Confectionary powerhouse Mars has established a formal food security programme aimed at protecting the peanut.
The brand wants to stem the tide of what it calls “devastating crop losses that currently prevent up to 30% of peanuts from making it from pod to plate” and which cost farmers hundreds of millions of dollars annually.
As part of its ‘Protect the Peanut’ scheme, Mars is making a five-year $5 million investment to fund advanced techniques – which it said are powered by genomic science – to grow hardier peanut varieties that, in theory, should withstand rising pressure from pests, disease, and unpredictable weather.
The company said it has already invested circa $10 million in scientific endeavours over the years related to peanut protection and research. It is a co-founder of the Peanut Genome Initiative, helping map around 2.5 billion base pairs of DNA and sharing the data as open-source science available to the entire industry in pursuit of the “perfect peanut”.
The Protect the Peanut Plan: results so far and future goals
- Mars partner the University of Georgia’s Wild Peanut Lab has developed more resilient peanut varieties that can thrive in tough conditions, which has reportedly boosted yields by up to 30%. One such variety, Sempre Verde, is now being grown in Brazil and requires no fungicides
- Mars wants to cultivate drought- and disease-resistant peanut varieties in partnership with the University of Georgia Tifton Campus, HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology and the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
- The brand is keen to develop disease-resistant peanut varieties in partnership with USDA ARS, HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology and the National Institute of Agricultural Technology
- According to the confectioner, it also wants to use wild peanut species in Brazil to cultivate more resilient peanuts in partnership with Instituto Agronômico de Campinas and the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation.
Dr. Soraya Bertioli, from the University of Georgia’s Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics & Genomics, said: “The cultivated peanut was a once-in-a-millennium accident of nature, but we can’t afford to wait for chance to strike twice.
“Creating more resilient peanuts requires transformative science, discipline and partnership. Simply put: our breakthroughs would not be possible without the long-term support of Mars.”
Amanda Davies, chief research & development, and procurement & sustainability officer at Mars Snacking, commented: “We have long believed that Mars can play a unique role as an engine of innovation, which is why we’re thinking in generations and betting big on science to protect the peanut.
“We know that the perfect peanut won’t be discovered by accident. It will take long-term investment, scientific ingenuity, and the dedication of our incredible partners to keep turning potential into progress — from the greenhouse to the farmer’s field. After all, innovation without implementation is just imagination.”
Read more about food security on Green Retail World
[image credit: Green Retail World]
