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October, 2024…
Nestlé partners with Agritech company Klim to put regenerative food systems into practice at scale…
Industry experts, representatives of NGOs, and policymakers gathered at the European Regenerative Agriculture Summit in Amsterdam were met by a handful of protesters at the door. These people were protesting against industrial farming and demanding a transformation to fairer food systems. It was a possibility for dialogue.
“This is an opportunity to highlight the shift toward regenerative agriculture,” says Robert Gerlach, CEO and cofounder of Klim. This German Agritech company is creating a joint movement with farmers and businesses to scale regenerative practices, improve soil health and biodiversity, and reduce CO₂ emissions.
“Our mission is to accelerate the global transition to regenerative agriculture by providing a seamless, scalable solution to help companies transform their agricultural supply chains,” says Gerlach.
REGENERATING TOGETHER…
One of the companies driving this transformational shift is Nestlé, with its journey to regeneration and an IT infrastructure fit for global scale and complexity. Klim and the CPG giant copresented a case study at the summit, Bridging the Gap: Overcoming Challenges in Regenerative Agriculture, which showcased a project conducted with farmers and Nestlé in Germany.
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“Nestlé’s net-zero goal is to reduce emissions by 50% by 2030 and achieve net zero by 2050,” says Philip Werkmann, sustainability manager at Nestlé. “One of our commitments is to increase the amount of key ingredients we source from regenerative farming. Not achieving this ambition is a business risk.”
Werkmann explains that Nestlé is keenly aware of the implication of climate change on its supply chains and its risk of not being able to source raw materials for its brands in the future. “Climate adaptation and mitigation to future-proof our supply chains are key. However, the implementation of regenerative practices remains challenging, especially where there is no direct link between us and the farmers,” he says.
To address the gap, Klim and Nestlé are working with a group of dairy farmers, including Thomas Gaebert, who began using regenerative methods in 2017.
“Initially, like most farmers, I was very skeptical about the engagement with a large company on the topic of regenerative agriculture,” he says. “They set very high targets and have the resources, but I have to think about the risks and the additional effort for myself as an individual farmer. Klim was there to help reduce the risks.”
MANAGING THE TRANSITION…
Klim acts as a mediator between farmers and the food industry. Its digital platform offers farms documentation and funding opportunities as well as access to knowledge and a community. The project with Nestlé was initiated in 2022 with 10 farmers, and by 2023 included 26 farmers with 12,000 hectares farmed with regenerative practices. The goal is to work with 50 farmers in 2024.
“Sometimes farmers are not willing to implement regenerative practices, because they might not see the business case and may even be skeptical about our true intentions to invest,” Werkmann explains. “As a large food company, we have the privilege of working with a lot of innovators, which is why we are working with Klim. As the project manager, they help us create rapport and build trust with the farmers.”
Transitioning food supply chains at speed and at scale presents an enormous global challenge. It can only happen through long-term partnerships that engage every stakeholder in the chain.
It all begins with soil. Soil not only directly or indirectly produces 95% of our food, but it also plays a key role in global climate processes. However, currently 50% of soil organic carbon (SOC) has been lost worldwide, creating an urgent need for action. With industrial agriculture responsible for about one-fourth of global emissions, agriculture simultaneously affects the climate and is affected by it, making farmers particularly vulnerable to the consequences of climate change.
Regenerative agriculture refers to practices that contribute to the enrichment of humus in the soil. This stores carbon, improves soil structure, and increases biodiversity in fields, helping to regenerate the soil and improve its fertility and climate resilience. In addition, farmers reduce their emissions through better management.
TAKING STOCK…
The project with Klim is helping Nestlé put regenerative food systems into practice at scale. Werkmann believes that the company needs partners that bring everyone together and help translate the needs of farmers into its road map KPIs. He lists the major outcomes for Nestlé, including:
… Improved long-term supply chain security and predictability
… Significant progress toward sustainability targets such as decarbonizing supply chain
… Valuable learnings on the scalability of regenerative projects
… Increased trust and better relationships with farmers and suppliers
“Thanks to the project, we now know we are ready to scale and expand to new regions and commodities,” says Werkmann.
Farmer Gaebert says that with Klim’s support, he can now refinance some of his projects and further expand regenerative practices on his farm. “This project shows that it’s not fully the farmer’s responsibility to scale up regenerative agriculture. Change must happen along the whole value chain,” he says. “Collaborating with a large company and project experts has paid off for us.”
Klim was named one of the Top 40 Companies Promoting Regenerative Farming Practices in 2023 by Omdena, the global platform for AI solutions to real-world problems. This project is just one example of how the company is leading the way toward a fully regenerative system that protects the world’s most precious resource: soil.
The good news is that many players in the food supply chain are digitalizing farming processes and services, which in turn creates collaborative opportunities. “SAP Intelligent Agriculture helps agribusiness companies increase efficiency, improve data quality, and connect existing data sets to gain insights and support auditing tasks,” says Anja Strothkaemper, vice president of agribusiness and commodity management at SAP, who spoke at the same event on the benefits of harnessing data for regenerative agriculture.
Judith Magyar is a content specialist at SAP…
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