By Joshua Neil

Copyright edie

Regenerative agricultural practices aim to restore soil health and natural resources rather than depleting them. They can include planting cover crops, adopting a low-till or no-till approach, and grazing livestock in a seasonal rotation.

The new STEP up for Agriculture initiative will provide tools, training and funding to local advisory groups and cooperatives, helping farmers adopt regenerative practices and build resilience into food supply chains.

PepsiCo has set a target to transition ten million acres to regenerative agriculture by 2030, while Unilever is aiming to roll out regenerative principles across one million hectares globally. Expansion of the new programme is already underway, beginning with a pilot in Spain.

Closing knowledge gaps

The initiative was created to provide more than technical solutions for regenerative agriculture, with trusted relationships central to greater adoption of new practices. It will strengthen groups such as South East Research Farm in Canada, Practical Farmers of Iowa in the US, and Farm Advisor in Indiana, by providing funding, staffing, and measurement systems.

Corporate and philanthropic partners, including the PepsiCo Foundation and the Platform for Agriculture and Climate Transformation (PACT), will contribute funding and strategic support.

Over the next two years, STEP up for Agriculture will host peer-learning events, develop shared tools, and expand pilot programmes in Europe and elsewhere. The Spanish farmer cooperative Garlan, supported by the Earthworm Foundation, will be the first to trial the model in Europe.

With additional corporate partners expected to join, the initiative signals a growing movement towards collective, cross-sectoral efforts to rebuild food systems on a regenerative foundation.

PepsiCo’s chief sustainability officer Jim Andrews said: “Our business is rooted in agriculture, and farmers are at the heart of our food systems. STEP up is about investing in the organisations that support farmers every day, aiming to ensure they can grow, innovate and lead the transition to more sustainable agriculture. When farmers thrive, we all thrive.”

Prior efforts

This latest launch follows a series of collaborations between PepsiCo and major organisations to support regenerative agriculture. Earlier this month, PepsiCo partnered with the National Geographic Society on its new ‘Food for Tomorrow’ programme, designed to highlight the unsustainable nature of global food systems and showcase solutions rooted in regenerative practices.

That programme will provide funding for National Geographic’s Explorers to document regenerative farming around the world and establish a new grant fund for science-led projects.

PepsiCo has also increased its regenerative agriculture target from seven to ten million acres by 2030.

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