Projects changing the future for food resilience
Innocent Drinks has unveiled the projects that are grant recipients of its Farmer Innovation Fund (FIF) for 2026
Now in its fifth year, the Farmer Innovation Fund is innocent’s annual grant of up to £1 million, designed to support suppliers and farmers to adopt regenerative and climate-resilient farming practices. With over half of innocent’s carbon footprint coming from its ingredients, the FIF is innocent’s biggest opportunity to reduce scope 3 emissions whilst improving resilience.
The selected projects span 14 countries across four continents and focus on eight of innocent’s priority ingredients, including oranges, apples, coconuts, grapes, strawberries and mangoes. From supporting coconut farmers in the Philippines, to helping tackle one of the citrus industry’s most pressing diseases in Brazil, the projects represent some of the most innovative ideas being developed across the world.
Oranges are one of innocent’s most important ingredients. To help secure the long-term resilience of citrus supply chains, one project in Brazil is piloting an innovative approach to measuring greenhouse gas emissions and carbon removals at farm level, with the aim of moving beyond theoretical ‘what-ifs’ to verified impacts. Working on a SAI Platform’s Farm Sustainability Assesment gold-level verified citrus farm, the project will combine farm data, soil sampling, remote sensing and carbon modelling to build a robust system for measuring, reporting and verification. The pilot aims to create a scalable framework that can be expanded across suppliers and supply chains, helping improve confidence in agricultural carbon data while accelerating climate-smart farming practices.
Garett Stoll, Senior Consultant, 3Keel, says: “Oranges are a strategically important ingredient, and building resilient citrus supply chains starts with understanding the real impact of actions taken on the farm. Through this pilot, we’re testing a rigorous new approach to measuring greenhouse gas emissions and carbon removals, combining farm data, soil sampling and remote sensing to generate credible, science-based insights. Our ambition is to create a scalable framework that can help strengthen climate reporting, support growers and unlock greater confidence in the role agriculture can play in tackling climate change.”
Nick Canney, CEO, Innocent drinks says: “Being able to bring fruit and veg to more people, starts entirely with the people who grow it. This year’s winners are taking on some of the biggest challenges facing agriculture today, from climate resilience and water management to carbon reduction and biodiversity. We’re delighted to support these innovative projects and look forward to seeing the positive impact they can deliver.”
This year’s winners are also working to secure the future of fruit and vegetables that are experiencing – and anticipating – greater demand. With coconut water now fully transitioning into a mainstream staple for UK drinkers, new partnerships with projects like Peter Paul, the world’s largest integrated coconut processor, will be essential in developing climate-smart farming practices that help smaller holder coconut farmers build resilience to climate change long term.
Based in the Philippines, Clarito Q. Ona, Fair Trade Officer, Peter Paul Philippine Corporation says, “Our project helps farmers in the Bondoc Peninsula and Pagbilao clusters with mulching techniques to improve soil moisture, fertility and yield. By strengthening resilience at the farm level, we can help farming communities better adapt to the increasing impacts of climate change.”
Five of this year’s winners are also previous recipients of the Farmer Innovation Fund, recognising Innocent’s commitment to invest in long-term partnerships that deliver lasting environmental and agricultural benefits.
Projects were selected through a rigorous judging process, which involved an external advisory board. Applications were reviewed based on criteria such as their alignment with business and sustainability priorities and potential carbon impact.
Since its launch, the Farmer Innovation Fund has supported projects around the world that are helping farmers transition towards more sustainable and resilient agricultural systems.
Clarito Q. Ona Garett Stoll Innocent Drinks Nick Canney