2019-07-05

Certification project in Paraguay: Project KIMEX

KIMEX is one of the first farms in Paraguay that was certified according the Certified Responsible Soy (CRS) standard. The Kress family started its investments in Paraguay in 1978 by initially acquiring 1.500 hectares of land for agricultural projects. At this moment, mainly soybeans and maize were being cultivated here.

Through the effort and commitment of all members, the Kress Group nowadays represents one of the more progressive companies in Paraguay. Since its foundation in 1978, the Kress Group has been constantly growing and currently provides jobs to more than 600 Paraguayan people, and also contributes to the image of the country abroad by providing products with excellent quality.

Kimex’ mission is to develop agriculture and agribusiness in an economically viable, environmentally sound and socially responsible manner.
Sustainability plays a vital role in all its activities:
➢ Acting in an environmentally sound manner, which minimizes the impact on the external environment;
➢ Preserve the environment, for example by prohibiting hunting and fishing within the areas protected by the Kress Group, allowing in this       way the preservation of the wild and water fauna (toucans, deer’s, skunks, bears, parrots, wild pheasants, pumas, owls, armadillos, lizards, monkeys, agoutis, snakes, insects and fish like catfish);
➢ Protecting and restoring forests and spring waters. At the property several natural spring waters are present which are surrounded by forest. Also various lagoons and little rivers are hidden. Kimex protects around 5.000 hectares of mother forest and reforested around 700 hectares of native trees, eucalyptus, Australian oak and pine.

Besides environmental preservation, also social responsibility is very important for the company, especially the education of young people. Founded in Kressburgo, away from any educational institution, the owners of Kimex decided to build a school in the middle of the forest, where children of employees and local communities could be educated, amongst others their own daughter Cristina Kress.

What started 25 years ago as a small school is nowadays a modern educational building of 3 floors called “Heinfried Wolfgang Kress”, in honour of her father. But beyond the changes in infrastructure, the greatest joy is the implementation of an innovative educational program that allows all children and young people in Kressburg to receive their academic training here.

Kimex started with the process of implementation of sustainable practices according to the CRS program during the 2016/2017 campaign. As from the first audit, the organization shown the interest and firm commitment to adapt their production system according to one of the strictest sustainable production standards. Because of the certification process, the company made improvements in infrastructure, developed procedures for emergency situations, implemented procedures regarding the use of protective equipment and made improvements in waste management with regards to empty containers of chemical products.

“The partnership with Cefetra has been very fruitful over the years. Cefetra and the CRS program provided us with guidance to implement sustainable practices on our farm. Over the years, while continuously improving our sustainable practices, we were able to obtain RTRS certification in 2019,” explains Cristina Kress, Directora Ejecutiva of GrupoKress.

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