As the world faces a range of unprecedented challenges, building more resilient food systems to support the global population is increasing in its importance. The best strategies to adopt and implement at scale were discussed by a panel of food industry experts at Newsweek’s The Future of Food and Agriculture Forum in New York City. You also have the challenge of water, too much water, too little water,” Florence Henry, global head of sustainability at Nestle, told Newsweek's guests.
Erratic weather and issues with water are two major problems farmers face these days, but increasing costs are another concern. From fertilizer to diesel fuel, “Input prices are crazy this year,” explained Dominique Lawrie, global head of sustainability at Bunge, an agricultural solutions company that helps connect farmers to consumers. He continued: “The price volatility of the commodities itself, their profit and loss,, the money that they need, they just don’t know whether to invest now, whether to sell now, whether to buy now.
It’s all very confusing.” But what can farmers actually do to cope with erratic weather and endlessly increasing prices? A series of regenerative agricultural strategies like minimizing tillage, rotating crops, interplanting and even integrating livestock could be the answer. These practices can dramatically improve soil health, boosting yields while lowering costs and even making a difference in climate change.
Farmers can offset so-called anthropogenic emissions, or those created by human activities, by sequestering carbon directly in the ground. And with soil health, we can reduce the energy needed to grow the crop,” said Jay McEntire, the CEO and co-founder of Arva Intelligence, a company that’s aiming to make regenerative agriculture the industry standard. The CEO explained that the higher the organic matter, the more you put into the soil, the greater the drought resistance and fertility.
One of the farmers McEntire’s worked with had soil with 6% organic matter, which provides greatly enhanced drought resistance. In comparison, his farm, which was only 15 miles away, had just 1.5% organic matter when he started. That’s a big difference in water-holding capacity and the amount of carbon in the soil.
McEntire said the farmers they’ve helped implement regenerative practices use less fertilizer and energy, which has saved them millions of dollars. We’re not going to compromise sustainability to save a few short-term dollars, because that’s going to bite in the long term,” explained Alastair Child, chief sustainability officer at Mars Incorporated. We absolutely put a value on that, fully embedded into the sourcing contract with our suppliers,” he added.
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