“Crop finance is a key part of soy farmers' business models and there is a huge appetite and market for green finance,” he explains. It’s a message consistent with the UK Soy Manifesto, which now covers 60% of the soy coming into the UK. Unlocking green investment means this can now happen, he adds, by supporting sustainable agriculture and protecting forests in a financially sustainable way that rewards farmers. And ultimately it is the involvement of these traders in screening out “bad soy” on which any sustainable soy scheme succeeds or fails. The Retail Soy Group’s roadmap commits members to deforestation-free soy with a cut-off-date of August 2020, but soy traders aren’t following these guidelines, says Wijeratna.

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