SWITZERLAND – Swiss food manufacturing company, Nestle has developed a new generation of climate resilient coffee varieties that deliver up to 50% higher yields per tree while having a lower carbon footprint.
Nestlé has a goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050 and reducing the carbon footprint of key agricultural raw materials such as cocoa, milk and coffee, will play a vital role.
The new variety sits well in Nestlé’s agenda as it delivers more yield using the same amount of land, fertilizer and energy as standard varieties, consequently resulting in an up to 30% reduction in the CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) footprint of the green coffee beans.
Since green beans account for 40-80% of the CO2e emissions of a cup of coffee, these breakthrough varieties significantly reduce the carbon footprint associated with coffee consumption.
One of these new Robusta varieties with up to 50% higher yields has already been successfully trialed on fields and is now being grown by farmers in Central America.
Nestlé says, “ultimately, such new varieties will help farmers earn a better living by enabling them to grow more high-quality coffee on the same amount of land, sustainably, and with a lower carbon footprint.”
Similarly, Nestlé is developing new higher-yielding Arabica varieties that are also bred to be more resistant to ‘coffee leaf rust’ – a plant disease that has devastated coffee plantations across the Americas.
Furthermore, Nestlé plant scientists have also developed a drought-resistant coffee variety, currently being trialed on fields in Central Africa, that delivers up to 50% higher yields per plant under moderate to severe water stress.
Nestle India reports 15% rise in Q1 profits
Meanwhile the Indian unit of the Swiss fast moving consumer goods company has reported a 14.6 per cent year-on-year growth in net profit to RS 602 Crore (about US$80.1 million).
Total sales increased by 8.9 per cent during the quarter to RS 3600 Crore (US$479.1 million), while domestic sales rose by 10.2 per cent, mainly driven by volumes.
The company’s performance beat estimates by analysts who had projected the company to report net profit of RS 589 crore (about US$78.4 million) on sales of RS 3598 crore (478.9 million).
Nestle said e‐commerce continued to deliver strong performance and grew by 66 per cent to maintain its robust contribution to the domestic sales.
Nestlé shareholders have also reportedly approved all of the Board of Directors’ proposals at its 154th Annual General Meeting, including electing a new executive member, Lindiwe Majele Sibanda.
Presently serving as chairwoman of the African Research Universities Alliance Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Food Systems, University of Pretoria, South Africa, its latest board representative has over 30 years industry experience.
As the new board appointee, Sibanda, from Zimbabwe, has specialised in agriculture and rural development, and is the founder and managing Director at Linds Agricultural Services in Harare.
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