THE PROCUREMENT INTERVIEW to first support farmers in making this transition through training, access to technology and financial support.”
In the US, Mars’ decade-long partnership with the Whitaker family in Arkansas illustrates the potential of climate-smart practices at commercial scale. Managing more than 10,000 acres of rice, the Whitakers have implemented alternate wetting and drying( AWD) techniques, achieving 60 % water reduction and up to 70 % lower greenhouse gas emissions at farm level compared to other farms in the region. The operation was subsequently awarded a US $ 5m USDA Climate Smart Commodities Grant to scale these practices with other US rice growers.
Overcoming adoption barriers through cost-sharing For procurement leaders, one of the most instructive aspects of Mars’ approach concerns how the company addresses the economic barriers to farmer adoption of sustainable practices. Climate-smart agriculture requires upfront investment in equipment, infrastructure and training – costs that can create significant barriers for farmers operating on thin margins.
“ One of the biggest challenges is bridging the gap between what’ s technically possible and what’ s economically viable,” Dale acknowledges. procurementmag. com 29