PEPSICO has announced the third year of its global agriculture program, the Positive Agriculture Outcomes (PAO) Accelerator, by backing eight new innovation projects across nine countries. PepsiCo’s continued investment aims to address some of the most urgent challenges facing agriculture today, while moving the company’s pep+ (PepsiCo Positive) agenda forward.
The PepsiCo Positive Agriculture Outcomes (PAO) Accelerator will now catalyse more than $30 million in investments to support nearly 40 agricultural projects through 2028.
PepsiCo’s PAO Accelerator offers local farming communities co-investment to accelerate diverse and results-driven Positive Agriculture projects, as well as funding for ag-tech start-ups that offer proven products or technology with the potential to scale. This year’s innovations will build resiliency through climate related analysis, improve soil health, and strengthen farms’ climate resilience – engaging farmers in Australia, Colombia, Egypt, India, Iraq, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, and the United Kingdom.
Margaret Henry, Vice President, Sustainable and Regenerative Agriculture at PepsiCo, said, “We can’t motivate systemic change on our own, and our PAO Accelerator continues to provide a forum for farming communities to bring forth ideas and opportunities, and receive the funding needed to get promising innovation off the ground. With this latest round of projects, we’re not only fostering this powerful network of innovators across global farmland, but growing closer to achieving a more regenerative future, with farmers’ insight at the forefront.”
Among the roster of 2023 projects, will be a project with Australian grain growers to test and validate soil health management practices to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions on-farm. In Colombia, funding will support increasing potato crop quality and yield by installing sprinkler irrigation systems that will also reduce water use. And, in collaboration with 3Keel, a UK-based landscape innovation firm, funding will help connect Europe-based organisations interested in supporting regenerative solutions with local farmland managers who can deliver measurable, sustainable outcomes.
Tom Curtis, Director, 3Keel Group Ltd, said, “Investing in pioneering agriculture projects is a key action in combatting the evolving climate crisis and setting farmers around the world, up for long-term success. Support from PepsiCo’s PAO Accelerator will powerfully enable our team to work with local farmers across Europe to further broker the partnerships needed to accelerate climate action on the ground to strengthen agricultural supply chains for the long-term.”
Since its launch in 2021, the PAO Accelerator has supported diverse projects – from adopting efficient irrigation systems in response to increased drought, developing kilns to turn agricultural waste into fertiliser, improving soil health, and more.
Chris Seymour, Seymour Farms, Canada, and 2022 PAO Accelerator funding recipient, said, “Speaking from experience, prioritising and investing in climate-smart innovation can uncover solutions for our entire global agricultural supply chain. With support from PepsiCo’s PAO Accelerator, my team gained new insights that helped improved soil health and profitability for my business, even as weather conditions became more unpredictable over time.”
As part of its pep+ transformation, PepsiCo’s Positive Agriculture agenda prioritizes investment, innovation, and robust collaboration with our farming partners to deliver impact around the world. The scalable outcomes and ongoing investments in agricultural innovation via PepsiCo’s PAO Accelerator continue to support the company’s goal to spread the adoption of regenerative farming practices across 7 million acres by 2030, improve the livelihoods of more than 250,000 people in its agricultural supply chain, and sustainably source 100% of its key ingredients.