December 7, 2024
Spotlight Stories
Spotlight 1 – Wired says that chocolate has a sustainability problem, however science thinks it has found an answer. Read about it, here.
Spotlight 2 – Politico details how collaboration is key to fulfilling regenerative agriculture goals. Check out the story, here.
Spotlight 3 – An article in Nature discusses how progress towards sustainable agriculture will potentially be hampered by siloed scientific discourses. Check it out, here.
Industry Updates
Source Agriculture Corp., an innovative agri-tech investment company, has announced a strategic investment in Ascribe Bioscience, a cutting-edge company dedicated to developing sustainable crop protection solutions. Ascribe, founded in 2017, is focused on discovering natural products derived from the soil microbiome to help farmers achieve more reliable, affordable, and environmentally responsible farming practices. Ascribe Bioscience's lead product, Phytalix, acts like a vaccine for plants by priming their natural defense systems against pathogens. Based on naturally occurring molecules produced by soil organisms, Phytalix has shown proven efficacy in controlling a broad spectrum of pathogens across multiple crops, including corn, wheat, soy, rice, potatoes, and tomatoes. The product is non-toxic, biodegradable, and non-GMO, making it an environmentally friendly alternative to chemical pesticides and expensive biological treatments. [link]
The Food Foundation’s Investor Coalition on Food Policy is working the power of investors to engage with policymakers on issues related to food systems in the United Kingdom. The Coalition allows investors to engage with policymakers on food policy issues, supporting regulations that will lead to a healthy, sustainable, and affordable food system. The Food Foundation created the Coalition to help ensure that investors had a voice in the development and implementation of policy after realizing that England’s National Food Strategy (NFS) did not incorporate investor perspectives. In the coming years, the Coalition hopes to continue to engage with food policy in the UK and begin to establish an international focus as well. They also plan to continue working to ensure that investors are recognized as important stakeholders in the food policy landscape. [link]
The OPEC Fund for International Development has signed a $40 million loan as part of a $394 million sustainability-linked loan for ETC Group (ETG), one of Africa's largest agricultural commodity supply chain managers. The financing will enhance ETG's working capital, strengthen food systems and support the livelihoods of more than 600,000 smallholder farmers across sub-Saharan Africa. This is the OPEC Fund's first sustainability-linked loan, a financing tool that ties lending terms to meeting environmental, social and governance (ESG) targets. The loan incentivizes ETG to improve farmer livelihoods, reduce environmental impacts and enhance food security. [link]
The world needs to urgently change the way food is grown and land is used in order to avoid irreparable harm to global food production capacity, according to a major new scientific report. Currently seven out of nine ‘planetary boundaries’ have been negatively impacted by unsustainable land use, mostly related to unsustainable agriculture, warns the report produced by the German-based Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) along with the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). Approximately 15 million km² of land area, or 10% of the world’s terrestrial space, is already severely degraded, as measured by the extent of deforestation, diminished food production capacity, and the disappearance of freshwater resources. And this degraded land area is expanding each year by about 1 million km², according to the report. Failure to reverse land degradation trends that result in deforestation and impoverished soils will also have long-term, knock-on impacts with respect to hunger, migration, and conflict, the report warns. [link]
The Maryland Department of Agriculture has begun accepting grant applications for its Healthy Soils Competitive Fund. This unique program offers financial assistance to qualifying farmers and organizations to adopt conservation practices aimed at improving soil health in the state. Successful applicants will receive up to $50,000 to support three years of enhanced soil health practices. Funds are available for farmers, groups of farmers, or organizations working with farmers that want to manage the following practices in innovative ways: Agroforestry, Cover Crops, Conservation Tillage, Pasture/Hay Planting, Conservation Cover, Critical Area Planting, Conservation Crop Rotation, Nutrient Management, Integrated Pest Management, Prescribed Grazing, Soil Carbon Amendments. [link]
Pennsylvania’s farms could become more resilient to severe weather brought on by climate change thanks to $40.8 million in federal grant money. The National Hemp Association plans to use a $19.6 million grant to help farmers grow hemp on 5,000 acres in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The association said the effort will encourage practices such as contour farming, crop rotation, cover cropping, nutrient management and no-till farming. The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture is the lead partner on a $21.2 million grant to help dairy farmers reduce emissions from livestock and manure, which account for nearly 62% of the state agriculture sector’s greenhouse gas emissions. The money will roll out over five years in the form of financial and technical assistance to farmers, said Mike Roth, director of innovation for the state Department of Agriculture. [link]
