An initiative backed by 170 food and beverage companies and farmer cooperatives worldwide on Wednesday committed to a new framework for regenerative agricultural practices that they said will improve soil health, support biodiversity, and mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change.
The Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) Platform, which includes members such as Nestle, Danone, Unilever, and PepsiCo, has developed the Regenerating Together framework in consultation with farmers, academics, and NGOs.
It has been tested across the global supply chains of 20 major companies, and offers an industry-first globally aligned definition of what regenerative agriculture is.
“With our Regenerating Together programme, we are proud to be driving collaboration across the food and beverage industry at what is a critical moment for the sector. Regenerative agriculture is the way forward to ensure productivity and farm ecosystem viability – we must act now and further transition towards farming practices that protect the future of our planet,” Dionys Forster, SAI Platform’s executive director, said in a statement.
The programme has pinpointed four priority areas of impact – water, soil, biodiversity, and climate change – and allows farm practices to be assessed, monitored, and verified as global agriculture is transitioning to regenerative practices.
Definitions of regenerative agriculture are often ambiguous, SAI Platform said, and the new framework is designed for practical use at farm level, allowing crops, dairy, and beef farmers to work with supply chain partners to achieve measurable regenerative agriculture outcomes.
Four clear steps have been devised to enact the framework, SAI Platform said – risk screening assessment, outcome selection, the adoption of principles and practices, and monitoring and assessment.
The framework offers “an aligned approach to agriculture that aims to mitigate and adapt to the impact of climate change, improve soil health, support biodiversity, retain water in the soil and reduce its consumption while keeping farmers’ business viability central in a just transition approach”, according to the SAI Platform statement.
“SAI Platform’s Regenerating Together programme aims to unite the agriculture industry with a common goal – a resilient and productive food system that will revitalise natural ecosystems and improve the quality of farmers’ livelihoods.”
Agriculture and the food and beverage industry are among the sectors with the most impact on natural ecosystems and biodiversity. More than half the world’s agricultural land is degraded, yet the industry faces a situation where 70% more food will be needed by mid-century.
“I am delighted that the Framework launched today will enable farmers to take action and implement regenerative practices, and crucially support the measurement and verification of progress,” said Yves Leclerc, global director of agricultural sustainability with Canadian frozen food producer McCain and chair of the new framework’s steering committee.
“Having piloted the resources with our growers, I see the potential this can have to provide clarity and consistency on what regenerative agriculture means and the outcomes we are looking to achieve. The potential impact is huge and the development of this global framework through cross-industry collaboration is a key step towards scaling the transition to more sustainable farming practices.”
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