Derek Yach, PepsiCo’s Senior Vice President of Global Health and Agriculture Policy recently posted, Private Sector Serious About Tackling NCDs Despite Concerns of Civil Society, on the Huffington Post.

We were proud to be the only private sector company invited to participate and we learned much from the other expert contributors about how they scale up supply chains. I think our perspective of how a company is motivated by the need to provide for consumers, as opposed to doing a development project without the consideration of the market and consumer needs, will resonate with readers.

In our agricultural work our ability to build on success in one region and apply it elsewhere helps us ensure a reliable supply of raw materials that meet cost and quality standards. This ability to scale is important when we expand to new markets and create new products that need a sustainable agricultural supply chain to provide raw material ingredients.

In the article we describe, in more detail, the PepsiCo’s seven steps for scaling up agricultural supply chains, technology transfer, and agronomic education:

1. Develop a plan for new market entry or demand for new crop procurement
2. Conduct sourcing survey(s)
3. Identify key players in government agencies, research groups, or consultancy groups
4. Initiate pilot trials
5. Assess existing infrastructure and needs for the business venture
6. Continually improve
7. Scale up

We also provide examples about producing local corn supply in Mexico and managing water scarcity in India’s supply chain. Critical in both these examples, and in my view, all agricultural supply chain development, is that sustainability issues were factored in at the start of the project for greatest impact.

Please see the complete article, and let us know what you think!

Derek discussed the importance of broadening nutrition science to handle the complex issues facing the world, including development, health and security.  Derek stressed four capabilities critical for future nutrition scientists:

1. A solid grounding in the breadth of sciences, including seed and agricultural technology, food processing, and development across the lifespan
2. An understanding of the links between nutrition, agriculture and the environment
3. Insights into what motivates farmers to grow what they grow, what motivates companies make and market their products, and what motivates consumer food choices
4. Interpersonal strengths to build and sustain complex partnerships between disciplines and institutions

In support of PepsiCo’s commitment to nutrition science capacity development, the PepsiCo is planning focused support to Stellenbosch University in South Africa this year.

Derek spoke about Performance with Purpose, the company’s belief that what’s right for people and our planet leads a more successful future for PepsiCo. He noted that we have clear goals that address public health, ”such as aims to reduce salt, sugar, and saturated fats in products, and, at the same time, increase the proportion of healthier products in our portfolio.”

He stressed that being guided by Performance with Purpose is important because societal needs are “deeply embedded, funded, and executed within the daily operations of [a] company [and are] linked to the way executives are compensated and the way companies report on their progress.” However, trade-offs still exist that challenge our teams to innovate healthy solutions for people and the planet.  For example, manufacturing products in smaller portions requires more packaging, potentially increasing trash that ends up in landfills. And ironically, the company also faces critics from the investment community, who question the “push into healthier foods.”  We are challenged to innovate packaging that is better for the environment and show investors the financial strength of a diverse portfolio.

Derek closed with three ways that he sees foundations and the public sector joining with PepsiCo to reach common goals:

1. Have “more incentives and fewer mandates.” For example, foundations could support policy, analytic, and advocacy work that highlights “the power of incentives to align public and corporate actions toward common goals.”
2. Form “smarter partnerships with measurable public health goals.” Attempting to solve global problems alone is not effective and partnerships make achieving goals easier. As an example, he mentioned the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation (a group including food companies, restaurants, and others), urging foundations that fund obesity prevention to consider participating in the effort to reduce child obesity.
3. Use “common advocacy for shared positions.” For example, the point that “prevention works and is economically sensible” can sometimes be drowned out by focus on drugs for treating disease. Advocacy campaigns run by academics and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and funded by foundations and others, have a better chance of having a “sustained public health impact” than those led by corporations or governments.

PepsiCo has a strong history of innovative partnerships to improve nutrition, health and the environment.  Solving current and future challenges requires focusing on how we can work together and form partnerships across sectors, contributing unique expertise to innovative solutions.

Read more detail about the event and let us know what you think.

Chickpeas can grow in water-stressed areas and they fix nitrogen, reducing need for added fertilizers and enhancing the quality of the soil in which they grow. However, we are experimenting with several new irrigation techniques that will help expand the seasons that chickpeas can be grown in Ethiopia as a way to increase yields by planting more times during the year.

Kumnager Ahmed is a field supervisor at Omega Farms. She recently completed her BA at the Adama Science and Technology University in Ethiopia. She oversees the approximately 60 farmers who work at Omega Farms each day. Throughout Ethiopia, approximately three million small-scale farmers without access to many modern production methods account for more than 80 percent of total production of oilseeds and pulses crops.

Chickpeas in a food market in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. Chickpeas are a major pulse crop in Ethiopia, and are important for both the domestic and export market.  With an average of 22 percent protein, chickpeas can serve as a more sustainable alternative to meat. They are also rich in fiber, complex carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals such as iron, and low in endocrine-disrupting phytoestrogens.

Here you can see the difference here between a chickpea that come for the local seed, and a larger chickpea that comes from a new seed introduced by the Ethiopian Institute for Agricultural Research. As part of this project, PepsiCo and its partners are working to provide better seeds to local farmers to help them grow larger, denser chickpeas to support an increase in production.

This is a chickpea field in Shoa, about an hour outside Addis Ababa. We are in pilot phase now and are testing a variety of methods – irrigation, fertilizer, seed spacing, seed variety – to see what combination provides best yield for farmers. Later in 2012, another crop will be planted, based on these new learnings.

These chickpeas, in pod and on stem, are being grown on a farm in Shoa, Ethiopia about an hour from the capital city, Addis Ababa.  The chickpea was originally found in what is now Turkey about 7,500 years ago. There are 2 main types of chickpea: Desi, which has small, darker seeds and a rough coat, cultivated mostly in the Indian subcontinent, Ethiopia, Mexico, and Iran; and kabuli, which has lighter colored, larger seeds and a smoother coat, mainly grown in Southern Europe, Northern Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Chile.