Agrifood corporations McCain Foods, McDonald’s, and Waitrose & Partners are set to engage in a new pilot programme focused on regenerative agriculture, launched by King Charles III’s Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI). Titled “Routes to Regen,” this initiative aims to support UK farmers transitioning to more sustainable farming practices, with the overarching goal of creating a model for collaborative industry efforts towards global sustainable change.

Jennifer Jordan-Saifi, CEO of SMI, emphasised the initiative's significance, asserting that it aims to “demonstrate a new model for how industries can unite to drive sustainable change on a global scale.” The project will also see collaborations with several financial institutions, including Lloyds Banking Group, NatWest, Barclays, Aon, and Tokio Marine Kiln, which will work alongside the agrifood corporates to provide comprehensive support.

SMI was founded to facilitate various industries' transitions to sustainable practices, and it launched its Agribusiness Hub in 2020 to encourage the adoption of regenerative farming. The Hub has identified key barriers to this transition, including financial risk and a fragmented support system, which Jordan-Saifi addressed, stating that “Routes to Regen” aims to overcome these challenges by offering a wide range of support mechanisms.

Participating farmers can expect access to financial aid, technical guidance, and peer-to-peer support through events where they can exchange knowledge with fellow farmers. The programme will draw on findings from SMI’s 2022 action plan, which outlined strategies for scaling regenerative agriculture, as well as a newly published practical guide featuring recommendations for both public and private sectors.

To ensure a successful transition, SMI has pinpointed five critical areas of focus:

1. Agreeing on common metrics for environmental outcomes
2. Enhancing farmers’ income through environmental initiatives like carbon reduction and removal
3. Creating mechanisms for co-sharing transition costs with farmers
4. Ensuring government policies adequately support and reward farmers for their transition efforts
5. Developing innovative sourcing models to distribute transition costs

The Royal Countryside Fund will oversee the programme, which is scheduled to be implemented in the East of England through 2025. They will receive support from Ceres Rural, which will provide on-farm advice to participating farmers.

Keith Halstead, executive director at The Royal Countryside Fund, noted the overwhelming nature of sustainable farming for busy farmers who face multiple social, environmental, and economic challenges. He remarked that the initiative's goal is to make regenerative farming practices more achievable by consolidating resources and rewards from leading industry players into an accessible package for farmers.

The agrifood corporates involved in this pilot have had varying levels of prior engagement in regenerative agriculture. McDonald’s has its Flagship Farmers programme that facilitates knowledge sharing among sustainable farming practitioners. McCain Foods plans to implement regenerative agriculture across all its potato growing by 2030 and has introduced a “regen fries” initiative aimed at raising consumer awareness. Waitrose & Partners aims to achieve net-zero emissions across its UK farms by 2035, which includes transitioning its farmers to regenerative practices, and maintains collaborations with companies focused on sustainable agriculture, such as Land App and Wildfarmed.