Walkers halves water and carbon use on farms

PepsiCo UK & Ireland has announced that it has halved the amount of water and carbon used to grow potatoes for Walkers Crisps in water stressed areas as part of its ‘50 in 5’ commitments, launched in 2010.

Around 100 British farmers growing potatoes are now equipped to grow more British potatoes whilst using less water and emitting less carbon.

PepsiCo collaborated with academics and applied state of the art technology to introduce innovative farming techniques that use energy and water more efficiently. This included:

• iCrop: developed with Cambridge University, iCrop allows farmers to precisely measure soil moisture levels with probes and weather stations installed in their fields. It provides the information they need to judge exactly how much water to use on crops, reducing wastage, saving money, and producing more “crop per drop.” It also helps farmers adapt to precipitation and temperature changes by delivering just the right amounts of water and fertilizers at the right times
• Cool Farm Tool: a digital carbon calculator created by University of Aberdeen, measuring the Carbon (Co2e) per tonne raw potato. This has enabled farmers to easily understand their carbon emissions and to model different scenarios and strategies to limit their impact on the environment.

David Wilkinson, European senior director of agriculture at PepsiCo, says, “We buy 340,000 tonnes of potatoes a year in the UK, so have a real stake in trying to make the process of growing potatoes as sustainable as possible. We’re very proud to have met our ’50 in 5’ target working in partnership with British farmers. This programme really demonstrates how businesses can work across the supply chain to minimise impact on the environment. The work doesn’t stop here, we’re continuing to explore with our growers new ways to reduce carbon and water usage and use resources more efficiently.”

Secretary of state for the environment, food and rural affairs, Andrea Leadsomm, adds, “The 50 in 5 project is a great example of British talent creating innovative, pioneering technology that is now transforming agriculture both in the UK and beyond. This is exactly the sort of creativity and commitment to sustainability we want to see to help our thriving food and farming sector continue to go from strength to strength, while also realising our pledge to be the first generation to leave the environment in a better condition than we found it.

“Whether that’s reducing pesticide use or irrigating more efficiently, these innovations prove that a healthy environment and great tasting products can and do go hand in hand.”