Support for green goals in a 'red' potato season

Various potato processors have recently announced that they are going to support growers with green goals and challenges. For example, Aviko, Farm Frites and McCain are signing a document on regenerative agriculture, and PepsiCo is announcing that it will give young farmers a helping hand. Food giant PepsiCo has joined a program of EIT Food that is focused on young farmers in Europe. The company announced this at the end of May. It is part of a broader program (Future Farm Lab) of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology. Within this three-year project, food companies can participate in subprojects aimed at young farmers and the challenges they face. Few young farmers According to EIT and PepsiCo, it is essential to support a new generation of farmers. Only 11% of all farmers in Europe are 40 years old or younger. At the same time, there are increasing challenges around climate change, rising costs and market volatility that business successors have to deal with. The threshold for not taking over the business has a negative impact on food security. Practical tips The project in which PepsiCo is participating is being rolled out in five countries, including the Netherlands, France and Poland. In total, 900 young farmers are to be reached to share knowledge in project groups and online. The focus is on regenerative agriculture and dealing with climate change, but also digitization and financial topics. Exactly what this will look like in practice is not yet known, but EIT and PepsiCo speak of practical tips and advice, coming from people in the sector and on the farm. The American multinational is not the only one that wants to support farmers with, among other things, regenerative agricultural practices. Forty food companies, including Aviko, Farm Frites and McCain, signed a letter of intent this month to start supporting their growers in this area as well. This is being done under the banner of the SAI Platform. The Sustainable Agricultural Initiative Platform is a non-profit organization of which 190 food companies worldwide are part. These include companies such as McDonald's, Ahold Delhaize, Cosun, Unilever and Südzucker. Chain collaboration In the letter of intent, forty companies endorse that a shift to regenerative agriculture is important for the entire agricultural sector, so that it can respond to challenges around climate change, biodiversity, soil quality, water and earning capacity. This can only be achieved through collaboration across the entire chain, the participants believe. That is why they are getting to work with the Regenerating Together Programme. More and more potato processors are jumping on the bandwagon of regenerative potato cultivation. This is usually driven by the buyers of their end product, while for the grower there is often only a small additional benefit to be gained. McCain has been working with this for some time in various European countries and was also an early mover in the Netherlands. For this, it entered into a partnership with Rabobank. In 2024, Aviko did the same and Farm Frites followed in 2025. There are also programs for regenerative agriculture for chips and table potatoes. Reward Many growers are open to new agricultural practices, but at the same time they are also critical. Requirements above the legal minimum must also be rewarded. That is not easy, especially in a sector that is currently under strong price pressure. In addition, as volumes increase, differentiation also decreases. At McCain, participating growers could initially receive a €5 premium per tonne of potatoes plus an interest discount at Rabobank, when investing in required technology. The other processors have made similar agreements. Whether this will be enough to stimulate growers' interest remains to be seen in practice. Contract prices actually fell this season, while inputs such as fuel and fertilizer have risen sharply. The well-known saying 'you can't act green if you're in the red' remains relevant.