Royal Canin and Roquette to Co-Invest in French Wheat Farms Under New Regenerative Model
Pet food maker Royal Canin and ingredients supplier Roquette will jointly finance regenerative agriculture on the farms that grow the wheat they use, working with Soil Capital. The aim is to shift part of the cost from farmers to the whole supply chain.
Royal Canin, a pet food maker owned by Mars, and ingredients supplier Roquette have announced a new approach to financing regenerative agriculture. In partnership with Soil Capital, the two companies will co-invest in French farms from which they source wheat. Roquette supplies that wheat to Royal Canin for its pet food products. The food industry has long debated who should pay when farmers switch to regenerative practices.
Why funding is needed
Moving to these practices typically requires upfront capital for items such as new equipment, cover crops and new crop rotations. At present, farmers either carry these costs themselves or join corporate insetting programmes that may or may not provide adequate economic support. Magali Amouroux, sustainability manager at Roquette, says a joint investment reduces the financial burden on farmers and ensures a fairer distribution of benefits.
The role of Soil Capital
Soil Capital helps companies monitor, measure and report on regenerative agriculture outcomes, and gives farmers agronomic advice. The two companies calculate a product's carbon footprint differently: Royal Canin uses economic allocation, while Roquette uses mass balance allocation. Their figures are therefore not directly comparable and could lead to double counting. Soil Capital provides one independently verified farm-level dataset, so each company can keep its own methodology. The data is audited annually by TÜV Rheinland under the ISO 14064-2 standard.
Scale and next steps
The partnership covers more than 60 farms and over 4,700 hectares in France's wheat supply area. Results of the transition, such as carbon sequestered, will generate Soil Capital Credits, 70% of which go to farmers. Luc Beerens, global director for sustainable sourcing at Royal Canin, says the cooperation will help the companies prepare for changing European regulation, including the CRCF carbon removals certification framework and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. Both companies are exploring ways to replicate the model with other companies, crops and regions.
