Mars, PepsiCo, and ADM Regenerative Farming Initiative: A Summary
- Mars, PepsiCo, and ADM Launch Regenerative Agriculture Programme in Poland
- Support for 24 Farmers on 5,454 Hectares of Rotational Farmland
- Mars supports pet brands Whiskas, Pedigree and Whiskas
- PepsiCo uses rapeseed in the production of Lay’s, Doritos, and Doritos brands
- Farmer receives training, technical assistance and financial incentives
Mars, Inc., PepsiCo, and ADM announced that they would be collaborating on a project to help farmers adopt regenerative farming practices.
Three global leaders in the food, pet, and beverage industries have joined forces to create a programme for regenerative farming in Poland. The program will support 24 farmers as they adopt sustainable crop rotation practices.
Mars supports regenerative wheat on 3,359 ha for brands like Whiskas, Pedigree and Pedigree Pet Care, while PepsiCo advances sustainable rapeseed farming across 2,160 ha for iconic brands, such as Lay’s, Doritos, and Lay’s.
Western Poland’s initiative goes beyond the single crop sustainability effort, instead focusing on an holistic farm-wide strategy that improves water management and increases long-term resilience.
PepsiCo, Mars and some farmers will collaborate in a precompetitive partnership to address the impact on the environment of the agricultural supply chains. Rotational agriculture is a farming method that alternates crops such as legumes, cereals and blends of cover crop mixtures each season. This helps replenish nutrients naturally, breaks pest and disease cycle, and improves soil structure.
ADM will be a partner in the implementation of the project and play an important role. It will provide both technical and financial resources to help farmers make the transition to regenerative farming practices.
Biospheres, for example, will provide farmers with hands-on guidance and training. The practices improve the soil structure, water retention and reduce dependence on synthetic fertilizers. They also help farms to adapt to climate related stresses.
Farmers will be rewarded for adopting practices such as conservation tillage or cover crops to help accelerate the programme.
Archana Jagannathan is the chief sustainability officer for PepsiCo Europe. Middle East and Africa. She says that regenerative agriculture can be a valuable tool to improve soil health and farm resilience. It also reduces agricultural emissions. This ultimately benefits farmers and their livelihoods. To achieve meaningful impacts at scale, collaboration is required up and down along the value chain.
Paul Gardner, Mars Incorporated’s lead commercial global VP and global pet nutrition commercial, agrees that through this collaboration before the competition, Mars, PepsiCo, and ADM will work together to tackle climate impacts in the agricultural supply chains. By working across shared crop cycles in this manner, we empower farmers to implement more climate-smart farming practices on a long term basis and for multiple crops and harvests. This can enhance soil health and reduce emissions, and can build farm resilience. The partnership model is a significant step towards a sustainable food industry.
Katherine Pickus is the chief sustainability officer of ADM. She says, “We’re proud to be able to help farmers with this partnership. We also want to enhance the resilience and future-proofing of our supply chains.”