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"50 - in 5"

In a week when US supermarket giant Wal-Mart said it was time to get serious about sustainable agriculture, PepsiCo UK and Ireland has today announced plans to cut carbon emissions and water usage across the farming of its core crops in the UK by 50% over the next 5 years. Its first Sustainable Farming Report published today, details how the company will be working in partnership with 350 British farmers to reach its aim of ’50 in 5’. We should all take note as an even bigger player addresses the impact of climate change and diminishing resources on agriculture.

Few companies have made such ambitious pledges and in such a small time frame.

To help meet these pledges PepsiCo has developed new ‘precision-farming’ technology called ‘i-crop’ - a revolutionary web-based crop management tool developed in conjunction with Cambridge University. The tool, which took 20 years to develop is currently being trialled by a number of PepsiCo’s farmers across the UK and allows them to better analyse their crops over time and cultivate their land more efficiently. The launch of i-crop is an example of the work that food and drink companies are doing to make UK farming increasingly more hi-tech.

PepsiCo recently announced plans to create recyclable crisp packaging from potato peelings. The Farming Report is the next step in the company’s journey to become a more sustainable business.

The parent company of Walkers, Quaker, Tropicana and Copella is the largest buyer of British potatoes since switching to 100% British potatoes in 2007 for Walkers crisps. The company is also one of the UK’s largest purchasers of British oats and apples, using 100% British produce in Copella English Apple juice, Quaker Oats, OatSo Simple and Scott’s Porage.

Initiatives detailed in the report include: new i-crop ‘precision farming’ technology - a revolutionary web-based crop management tool developed in conjunction with Cambridge University and currently being trialled by a number of PepsiCo potato farmers; trials of new low-carbon fertilizers with Spearhead farms, one of Walkers’ largest suppliers; and plans to replace more than 75% of PepsiCo UK’s current potato stock with varieties that will significantly improve farmers’ yields and decrease wastage by 2015. PepsiCo were unable to confirm to Farming Online if this would include the introduction of genetically modified varieties.

Low carbon fertiliser trials

The manufacture of nitrogen fertilisers is a large emitter of carbon. PepsiCo say that at a number of farms, they are currently trialling the use of low carbon fertilisers which, owing to a different manufacturing process and chemical composition, emit less carbon. “If their manufacturing process successfully yields lower carbon emissions, we will work with our farmers to introduce these new fertilisers across our entire grower base. Although we are still in initial stages in these trials, already the results have been encouraging and we look forward to revealing full results later this year.”

Richard Evans, President of PepsiCo UK and Ireland said:

“Farming is in the DNA of our business - we rely on British produce every day and sustainable agriculture is essential to our future. In partnership with our 350 UK farmers, I’m confident that we will realise our aim to reduce carbon emissions and water used in farming by 50% over the next 5 years. i-crop - our new precision farming technology - is just one example of a PepsiCo innovation we hope will have a positive impact on UK farming.”

i-crop is a web based crop management system that together with The Cool Farm Tool – a computer programme for measuring carbon emissions on the farm - will enable PepsiCo UK’s 350 farmers to monitor, manage and reduce their water use and carbon emissions efficiently and effectively, while also maximising potential yield and quality. PepsiCo is currently trialling i-crop in 22 UK farms, collecting data and developing a best practice model for water and energy usage that will help farmers make reductions of 50% by 2015. i-crop will be rolled out across all UK farms in 2011.

Robin Griffiths of Duncote Farm, Shropshire has grown potatoes for Walkers for over three decades. He said:

"In my time we’ve seen off many challenges; we’ve suffered from flooding, drought and are in a region of water stress. The partnership we have had with PepsiCo over the years has given my business the focus and confidence to grow, and tools like i-crop are invaluable in making my business more sustainable, both financially and environmentally.”

PepsiCo has worked with many of its 350 UK farmers for more than 25 years, and some for 40 years and 3 generations. Walkers uses 370,000 tonnes of potatoes per year from British farms around the UK to make its crisps, was the first brand to display the carbon reduction label in 2007, and the first to retain it in 2009.

Commenting on the PepsiCo UK sustainable farming report, Richard Perkins, Senior Commodities Adviser at WWF said:

“The food industry is starting to recognise that in order to fully embed sustainability and biodiversity in its business practices, a large part of the focus must be on the agricultural supply chain. In this respect PepsiCo UK has taken a leadership role in recognising that it is, at its heart, an agricultural business. The focus of the business on improving its key environmental impacts, such as greenhouse gas emissions – in the field and on the farm – is most welcome.”

Andrew Clark, Head of Policy Services, National Farmers Union said:

“As UK farmers we are well aware of the need to produce more food with less environmental impact. Only a long-standing partnership between PepsiCo and its growers will deliver the 50 in 5 target by investing in new ways of growing and storing crops to achieve this goal. But the reward is substantial: more productive and sustainable UK-sourced food will be a win-win for the economy and the environment.”

A full copy of the report is available to download at www.pepsico.co.uk/farming

For further information about i-crop visit: www.i-crop.com