Industry Taskforces
Agribusiness Task Force
At the invitation of His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, executives from some of the industry’s largest agribusiness companies and organisations have come together as members of the Sustainable Markets Initiative’s to create a new Agribusiness Task Force (ATF), designed to accelerate regenerative agriculture into becoming the predominant agricultural system in the world.
Mars, Inc. CEO, Grant F. Reid chairs the Task Force. The ATF Members are committed to creating a scalable value chain blueprint by the end of 2022, in order to increase adoption of regenerative systems.
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Despite clear long-term benefits, the rate of farmers adopting regenerative agriculture is too slow to make a significant difference to climate change and biodiversity loss in the near future. According to the International Journal of Environmental Studies, regenerative agriculture is currently practiced on approximately 15% of cropland and is being adopted at a rate of 0.6% hectares per year.
The Agribusiness Task Force is focusing its attention on creating a scalable value chain blueprint, from which they can transfer learnings from different crops more widely.
Letter of Intent
The SMI Agribusiness Task Force recognises the vital role it has to play in uncovering what actions are needed from each part of the value chain to make regenerative agriculture the best business decision for farmers. Together, the Members are united by a common ambition to harness the unique capabilities and influence of the Task Force to enable regenerative agriculture to become mainstream, by encouraging and supporting farmers to change the way they farm.
In line with these commitments, the Agribusiness Task Force is focusing its attention on creating a scalable value chain blueprint, from which they can transfer learnings from different crops more widely.
Wheat, potatoes, and rice will be the first strategic food crops to be examined by the Task Force. These crops and geographies (US, UK and India respectively) were identified based on the environmental impact of their production, the Task Force’s sourcing footprint and influence, the transferability of learnings to other crops and geographies, and the ease of establishing a route to engage farmers.
By the end of 2022, Members of the Task Force have committed to developing recommended practical actions to help transition value chains and unlock greater adoption of regenerative systems, which will be shared with policymakers and businesses in the food system.
Membership composition
The Agribusiness Task Force operates as an industry sub-group of the SMI and is chaired by Grant F. Reid, CEO of Mars, Incorporated. The Task Force is comprised of leaders from the Agribusiness industry, including:
Grant F. Reid
Ramon Laguarta
Dirk Van de Put
Sunny George Verghese
Svein Tore Holsether
Werner Baumann
Ron Hovsepian
Max Koeune
James Bailey
Patrick Holden
Alexander Gillett
Paul Pomroy
Further information
For roundtable and Task Force enquiries please contact, Jerome Fitzgerald, Chief Industry Officer, Sustainable Markets Initiative: