NEW TECH FOODS

PepsiCo has announced a $216 million multi-year investment in long-term, strategic partnership agreements with three US-based farmer-facing organisations.

The partnerships – with Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI), Soil and Water Outcomes Fund (SWOF) and the IL Corn Growers Association (ICGA) – are designed to drive adoption of regenerative agriculture practices across the US.

The company expects the combined impacts of the partnerships to support the uptake of regenerative practices on more than 3 million acres, delivering approximately 3 million metric tons of GHG emission reductions and removals by 2030.

PepsiCo will work alongside the organisations to establish and scale financial, agronomic and social programs that enable the transition to the new practices through education, upfront investment in outcomes, cost-sharing and peer coaching and networking.

Driven by ‘PepsiCo Positive’ (pep+), the company’s strategic end-to-end business transformation, the investment is set to help the US farming community make changes that secure production volumes and mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Jim Andrew, chief sustainability officer at PepsiCo, said: "It's critically important to partner, for the long term, with organisations that have earned the trust of farmers as they make the transition to adopt climate-smart agriculture practices. We intend to be shoulder-to-shoulder with farmers as they work to make soil healthier, sequester carbon, improve watershed health and biodiversity, and improve their livelihoods."

By 2023, the collaborative efforts of the partnership are expected to deliver more than 500,000 regenerative acres. By 2030, PepsiCo predicts PFI to reach around 1.5 million acres; SWOF to reach nearly 1 million acres; and ICGA to reach approximately 600,000 acres.

Adam Kiel, managing director of SWOF, said: "We are excited to expand our partnership with PepsiCo and farmers in its supply chain to support the adoption of regenerative agriculture practices that have measurable impacts on soil health, the environment, and farm sustainability. By providing high-quality and customised agronomic assistance to farmers implementing new practices we help them reduce emissions and nutrient loss, unlock a new revenue stream, and increase the value of their farmland for current and future generations."

The investment will significantly contribute to the food and beverage giant’s ‘pep+’ targets, which include driving the adoption of regenerative agriculture practices across 7 million acres by 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2040.