PepsiCo, Mars Inc., and agribusiness giant ADM have announced a regenerative agriculture partnership to support farmers in Poland, and promote sustainable growing practices.
The initiative announced on September 9 will support 24 Polish farmers managing a combined 5,454 hectares of land, with each company playing a unique role. PepsiCo will be responsible for sourcing sustainable rapeseed oil for snack brands such as Lay’s and Doritos, Mars will focus on regenerative wheat for its Whiskas and Pedigree pet food lines, and ADM will provide financial and technical resources to support farmers at each stage.
“This partnership model marks an important step toward a more sustainable food industry,” said Mars lead global commercial VP Paul Gardner.
Unlike sustainability programs that hone in on a single crop, this initiative will promote a “landscape-level” approach, where farmers will be encouraged to rotate through different types of crops such as cereals and legumes, and then mixing in so-called “cover crops” that naturally replenish soil nutrients, fight off pests and disease, and improve water retention. The goal is to enhance soil health, cut emissions and prepare farms for climate-related stresses that have become increasingly common in recent years.
The companies said that farmers taking part in the program will also receive hands-on training from agronomic specialists, along with financial incentives tied to practices such as conservation tillage and cover cropping, which make it easier to boost soil quality while reducing reliance on synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. ADM chief sustainability officer Katherine Pickus said that the hope is to “support farmers through this partnership and enhance the resilience of the supply chain,” adding that insights from the project could help scale regenerative farming practices more widely across Poland.