PepsiCo: Boosting Food Resilience via Regenerative Farming

As a major global food and drink company sourcing over 35 crops from more than 60 countries, PepsiCo saw agriculture make up 37% of its total emissions in 2023.

Now, it is stepping up plans to cut emissions across its farming supply chain by expanding its regenerative agriculture programme through a new partnership with fertiliser firm Yara International.

PepsiCo has emphasised that cutting emissions is not only a climate imperative but also key to securing long-term food system resilience and the future of its business.

Regenerative agriculture at PepsiCo

The move to regenerative agriculture sits at the heart of PepsiCo’s PepsiCo Positive (pep+) sustainability strategy.

This approach brings together sustainable sourcing, stronger support for farmers' livelihoods, and practices that build resilience to climate challenges.

“This collaboration agreement with Yara marks a significant advancement in our pep+ (PepsiCo Positive) agenda,” comments Paula Santilli, PepsiCo Latin America’s Chief Executive.

“We believe that Positive Agriculture—our ambition to support regenerative farming practices, sustainable sourcing and improved livelihoods—will be pivotal in meeting the increasing demand for food as the global population grows, while also addressing the need to protect and enhance our natural resources and promote human well-being.”

PepsiCo is aiming to roll out regenerative practices across seven million acres globally by 2030—an area roughly equal to its entire agricultural footprint.

So far, 1.8 million acres have already shifted to regenerative methods.

Scaling low-carbon farming in Latin America

The latest phase of PepsiCo’s partnership with Yara zeroes in on Latin America.

In this initial rollout, over 20 farmers across Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Argentina will gain access to Yara’s low-carbon fertilisers, covering around 700 hectares of potato fields.

These fertilisers are produced using either ammonia made through carbon capture or entirely with clean energy.

According to Yara, this could help cut a farmer’s carbon footprint by between 40% and 60%, depending on the type used.

Beyond simply substituting products, the initiative will also offer training to farmers on optimising fertiliser use and maintaining soil quality, ensuring that environmental gains are matched with improved agricultural productivity.

Plans are already in place to expand the programme throughout Latin America, focusing on crops like corn, wheat, oats, coconut and bananas.

European expansion with PepsiCo

PepsiCo and Yara are also collaborating to advance regenerative farming across Europe and the UK.

Their long-term goal is to transition approximately 1,000 farms across 128,000 hectares, starting with potato farms—essential to PepsiCo’s Lay’s crisps—and later extending to other key crops.

Yara will provide up to 165,000 tonnes of low-carbon fertiliser annually, accounting for a quarter of PepsiCo’s fertiliser use in the region by 2030.

These inputs will come from Yara’s new low-emissions facilities in Norway and the Netherlands.

To support this transition, the companies are providing farmers with advanced agronomic guidance and digital tools such as PepsiCo’s CropTrak and ML Analytics, along with Yara’s AtFarm and MegaLab soil diagnostics.

These platforms will allow for precise nutrient management, improved yields and a substantial reduction in on-farm emissions.

The global challenge of agricultural sustainability

With agriculture responsible for around 23% of global greenhouse gas emissions, initiatives like this are vital for securing the future of food systems.

Extreme weather events, including droughts and floods, are already threatening harvests worldwide.

At the same time, the UN predicts the global population will reach 9.7 billion by 2050, necessitating a 60% increase in food production.

By facilitating access to low-carbon inputs and offering direct support to farmers, PepsiCo is helping to remove the financial and technical barriers that have traditionally hindered the growth of regenerative agriculture.

“Low-carbon product research and development requires significant investment and partnership,” explains Jim Andrew, Chief Sustainability Officer at PepsiCo.

“By playing the role of a first mover, PepsiCo helps send demand signals to the market to drive the continual innovation and investment we need to support farmers well into the future.”

This collaboration contributes to the growing momentum in the food and drink sector.

In 2023, companies such as Mars, McCain Foods, McDonald’s and Waitrose joined PepsiCo in introducing a new framework to make regenerative farming scalable and financially viable.

With integrated climate strategies, cross-value chain collaboration and tangible support for farmers, the PepsiCo-Yara partnership sets a benchmark for others to follow.

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