Nestlé To Source 50% Of Coffee Through Regenerative Agric Methods

Nestlé on Tuesday, launched the Nescafé Plan 2030, as efforts to achieve 50 per cent of coffee sourced through regenerative Agricultural methods by 2030, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve farmers’ livelihoods.

Through the introduction of regenerative agriculture, an approach to farming that aims to improve soil health and fertility, as well as protect water resources and biodiversity, Nestlé aimed to achieve healthier soils for farmers which are more resilient to the impacts of climate change and increase yields, thereby improving farmers’ livelihoods.

Nestlé, through the Nestlé Coffee Brands, is investing over one billion Swiss francs by 2030 to achieve the Nescafé Plan 2030.

This investment builds on the existing Nescafé Plan as the brand expands its sustainability work. It is supported by Nestlé’s regenerative agriculture financing following the Group’s commitment to accelerate the transition to a regenerative food system and ambition to achieve zero net greenhouse gas emissions.

In a press statement, made available to LEADERSHIP, head of Nestlé Coffee Brands, David Rennie, said climate change is putting coffee-growing areas under pressure. Building on 10 years’ experience of the Nescafé Plan, Rennie said, the company is accelerating our work to help tackle climate change and address social and economic challenges in the Nescafé value chains.

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He disclosed that climate challenges like rising temperatures will reduce the area suitable for growing coffee by up to 50 per cent by 2050. At the same time, around 125 million people depend on coffee for their livelihoods and an estimated 80 per cent of coffee-farming families live at or below the poverty line, Rennie revealed, even as he called for more action to ensure the long-term sustainability of coffee.

As the world’s leading coffee brand, he said, Nescafé aims to have a real impact on coffee farming globally. “We want coffee farmers to thrive as much as we want coffee to have a positive impact on the environment. Our actions can help drive change throughout the coffee industry,” he explained.

Some examples of regenerative agriculture practices include: planting cover crops to protect the soil; add biomass to the soil, which can increase soil organic matter and thus soil carbon sequestration; incorporating organic fertilisers which contributes to soil fertility, which is essential for good soil health; increasing the use of agroforestry and intercropping contributes to biodiversity preservation and pruning existing coffee trees or replacing them with disease and climate-change resistant varieties, which will help rejuvenate coffee plots and increase yields for farmers.

Head of Nestlé’s coffee strategic business unit, Philipp Navratil, said Nescafé will provide farmers with training, technical assistance and high-yielding coffee plantlets to help them transit to regenerative coffee farming practices.

Navratil said Nescafé will be working with coffee farmers to test, learn and assess the effectiveness of multiple regenerative agriculture practices. “This will be done with a focus on seven key origins, from where the brand sources 90 per cent of its coffee: Brazil, Vietnam, Mexico, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Indonesia and Honduras,” he averred.