The R&D is focused on improving cropping systems, utilising sustainable plant nutrients, precision farming, digitalisation, fossil-free fertilisers and plant breeding. Lantmännen collaborates with universities and research institutes within agriculture in Sweden and internationally.

  • The R&D investments in the agriculture sector focus on improving productivity and developing products and services, within animal husbandry and crop cultivation.
  • Development of food products is also a focus, with a particular emphasis on oat-based products.
  • Bio-energy investments involve research into converting lignocellulosic biomass to ethanol and materials from cereal by-products.

Lantmännen’s ambition is to halve its climate impact every decade in order to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, while increasing crop yield to meet the increasing demand for food products.

Since 2006, NIB has concluded four loans with Lantmännen amounting to a total of EUR 200 million.

Lantmännen is a Swedish agricultural cooperative and a Nordic leader in agriculture, machinery, bioenergy and food products. The cooperative is owned by 18,000 Swedish farmers, has 10,000 employees and operates in over 20 countries.

Fulfilment of NIB's mandate

Productivity
The main areas of R&D investment are development of products and services to improve productivity in agriculture, development of food products, and development of green materials and biochemicals. There is potential for knowledge spillover between Lantmännen and other companies, as well as knowledge sharing between Lantmännen and their members, Swedish farmers. The company also has collaborations with Nordic and Dutch research institutes.

Expected productivity impact:

  • R&D Intensity
  • R&D expenditures 2022-2024: SEK 350 million
  • R&D personnel full-time equivalent: 225

Environment
Clear environmental benefits can be expected once implemented at farm level.

Sustainability summary

The R&D projects have an insignificant or low risk of potential environmental harm. Some of the projects entail test fields and other more physical environmental risks, which are performed on dedicated test farms.

Press release
23.03.2023

NIB provides 7-year R&D loan to Lantmännen

Press release

NIB ger ett sjuårigt FoU-lån till Lantmännen