Sustainable Agriculture: How Cargill is Supporting Farmers

Cargill was founded in 1865 as a single grain warehouse and has since grown into a global leader throughout the agricultural supply chain.

The company operates across 70 countries, with approximately 155,000 employees working across its operations and supply chain.

Cargill’s sustainability strategy

Cargill’s 2025 Impact Report explores the company’s goals through its three priority areas:

• Climate
• Land and water
• People

Its strategy aims to bring benefits to these three areas through reducing emissions, improving soil health, strengthening farmer livelihoods and advancing food security.

Its goals were to reduce absolute operational Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 10% by 2025 and to reduce Scope 3 emissions from its global supply chain by 30%.

Cargill’s 2025 progress shows a 20.9% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions from its 2017 baseline, exceeding its goal.

It has also invested US$69m into efficiency and other sustainability related capital projects within its operations and invested US$110m into local communities around the world.

Brian Sikes, Chief Executive Officer at Cargill, says: “As a company committed to nourishing the world, we’re helping address the most complex and urgent challenges facing people and the planet.

“Our work remains grounded in the same values that have guided us from the very beginning: we do the right thing, we treat people with dignity and respect and when challenges arise, we reach higher to deliver solutions.”

Protecting the cocoa supply chain

As the second largest producer of cocoa and chocolate globally, Cargill works to protect cocoa supply chains.

It directly sources cocoa from five countries – Brazil, Côte d’Ivoire, Ecuador, Ghana and Indonesia.

Changes in land use from cocoa cultivation accounts for approximately 66% of the Scope 3 emissions in Cargill’s cocoa and chocolate supply chains.

It is supporting farmers in adaptation and conservation efforts to address deforestation and effects of climate change.

Cargill promotes responsible and sustainable agriculture practices, including forest protection, restoration and agroforestry.

It encourages traceability through the entire supply chain, allowing individual deliveries of cocoa to be tracked back to the exact farm plot where they were grown.

Using satellite data, Cargill monitors farms for deforestation.

Through its efforts, Cargill has educated 14,800 farmers who are now applying agroforestry techniques to cocoa farming and production.

Supporting farmers

Cargill works to improve the livelihoods of farmers around the world, aiming to provide training on sustainable agricultural practices to 10 million farmers by 2030.

By 2025, Cargill has delivered 7.7 million training sessions since 2017.

It partners with farmers to boost the profitability and resilience of their farms and to ensure their inclusion in the supply chain.

The farming industry is increasingly impacted by climate change and market shifts.

Cargill is helping farmers better manage these disruptions in order to strengthen their farms and increase their access to tools, training and markets.

Pilar Cruz, Executive Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer at Cargill, says: “In the past year, we advanced solutions to help farmers adapt, grow and succeed – while delivering measurable value to customers and strengthening the long-term resilience of the food system.

“Working in partnership across the value chain, we reached milestones that reflect both our ambition and action.

“Through these partnerships, we’ll continue building a food system that is more sustainable, more resilient and better prepared to nourish the world for generations to come.”