Big Food “failing to meet hype” on regenerative agriculture

There is simply a "widening credibility gap" successful however the world's biggest nutrient companies are putting regenerative agriculture plans into practice, the FAIRR capitalist web argues successful a caller report.

The study, which assesses 78 publically listed agri-food companies, praises immoderate companies for "strong" governance, ambition, measurement and enactment for farmers but highlights however pledges person been dropped and the gaps successful measuring action.

No institution has acceptable a people to trim pesticide usage arsenic portion of their regenerative agriculture programmes, FAIRR added.

According to the study, quantified regenerative agriculture targets person fallen from 35% of assessed companies successful 2023 erstwhile FAIRR past issued a study connected the taxable to 28%.

The probe showed 4% of companies person acceptable outcome-based targets contempt much than fractional (54%) claiming they measurement regenerative agriculture outcomes.

FAIRR said much than fractional of companies place reducing agrochemical inputs arsenic a goal, yet "many of the astir wide deployed regenerative agriculture practices tin inactive trust connected herbicides successful implementation", adding: "Despite this, nary institution has acceptable a pesticide simplification target."

The study said lone US nutrient shaper Conagra Brands, Danone, Nestlé and foodservice supplier Sysco are measuring herbicide usage successful their regenerative agriculture programmes.

FAIRR's María Montosa Ródenas said: "Regenerative agriculture has existent imaginable to assistance agri-food companies physique resilience against clime and nature-related risks. But imaginable is not the aforesaid arsenic progress.

"Our probe shows that firm strategies stay fragmented and under-resourced. The pesticide contradiction astatine the bosom of galore programmes is peculiarly striking: companies cannot credibly assertion to beryllium restoring quality portion deploying practices that undermine that goal. Investors request to propulsion for outcome-based targets and company-wide reporting, oregon the regenerative agriculture accidental volition stay mostly unrealised."

Nevertheless, FAIRR said determination are grounds for "cautious optimism". The stock of assessed companies measuring regenerative agriculture outcomes has risen from 16% successful 2023 to 54% successful 2026, the study said.

The researchers added much companies are connecting regenerative agriculture to their strategies connected Scope 3 emissions. They said 52% of businesses marque a quantitative oregon qualitative link, compared to 24% 3 years ago.

However, astir measurement remains astatine the task level alternatively than crossed institution operations, making it hard for investors to measure the standard and interaction of programmes, FAIRR said.