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PepsiCo and The National Geographic Society have announced five new grants funding on-farm research to support practical advancements in regenerative agriculture.
The research, funded as part of PepsiCo and the Society’s Food for Tomorrow initiative, will target critical food crops in climate-vulnerable production hotspots globally. It will cover areas from rewilding prairies to the use of AI technology to translate complex genomics into tangible farming guidance.
Scientists were selected from a pool of researchers with proposals in 140 countries. They will join a global community of National Geographic Explorers – scientists, conservationists and educators focused on protecting the natural world.
Over the next two years, these Explorers will conduct research in real-world contexts with the aim of finding solutions that can help scale tailored regenerative agricultural practices. Targeted crop systems include wheat, maize/corn, potato, soy and coffee.
In Spain, Ahan Dalal will partner with wheat and maize farmers to test locally rooted, regenerative agriculture practices such as biochar, cover crops and beneficial microbes under normal watering and drought scenarios. This aims to create a blueprint for resilience that can spread across the Mediterranean.
In Ethiopia, Hewan Degu’s work focuses on building the microbial evidence for regenerative coffee and potato intercropping systems, learning alongside farmers to guide on-farm application and uptake.
In Indonesia, Al Greeny S. Dewayanti will test the soil regeneration benefits of intercropping sacha inchi, on omega-3 rich vine, in depleted maize fields. DNA metabarcoding and an early-stage AI-powered farmer app will also be integrated, combining indigenous knowledge with modern science and digital tools.
In Wisconsin, Omar de Kok-Mercado is rebuilding biodiverse corridors through a connected ‘wild grid’ of native prairie plantings on marginal maize, soy and wheat farmlands, while Jamie Spychalla’s research focuses on the benefits of integrating nitrogen-fixing alfalfa in potato fields as a rotational, harvestable cover crop. This aims to mitigate climate-induced moisture stress, regenerate soils and improve yields.
These five scientists join five other Food for Tomorrow storytelling Explorers, who have travelled the globe since mid-2025 to capture the challenges, opportunities and perspectives of people working on both large and small farms across various stages of their transition to regenerative agriculture.
These storytellers have conducted fieldwork at farms across 13 crop systems, including wheat, rice, strawberries, lettuce and coffee, as well as livestock.
Jim Andrew, executive vice president and chief sustainability officer at PepsiCo, said: “The global food system is under increasing pressure from climate change and extreme weather, and meeting this moment requires supporting the people at the heart of it – the farmers”.
He added: “Farmers get one chance each season to make a crop succeed. That’s why strong, science-backed practices matter. By continuing to demonstrate what works, we can give farmers the confidence that regenerative agriculture not only helps build a more resilient food system but also strengthen their livelihoods.”
