Agrifood giants PepsiCo, Mars, and ADM are launching a regenerative agriculture program in Poland aimed specifically at farmers practicing rotational growing.

The program will provide technical and financial assistance to farmers that incorporate regenerative agriculture practices into rotational agriculture, where cereals, legumes, and other crops are alternated each season to restore nutrients and soil structure as well as control weeds and pests.

Crop rotation as a practice dates back millennia. Of late, it's received a fair bit of attention thanks to more knowledge around the ecological drawbacks of mono-cropping and more large agrifood companies outlining regenerative agriculture plans.

PepsiCo, Mars, and ADM see this latest joint effort as a way to help farmers adopt more climate-smart practices over a longer time frame and across multiple crop types and harvests, said Paul Gardner, lead global commercial VP, Mars Incorporated, and VP, global pet nutrition commercial. That in turn "can help enhance soil health, reduce emissions and build farm resilience," he added.

Ensuring 'long-term resilience' 

The project will start small: just 24 farmers in Poland will integrate regen practices like no till and cover cropping into their crop rotations.

The initiative will span 5,454 hectares in total. Mars will support regenerative wheat across 3,359 hectares for its pet care brands, while PepsiCo will focus on rapeseed cultivation on 2,160 hectares for its Lay's and Doritos brands.

"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," noted PepsiCo Europe chief sustainability officer Archana Jagannathan.