PepsiCo, Mars and ADM Back Regenerative Farming in Poland
PepsiCo, Mars and ADM, leaders in food, drink and pet care sectors, are collaborating to launch a regenerative agriculture programme in Poland.
The initiative engages 24 farmers in sustainable practices across their crop rotations, covering a total of 5,454 hectares.
Mars is driving regenerative wheat across 3,359 hectares to supply its pet care brands like Whiskas and Pedigree. At the same time, PepsiCo is focused on sustainable rapeseed cultivation over 2,160 hectares for popular brands like Lay's and Doritos.
Archana Jagannathan, Chief Sustainability Officer for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at PepsiCo, says: "Regenerative agriculture is a vital tool for enhancing soil health, strengthening farm resilience and reducing agricultural emissions, which can ultimately benefit farmers and their livelihoods.
"To drive meaningful impact at scale requires collaboration up and down the value chain. PepsiCo has been partnering with Polish farmers for more than 30 years, and this initiative with Mars, ADM and local farmers takes an integrated, systems-level approach that embeds regenerative practices across different crop rotations and supply chains.
"It also contributes to our global ambition to implement regenerative, restorative or protective practices over 10 million acres of land by 2030 and has the potential to generate learnings that can be lifted and scaled beyond a single country or region to help ensure the long-term resilience of the global food system."
Poland as a focus for regeneration
Poland is a key regional testing ground for these companies' regenerative agriculture ambitions. The programmes leverage the Cool Farm Tool (CFT), a sustainability calculator that aids farmers in evaluating and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
This robust data collection and impact measurement offer insights for future market expansions. By adopting a holistic, farm-wide approach rather than focusing only on single-crop sustainability, the initiative aims to bolster soil health, enhance water management and ensure long-term agricultural resilience.
The collaboration between PepsiCo and Mars encourages farmers to incorporate regenerative practices by alternately cultivating different crops, such as cereals and legumes, which replenish soil nutrients and disrupt pest cycles.
Paul Gardner, Incorporated Lead Commercial VP & Chief Procurement Officer at Mars Pet Nutrition, adds: "Through this pre-competitive collaboration, Mars, PepsiCo and ADM are working together to help tackle the climate impacts of the agricultural supply chain.
"Working across shared crop rotations in this way, we can empower farmers to adopt more climate-smart practices over the long term and across multiple crop types and harvests that can help enhance soil health, reduce emissions and build farm resilience.
"This partnership model marks an important step toward a more sustainable food industry."
Support and incentives drive progress
ADM serves as a key partner, providing both financial backing and technical expertise to aid farmers' transition to regenerative agriculture.
Katherine Pickus, Chief Sustainability Officer at ADM, says: "We are proud to support farmers through this partnership and enhance the resilience of the supply chain, which is crucial to the future of agriculture.
"This partnership with ADM, Mars and PepsiCo aims to harness insights and data from the project to drive the widespread adoption of regenerative agriculture practices across the wider Polish agricultural system.
"This initiative represents an exciting opportunity to help standardise and accelerate the implementation of regenerative farming methods, paving the way for a more resilient agricultural system."
ADM collaborates with Mars and PepsiCo to harness project insights and data for widespread adoption of regenerative methods throughout Poland's agricultural landscape.
The initiative offers exciting prospects to standardise and implement regenerative practices promptly, paving the path for a lasting and more robust agricultural system.
Farmers will gain access to cutting-edge agricultural knowledge, practical training, and expert guidance from technical specialists like Biospheres.
These practices aim to boost soil structure and water retention, decreasing reliance on synthetic inputs and helping farms adapt to climate-related challenges.
To expedite the programme and support carbon sequestration, financial incentives are offered based on the adoption of specific methods like conservation tillage and cover cropping.
By embracing this collaborative effort, PepsiCo, Mars and ADM are actively contributing to a more robust, sustainable food system.
