Large food companies have their sights set on agriculture. Although both industries have a close relationship, in recent years they have given impetus to strategies that have an impact on the business and help to have sustainable practices and support workers in the field.
Pepsi, Modelo, Heineken or Danone are some of the companies that have opted for these actions, ranging from accompanying small producers to make their products more profitable, to agreeing to purchase raw materials, some of which, like the grains, have had price increases during this year.
For companies, acquiring the raw materials used in their products in advance allows them to achieve prices that, in some cases, avoid market fluctuations. They also ensure that their finished products reach the group of consumers who choose to purchase those that are more environmentally friendly. Although the focus of the initiatives is on empowering farm workers.
In April, Pepsico launched Agrovita, a three-year program to teach producers regenerative agricultural practices and support 920 banana, cocoa and oil palm producers in the states of Tabasco and Chiapas. One of the objectives is for these producers to learn to interact with other companies, in order for their merchandise to generate greater income for them.
The demand for sustainable products is a trend that is driven by new generations and the company is moving forward to implement this sustainable chain in its product portfolio, which considers carbonated beverages such as Pepsi or 7Up and snacks from the Sabritas brand.
“At Pepsico this is not new. We have spent a journey of more than a decade ensuring that we have a broad portfolio that meets all the needs of consumers, but also that we do it in a sustainable and fair way, and that results not only in the growth of our business, but also in first growth of the communities where we operate ”, comments Alina Hernández Aguilar, Director of Corporate Affairs at Pepsico.
Esteban Figeroa, sustainability manager at Proforest, the organization that accompanies Pepsico in Agrovita, comments that the support of companies in the field is a necessity, while business groups play a more active role in projects in the field, which have an impact positive for producers and their communities.
“Before agriculture was taken for granted as a common practice, as something that has always happened and today many companies that depend on it have turned to the sector. There is a revaluation within the productive system. Farmers realize that their product is worth more, not only for the economic price, but for all the benefits that exist around the way they produce ”, he points out.
Heineken México is another company that accompanies farm workers. In March of this year, the brewery set the objective of growing the number of hectares of barley in Mexico by 50% to 15,000 with the Sustainable Cebada Innovation Program (Pices), with which it supports producers from the Bajío and the highlands. to improve and increase the production of this cereal.
With this program, which was born about two years ago, the beer group supports with better seeds and fertilizers, and with the adoption of cultivation methods and state-of-the-art technology and training to boost the productivity and profitability of malting barley in the country. . The goal is to expand the program, which started with 6 farmers, to more than 1,000 this year.
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The companies have not only directed their efforts to support the farmers who provide them with raw materials. Julián Fernández, analyst at Bursamétrica, affirms that there is a great bet for support programs of the private initiative to reactivate the agribusiness, which was badly hit by the pandemic.
“There was a lot of openness on the part of the companies, who raised their hands to support. This adds a lot to the issue of prices, there are some that have been increasing and this helps to return them to levels before the pandemic, “he says.
As part of these efforts, in May 2020 Grupo Modelo committed to acquire barley from about 4,000 producers in Zacatecas, Durango, Guanajuato and Hidalgo, without revealing the amount that was set for this grain. A year later, the company presented Pura Malta, a beer made with this raw material, one of the latest innovations in its portfolio.
Abel Muñoz, commercial manager for seeds Mexico at NK, says that these actions to support the field generate added value for producers, in addition to strengthening ties throughout the value chain of a brand.
“For farmers one of the great concerns is the issue of marketing. Being tied with the value chain, in this case with the buyers, the farmer sees it as a very good added value because he already has a guaranteed price and the sale. And with this, he focuses on how to produce more in a more rational, more efficient way, always seeking that his factory, which is that the land, is sustainable over time ”, he assures.