Cargill said it is laying off 5% of its global workforce, roughly 8,000 workers, as the agricultural giant deals with tepid crop prices and pressure on the beef industry. In a statement, Cargill said the move was part of its efforts to align talent and resources with a long-term strategy set earlier this year. The Minneapolis-based company has over 160,000 employees operating in 70 countries, according to its website. [link]
Toesca Asset Management and Astarte Capital Partners have announced a partnership to establish an institutional platform focused on regenerative agriculture investments in Chile and the broader Latin American region. This first fund, Toesca Permanent Crops II (“TPC II”), a member of the Astarte Platform, is set to invest $350 million in a diversified portfolio of permanent crops based on regenerative and sustainable practices, focusing on Chile’s competitive advantages in permanent crops and targeting strategic expansion into Peru and other Latin American markets. The portfolio aims to deliver strong financial returns through high-performance orchards featuring carefully selected species, all operated under the highest operational, environmental and social standards. [link]
The state of California continues to work on formalizing a state-level definition for regenerative agriculture, recently convening to submit a draft definition to the State Board of Food & Agriculture. “Regenerative agriculture,” as defined for use by State of California policies and programs, is an integrated approach to farming and ranching rooted in principles of soil health and informed by the traditions and innovations from the original Indigenous stewards of the land. Examples of target outcomes include: increased statewide implementation of conservation practice standards that improve soil health, sequester carbon, and reduce greenhouse gases; furthering California's sustainable pest management through conservation practice standards; protecting the welfare and care of animals in agriculture; building healthy, local communities; and protecting spiritual and cultural traditions, among others. State agencies and departments plan to coordinate with the Department, contingent upon resources, in the development of measurable and verifiable outcomes related to individual policies and programs and are responsible for incorporating verification and reporting. [link]
Kansas State University researchers have received a $2 million award from the National Science Foundation’s Global Centers program to develop sensors that can more accurately detect nutrients, chemical compounds, soil microbiomes and greenhouse gases in soil. The project will involve more than a half dozen scientists aiming to develop sensors using atomically thin carbon sheets in which the actual sensing events occur at the nanoscale, defined as a dimension between 1 and 100 nanometers. The initial research and testing of the nanoscale sensors will take place on K-State’s North Farm in Manhattan, but the goal is to eventually spread to sites in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Ultimately, the goal is to form a Global Center to help train students in interdisciplinary research and education and increase understanding of the capability of the proposed sensors. [link]
Almost half of the fields in Northern Ireland have been tested so far as part of a scheme to help farmers understand the nutrients in their soil. Almost 70% of farms have registered for the Soil Nutrient Health Scheme, a scheme that is the first of its kind anywhere in the world. The £37m program is run by the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute and helps farmers understand the nutrient makeup of their soil, including nitrogen and phosphorus levels that can contribute to water quality problems and algal blooms in Lough Neagh through run-off. Fertilizer can then be applied where it is needed and excess nutrients reduced over time. [link]
Mars, Incorporated, a global leader in pet care products, confectionery, snacking and food, has announced major collaborations to scale regenerative agriculture practices across its pet nutrition business in Europe. Multiyear collaborations have begun with suppliers including Cargill and ADM, and technical experts Biospheres, Horta, Agreena and Soil Capital in Europe. Through these partnerships, farmers in Poland, Hungary, and the UK will receive financial incentives and expert advisory services to support adoption of regenerative agriculture practices, including crop rotation, minimal tillage, and cover crops. The programs will support farmers to invest in new methods and offer training to build knowledge and confidence while reducing barriers to adopting regenerative agriculture practices. [link]
In Case You Missed It…
In mid-November, CoBank announced the launch of its first sustainability-linked loan in partnership with its customer, Heartland Co-op. See more, here.