UK supermarket chain Waitrose has today (8 May) committed to support more than 2,000 of its British farmers to move to nature-friendly farming practices – involving considerable efforts to move towards regenerative agriculture.
The retailer said it wanted to help to boost financial resilience of farms in the long-term and combat the effects of climate change.
Speaking at Waitrose’s Leckford Estate farm in Hampshire, the grocer’s executive director James Bailey said the retailer will work with its farmers to help produce food that works in harmony with nature. This entails sourcing meat, milk, eggs, fruit and vegetables from UK farms which use regenerative farming practices by 2035.
The plan involves Waitrose developing plans for its British farmers to access affordable finance and providing resources to support their transition to regenerative agriculture – and therefore low carbon farming.
The supermarket business, which is part of the John Lewis Partnership, has also committed to providing a market for regeneratively produced food in Waitrose shops and online, as well as having a permanent ‘Centre of Excellence’ at its Leckford farm, offering practical tools, workshops, online resources and mentoring to help farmers to make the shift to regenerative agriculture.
Additionally, Waitrose has said it will work with a group of farmers to develop its understanding of regenerative practices across different supply chains, tailored to farming types and then scale these into supply chains. It said it will also complete a ‘state of nature’ assessment by 2026 of all our own-brand UK farms and create land management plans so farmers and growers can improve priority habitats and support thriving biodiversity.
Field trials will take place at Leckford, helping inform Waitrose’s approach to regenerative practices in its wider supply chain.
Regenerative agriculture is a way of farming that focuses on improving the health of the soil and the environment, making it healthier and more productive. It helps tackle issues such as top-soil erosion – the loss of the most fertile layer of soil – which is being accelerated by some farming methods and can make it harder to grow crops.
“We want Waitrose customers to know that when they shop with us, they are voting with their purses and wallets for a food system that restores and works in harmony with the natural world, and that supports a financially sustainable future for British farmers,” explained Bailey.
“We have a duty to help our farmers make the move towards more nature-friendly growing, and we’re committed to playing our part in the revolution that our country’s food system requires.”
Waitrose is collaborating with Linking Environmental and Farming (better known as LEAF) and the University of Reading in this space.
Alongside LEAF, the retailer will establish eight satellite farms in the UK on a three-year programme – covering sectors including beef, dairy, pig, poultry, top and soft fruit, root vegetables and glasshouse. The aim of this work is to produce best practice guidance that has been tested and shared more widely in supply chains, so farmers can be informed about new ways of working based on real-life work.
David Webster, CEO of LEAF, remarked: “The agri-food sector increasingly recognises the urgent need to adopt farm management practices that sustain the natural environment while building resilience.
“We believe it is only by grounding interventions at farm level, within the context of working farm businesses that we can effectively accelerate change at pace and scale. We are therefore delighted to be supporting our longstanding food retail partner Waitrose on Farming for Nature – a highly innovative and far-sighted project.”
Professor Carol Wagstaff, research dean for agriculture, food & health at the University of Reading, added: “Reading has more than a century of expertise in agricultural innovation, and we know that to secure our food and nature in the century ahead, we need to make long-term plans.
“Farmers, researchers, retailers and shoppers all have a part to play. Farming for Nature provides the leadership to make Britain’s food system a force for good in fighting climate change and biodiversity loss, while remaining profitable.”
The Waitrose move comes after Morrisons, Co-op, and Tesco all announced their own refreshed commitments to farmers in recent months. Read about them all on Green Retail World.
Read more about Waitrose’s Leckford Estate on Green Retail World
[Image credit: Philip Panting for Waitrose]
