Unilever has unveiled its first regenerative agriculture project in the UK, working with farms that grow ingredients used in Colman’s products.
The project will initially roll out across mustard and mint farms around Norwich and Peterborough over a four-year period, with the first crop of the programme due to be sown next month.
The farms will trial new regenerative agriculture practices, including low carbon fertilisers, innovative crop nutrition strategies, planting cover and companion crops to reduce pesticide usage, implementing new digital water irrigation scheduling systems, and reducing cultivation.
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The consumer goods giant has worked with the farms to collect and establish data and created a framework to measure the impact these practices will have over the period, collecting data on soil health, fertiliser use, biodiversity, water use efficiency and carbon reductions, as well as impact on yields and farm profitability.
Unilever UK and Ireland head of nutrition Andre Burger said: “Healthy soil should matter to all food businesses and as the climate crisis continues to impact the natural world, we need to not just protect but to help regenerate the soil and farmland used to grow the crops and ingredients we enjoy every day.
“Colman’s is a British condiment staple and our new regenerative agriculture project will help to ensure the sustainable supply and future of the delicious ingredients and farms that put the big flavour into our products.”
Unilever’s wider roadmap looks to see it invest in regenerative agriculture practices on 1.5m hectares of land and forests by 2030, helping to ensure food security and supply chain resilience through the supply of agricultural raw materials.
