Nature

Food production systems require a diverse range of plants, animals, bacteria and fungi, both for the direct supply of food and to sustain the underlying ecosystem processes that make agriculture possible – from water supply to soil fertility enhancement, pollination and natural pest control.

We have a responsibility to ensure our supply chains are sustainable into the future and so we’re working with suppliers, farmers and growers to protect and restore land so they remain productive for generations to come. This means taking action to prevent deforestation and we’re constantly evolving and strengthening the way we source our own-brand products, and collaborating with branded suppliers on sustainable sourcing.

Our new natural resources stewardship strategy, also delivers on our 2020 commitment to establish a programme by 2025. We have structured our strategy around three critical pillars: water, biodiversity and soil.

Improving water use and building resilience in global supply chains is vital in order to sustainably feed a growing population with healthy and affordable products.

We all recognise that water is a precious resource that is critical to human life, and vital to irrigate crops and maintain the wellbeing of livestock and we all have a part to play in meeting future water needs.

One million tonnes of fruit and veg are imported into the UK annually from Southern Spain1 and 33% of Asda’s fruit and vegetable imports come from the region. Southern Spain is one of the most at-risk sourcing regions for UK supply in terms of water scarcity. Agriculture is a key driver and accounts for between 70-80% of water use in recent years. The water stress in Southern Spain is having a negative impact on already fragile ecosystems.

As part of a cross-industry group working with WRAP2, Asda have made a three year commitment and funding to the ‘Water Stewardship in South Spain’ project, which is taking action to significantly reduce water-related risks in the fruit and veg production areas of Andalusia, Murcia and Valencia. The programme manages a collective action to increase water collection at the catchment or river basin level, in addition to a range of interventions including nature-based solutions, farmer engagement and knowledge sharing, working with certification bodies and joint advocacy to improve water governance.

In the UK, both summer droughts, record breaking rainfall and winter flooding are hitting the headlines more and more as our climate changes. Such extremes are clearly bad news for agriculture, which is why we are working with our UK farmers to understand water risks in our supply chain.

As a large organisation we have focussed on fixing leaks, making sure our existing systems are working effectively and adopting water reduction technologies. For example, in a number of our depots we have deployed rainwater harvesting systems and implemented waterless urinals and low usage taps in our stores and offices. We also closely monitor our water consumption using meter readings automatically taken every 30 minutes, any increases in consumption will result in an investigation.

Soil can be a farmer’s biggest asset or liability depending on how it is managed. It produces our food and performs essential eco system services.

Well-maintained soils provide good structure, water retention and nutrition to crops.

We also promote more responsible farming practices in our supply chain by encouraging farmers to adopt practices that lower any unintended impacts on other insects, animals and plants.

Soil can be a farmer’s biggest asset or liability depending on how it is managed. It produces our food and performs essential eco system services. Well-maintained soils provide good structure, water retention and nutrition to crops. We also promote more responsible farming practices in our supply chain by encouraging farmers to adopt practices that lower any unintended impacts on other insects, animals and plants.

CJ Fountain & Son, based near Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire have been supplying high quality potatoes since 1968 to Asda’s International Procurement Limited (IPL) site.  The farm is now third generation owned with James Fountain taking the reins from his father David. 

In recent years Asda and IPL with Syngenta have encouraged farmers to keep soil covered and improve biodiversity and soil structure through the use of bespoke seed mixture offer (Operation Pollinator).  The seeds create a wildlife habitat during the late Spring and Summer and the wildlife corridors can also be used as buffer strips to watercourses. 

For the 2022 potato crop, James had an area of the farm earmarked for potato cropping that had previously been unproductive and prone to flooding. After sharing cropping plans and enquiring about seed mixtures to fill 7 acres1 of land, James opted to sow a ‘bees n seeds’ mixture (containing mustard, buckwheat, kale rape, gold of pleasure, phacelia and fodder radish) to cover soil, improve the soil structure and the farm biodiversity. This has provided valuable late season pollen and nectar for insects, before providing an essential food source for many farmland birds. 

Despite the prolonged heat during the Summer of 2022 the biodiversity area established very well and provided an excellent habitat for bees, butterflies and ladybirds. A herd of deer and a family of hares also took a liking to the abundance of cover and shade.