- Farm Credits project explores supply chain financing for sustainability on farms.
- Corporates like Danone and Nestle are focused on reducing supply chain emissions.
- Anti-methanogenic feed additives and slurry amendments are costly but essential.
The Farm Credits project aims to assess whether supply chains could finance environmental sustainability measures on farms, addressing the rising cost of implementing eco-friendly practices.
Large corporations such as Danone, Nestle, and Lidl Ireland, which have set strict emissions reduction targets, are increasingly looking beyond their own operations and toward their entire supply chains.
Driving Sustainability from Farms to Corporates: A New Financial
This project builds on the earlier success of Farm Zero C, where on-farm emissions were reduced by 27%, and biodiversity increased by 10%. By exploring financial mechanisms to fund costly sustainability practices like chemical slurry amendments, researchers aim to help corporates meet their “scope-three emissions” goals while ensuring that farmers are not left bearing the economic burden.
Farmers are often unable to adopt sustainability measures like anti-methanogenic feed additives due to the high costs, which can exceed €6,000 annually. These measures, while beneficial for reducing emissions, do not provide immediate economic returns for farmers, creating a significant barrier to adoption. By identifying the conditions under which farmers would be willing to implement these technologies, the project aims to drive systemic change in agricultural practices.
Big agri-food corporates, such as Nestle and Danone, have increasingly ambitious emissions reduction targets, including their supply chains. Known as “scope-three emissions,” these targets represent emissions that are beyond the corporation’s direct control but arise from production and supply chain activities. These corporates are highly motivated to invest in farm-level sustainability initiatives to ensure they meet their broader environmental goals.
By aligning this system with existing government initiatives such as the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the Farm Credits project seeks to avoid redundancies in payment systems. This ensures that sustainability measures are supported both by government funding and corporate investments, providing farmers with multiple streams of financial assistance while promoting transparency and accountability in emissions reduction.
The Farm Credits project presents a unique opportunity for supply chains and farmers to collaborate in reducing emissions, with corporates stepping up to finance sustainability efforts that will benefit both the environment and the agricultural industry.
“Corporates need to involve and incentivize farmers as most emissions are happening on farms, particularly in livestock production.” — Dr. Cian White
