PepsiCo has announced the third year of its global agriculture program, the Positive Agriculture Outcomes Accelerator, by backing eight new innovation projects across nine countries. PepsiCo's continued investment aims to address some of the most urgent challenges facing agriculture today, while moving the company's pep+ (PepsiCo Positive) agenda forward.
PepsiCo's PAO Accelerator offers local farming communities co-investment to accelerate diverse and results-driven Positive Agriculture projects, as well as funding for ag-tech startups that offer proven products or technology with the potential to scale. This year's innovations will build resiliency through climate related analysis, improve soil health, and strengthen farms' climate resilience – engaging farmers in Australia, Colombia, Egypt, India, Iraq, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, and the United Kingdom.
"We can't motivate systemic change on our own, and our PAO Accelerator continues to provide a forum for farming communities to bring forth ideas and opportunities, and receive the funding needed to get promising innovation off the ground," said Margaret Henry, Vice President, Sustainable and Regenerative Agriculture at PepsiCo. "With this latest round of projects, we're not only fostering this powerful network of innovators across global farmland, but growing closer to achieving a more regenerative future, with farmers' insight at the forefront."
Among the roster of 2023 projects, will be a project with Australian grain growers to test and validate soil health management practices to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions on-farm. In Colombia, funding will support increasing potato crop quality and yield by installing sprinkler irrigation systems that will also reduce water use. And, in collaboration with 3Keel, a UK-based landscape innovation firm, funding will help connect Europe-based organizations interested in supporting regenerative solutions with local farmland managers who can deliver measurable, sustainable outcomes.
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