Within the framework of World Earth Day, it is important to make visible the urgency of implementing sustainable development strategies and decarbonizing food production processes, since the food and beverage industry is one of the most important manufacturing sectors in Mexico and is constantly growth.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) warned that the agri-food sector faces the challenge of feeding more than 9,000 million people by 2050 and the importance of implementing sustainable development strategies such as regenerative agriculture will impact positively on the food quality of future generations.
What is regenerative agriculture?
Regenerative agriculture is an agricultural approach that seeks to produce food in a sustainable way, regenerating and improving the care of natural resources.
Instead of relying on conventional agricultural practices, regenerative agriculture is based on creating agricultural systems that work in harmony with nature.
In addition, this practice also focuses on crop diversification, which helps maintain an ecological balance and increases the system’s resistance to pests.
Regenerative agriculture in Mexico
Danone is a pioneer in implementing sustainable development strategies in regenerative agriculture. An example of this is your project Mother Eartha rural economic development program that seeks to implement sustainable agricultural practices that improve the quality of life of small producers, soils and biodiversity.
‘The implementation of programs like Madre Tierra not only benefit the environment, but also small farmers. It is a program aimed at transferring to the small producer better food safety and sanitation practices, efficient use of water and proper handling of pesticides for the benefit of the environment. This translates into an improvement in farmers’ income by ensuring their connection to new markets, their long-term production and, therefore, their empowerment.
Diego Durazo, Director of Sustainability at Danone.
Madre Tierra works with small strawberry farmers in Maravatío, Michoacán. In recent years, Danone has supported the work of more than 140 small-scale producers whose objective is to connect them with competitive markets, so that through regenerative agriculture and access to technology they can improve the management of their production.
Through this program, an interdisciplinary group of companies, development cooperation agencies, social organizations, and small-scale producers train farmers in land care and preservation of natural resources, land care, and better use of environmental conditions.
All those involved are people and entities committed to the development of transparent, fair and sustainable business models.
The demand for fruit is an extraordinary opportunity to develop the businesses of small producers from non-traditional regions of the country and guarantee that their cultivation process comes from sustainable techniques.
“At Danone we seek to create a standard for the food industry by betting on generating sources of employment in rural communities through a sustainable agricultural system.” Diego Durazo finished.
Implementing models that promote the health of ecosystems not only contributes to the well-being of the planet, but also to increasing the quality of life of its inhabitants, especially the most vulnerable populations.
Adopting environmental and social restoration models is only the beginning of a fight to combat high levels of poverty and mitigate climate change.
Within the framework of World Earth Day, it is important to reflect on the human impact on the planet and the need to take concrete measures to reduce the carbon footprint.
Taking care of environmental resources is everyone’s responsibility and starts from the individual through small daily actions, such as recycling, reducing water and energy consumption and choosing sustainable products.
Editorial Team The editorial team of EMPRENDEDOR.com, which for more than 27 years has worked to promote entrepreneurship.