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ADM has announced an important expansion of its global regenerative agriculture efforts with the launch of its programme in Brazil.

The Brazil programme aims to promote and support sustainable agricultural production by focusing on soil health, biodiversity protection, improved soil fertility and resilience and increased farm productivity. In the initial stages of the programme, ADM will focus on three practices: Fertiliser use efficiency and increased use of biological inputs: By reducing chemical inputs and substituting traditional nitrogen products with more technological alternatives ADM aims to reduce carbon emissions in planting, coupled with increasing productivity due to improved soil health.

No-till farming: ADM hopes to leverage technical assistance guidance for the refinement and intensification of this widely used practice in the field, for the greatest results in soil health. Covered soil/cover crops: By using a mix of cover crops to improve soil health, especially during off-season windows, ADM aims to positively impact water absorption, structure, biodiversity and soil fertility.

Luciano Souza, ADM's grains director for South America, said: “We’re proud to expand our global efforts and launch our regenerative agriculture programme in Brazil. The basic principle is to support farmers in their efforts to do more with less, meaning higher productivity with less use of inputs, less water use, lower greenhouse gas emissions, lower risk of soil degradation and less use of fuels and energy. We know that customers are looking for lower-carbon intensity products with increased transparency in supply chains, and we’re committed to continuing to expand our efforts to help them meet their sustainability goals and consumer needs.”

The programme is launching via a pilot that will work with 20 soy farmers encompassing almost 50,000 acres in the Uberlândia and Campo Grande regions to gather information on the impact of their current practices. ADM reports that farmers participating in the pilot will receive technical assistance, training sessions and soil organic matter and carbon sequestration measurements.

All greenhouse gas emission calculations for the pilot will be performed using a calculator designed and developed by Bayer S.A. in partnership with Embrapa to quantify field emissions, land-use change emissions, carbon footprint of inputs applied in the field and carbon footprint of transportation.

Felipe Albuquerque, carbon new business development manager for Bayer, commented: "This is a significant step by Bayer, through collaborative work, cutting-edge science and technology, to build, with farmers and partners, the carbon ecosystem. We understand that in agribusiness, we have the important purpose of mitigating the impact of climate change through the pillars of regeneration, decarbonisation and greenhouse gas removal. The partnership with ADM promotes an economically attractive model, where industry and producers connect and create solutions that benefit the entire value chain." Data collection during the pilot will allow ADM, Bayer and other participants to gain insights into current environmental impacts and potential reduction opportunities as the programme expands, with ADM planning to set up 300,000 acres of regenerative agriculture in Brazil by 2027.