The Future of Sustainable Fruit Farming
The Future of Sustainable Fruit Farming
Why regenerative farming?
Regenerative farming and upcycling are two of the hottest topics for the food and beverage space for 2024 and beyond. The sustainability expectation of consumers is paired with their need to be resourceful and savvy with what they buy. We, at AGRANA Fruit consider regenerative farming practices as a key factor in ensuring for a sustainable fruit supply in the future. But, what is regenerative farming?
Quoting our partner Metabolic, regenerative farming is “a system of producing food and biomass that focuses on building functional biodiversity and soil health to produce consistent yields without relying on synthetic inputs (herbicides, pesticides, and chemical fertilizers).” What is interesting is that despite the growing interest in regenerative agriculture, there is no “official” definition for it. Speaking more broadly, it is about reimagining our relationship with nature and evolving our mindset about agriculture.
How is regenerative farming relevant to consumers?
As a consumer that is conscious about sustainability, regenerative farming is probably not the first thing that comes to mind. Sustainability is a multi-faceted topic and often the first associations of consumers are around product packaging and avoiding waste. However, with increased concerns around food security and the large contribution of agriculture to carbon emissions globally, innovative farming techniques have become something interesting for sustainability-conscious consumers.
Regenerative farming is the most positively perceived innovative farming practice with 42% of consumers agreeing. The positive associations of consumers with regenerative farming are not only limited to environmental benefits as seen in the graph above. Consumers also expect healthier crops and better produce as a result of regenerative agricultural practices. (Source: Innova market insights)
Regenerative farming of fruits
To deliver great-tasting fruit solutions for the dairy, ice cream and food service industries, access to high quality fruits grown and processed in a sustainable way is key. AGRANA Fruit is the pioneer in the field of regenerative farming for fruits globally. Together with our partners Metabolic and reNature, we have developed the AGRANA Fruit Regenerative Agriculture Framework for Fruits.
The framework is a hands-on tool for farmers, cooperatives, agronomists, and buyers to transition from traditional to regenerative farming of fruits with a step-by-step guide explaining the essential and additional practices and their effects on fruit farming. This framework is an important step in our journey to foster more sustainable practices and better soil health. Together with our partner farms in Canada and Mexico we have implemented pilot projects to constantly learn and build our expertise for regeneratively grown fruits.
When it comes to regenerative agriculture there is a major difference in the practices needed and the related effects depending on the crop type of the fruit, for example: tree fruits (such as apples), bush fruits (such as blueberries) and ground fruits (such as strawberries). This framework and the work on our pilot farms are enabling our customers access to the world’s first fruit preparations with regeneratively grown fruits, bringing transparency to consumers and reassuring them of the growing conditions of the fruits in their beloved yogurt or ice cream.
Download the framework below
Silver valley farms - Pilot Project for regenerative farming of fruits
Blueberries grown as part of the regenerative farming project
Training of farmers for regenerative farming practices for fruits
Implementing regenerative farming practices for strawberries in Mexico
What’s next?
We have been supporting our customers with their sustainable products for more than 20 years and we continuously expand our product range aligning with consumer needs. We will continue and gradually extend our pioneering work with regeneratively grown fruits alongside other sustainability focused projects and innovative farming techniques for fruits such as vertical farming and indoor farming.
Get in touch with us to know more about our sustainable solutions for the dairy, dairy alternative, ice cream and food service space!
