Page 132 - AMEFT Journal 2021-4

MARKET & NEWS
Food giant switches to a regenerative food system
With an aim to protect and restore the environment, improve the livelihoods of farmers and enhance the well-being of farming communi- ties, the food giant Nestlé is laying out its plans to support and accelerate the transition to a regenerative food sys- tem.
Nestlé will work with its food sys- tem partners, including the company’s network of more than 500,000 farm- ers and 150,000 suppliers, to advance regenerative farming practices at the heart of the food system. As part of this journey, the company will also initiate new programs to help address the social and economic challenges of the transition.
The announcement is being made in the lead up to the UN Food Systems Summit in New York, as part of Nestle’s contribution to help achieve the Sus- tainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. It also follows the recent report from the United Nations’ Intergovern-
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mental Panel on Climate Change that shows the climate crisis is intensifying. “We know that regenerative agricul- ture plays a critical role in improving soil health, restoring water cycles and in- creasing biodiversity for the long term,” said Paul Bulcke, Chairman of Nestlé. “These outcomes form the foundation of sustainable food production and, cru- cially, also contribute to achieving our
ambitious climate targets.”
Nestlé is a signatory of the UN Busi-
ness Ambition for 1.5°C pledge and was one of the first companies to share its detailed, time-bound climate plan in December 2020. The company is taking measures to halve its emissions by 2030 and achieve net zero by 2050.
“With our long-standing partner- ships with farming communities glob- ally, we want to increase our support for farming practices that are good for the environment and good for peo- ple,” said Mark Schneider, Nestlé CEO. “In the spirit of enabling a just transi-
tion it is vital that we support farmers around the world that take on the risks and costs associated with the move to- wards regenerative agriculture.”
Nestlé is investing CHF 1.2 billion over the next five years to spark regen- erative agriculture across the compa- ny’s supply chain, using three primary levers to help farmers adopt regenera- tive practices:
Apply state-of-the-art science and technology, provide technical assis- tance: Leveraging its vast network of R&D experts and agronomists, Nestlé is, for example, developing higher- yielding coffee and cocoa varieties with lower environmental impact and assessing novel solutions to reduce emissions in the dairy supply chain. Nestlé will also offer agricultural train- ing and help farmers exchange infor- mation and best practices that can be adapted locally.
Offer investment support: The transition to regenerative agriculture
(Source: Image by Pezibear from Pixabay)
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