The new programme expands on similar schemes which support corn growers in the US and stevia growers in China. Tate & Lyle maintains acres equivalent to the volume of corn it buys annually in its regenerative agriculture programmes.
This latest programme from the ingredients supplier in France has been developed with farming cooperatives and representative groups, and Regrow Ag, the agriculture resilience platform provider. The system enables companies to measure, model and accelerate regenerative outcomes across global supply chains.
Through an agreement with three of its largest farming partners – Armbruster Grande Cultures, Euralis Groupe Coopératif, and Groupe Coopératif Maïsadour, who represent growers in the northeast and southwest of France, Tate & Lyle is supporting farmer efforts to strengthen resilience to the impacts of climate change.
The programme will help farmers to understand the impact of adopting regenerative agronomic practices and in turn, Tate & Lyle will monitor the environmental improvements supporting the thousands of acres of corn used to make many of its speciality ingredients.
Practices to support soil health are prioritised in the programme including low and no till, which minimises soil disturbance; cover crops, which support soil health; and nitrogen management to reduce the use of synthetic fertilisers.
Tate & Lyle and its partners will use Regrow’s AI-driven software platform to quantify environmental impacts and monitor trends in participating farms. Regrow and local agronomists are partnering to support farmers with data entry and analysis to inform farm planning and integrate into Tate & Lyle and its customers’ environmental reporting.
Nick Hampton, chief executive at Tate & Lyle, said: “Regenerative agriculture is at the heart of our approach to sustainability, because helping farmers to become more resilient to the impacts of increasing climate change related events also enables our customers to feed a growing population - a win-win.
“For businesses in the food chain, flooding, droughts, and severe temperatures that affect harvests and the use of natural resources are a shared challenge. Through our more mature, science and tech-driven regenerative agriculture programmes in the US and China, we’ve demonstrated that these programmes can materially improve yield and crop quality for farmers and the businesses they supply. This new programme in France is about supporting farmers, and it also makes perfect business sense as it helps to make our supply chain more resilient.”
Anastasia Volkova, PhD, CEO and co-founder of Regrow Ag said: “Tate & Lyle’s leadership is helping accelerate the adoption of regenerative practices where it’s needed most: in Europe’s critical corn-growing regions. By pairing local agronomic expertise with credible, AI-powered measurement and monitoring, this programme is demonstrating how collaboration and data transparency can drive meaningful climate action across supply chains.”
Farming partners welcomed the move.
Franck Camet-Lassalle, market development manager, Euralis, said: “As a major player in agriculture in southwest France, our commitment to regenerative agriculture is central to our strategy of supporting our member farmers towards more resilient and sustainable production.
He added: “This initiative allows us to accelerate the adoption of soil conservation practices among our waxy corn producers. It is a concrete step that not only protects our natural resources but also strengthens the performance and sustainability of our farms in the face of climate challenges. This partnership is further proof of our collective ambition for a more responsible and future-oriented food value chain.”
Christophe Bonno, CEO at Maïsadour, added: “As a committed cooperative, we firmly believe that regenerative agriculture represents a concrete and sustainable response to today’s agricultural challenges. Working alongside an international player like Tate & Lyle allows us to empower our members to take action and innovate for a more responsible and sustainable agriculture.”
