Riviana Foods
Growing for tomorrow
The Situation
Riviana Foods Inc. is the largest processor, marketer and distributor of branded and private label rice products in the United States. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ebro Foods, S.A., a leading Spanish food company. We work closely with people and organizations who continue to make strides towards a more sustainable future. Supporting sustainable farming efforts is part of our Success® Rice’s Growing for Tomorrow initiative. It’s also part of Riviana Foods’ five pillars of sustainability, which focus on reductions around: Waste, Energy, Emissions, Water and Packaging.
In farming, Riviana partners with growers committed to sustainability and increasing the amount of FSA[1]-Certified Sustainable Rice available for sourcing as well as universities who are exploring, promoting, and communicating best practices for sustainable rice production.
In 2022 Riviana teamed up with Knorr (a brand owned by Unilever) and the University of Arkansas to find ways for farmers to grow rice while preserving water reserves and reducing the large amount of methane released when rice fields are flooded.
[1] SAI Platform’s Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA) offers a toolset for farm and companies in agricultural value chains to help assess, improve and verify on-farm sustainability performance.
The Solution
The program with Unilever and the University of Arkansas introduced a suite of practices, including furrow irrigation and a method called wetting and drying which, by reducing the amount of time the land stays under water, decreased the amount of methane released.
While this practice can significantly decrease methane emissions, it also means reducing the time when fields are flooded. Flooded rice fields provide 35% of the food resources for half of the ducks and waterfowl that spend the winter in North America. Throughout the project implementation, it was important to therefore also ensure the presence of natural habitats for migratory birds was maintained, while reducing overall methane emissions.
“We consider sustainable agricultural practices to be essential, not only from a good stewardship standpoint, but also as a fundamental business principle. To ensure a better future, it is crucial we prioritize support for farmers who engage in sustainable practices.” Erica Larson, Director of Marketing at Riviana Foods
The Impact
This project resulted in:
- 76% less methane (kg of CO2eq per kg rice) released in comparison to releases before the project.
- 48% less greenhouse gases emissions (kg CO2eq per kg rice) released in comparison to GHG emissions before the project.
“We consider sustainable agricultural practices to be essential, not only from a good stewardship standpoint, but also as a fundamental business principle. To ensure a better future, it is crucial we prioritize support for farmers who engage in sustainable practices.” Erica Larson, Director of Marketing at Riviana Foods