Global Citizen and the PepsiCo Foundation Announce Partnership to Advance Food Security and Improve the Livelihoods of Smallholder Farmers 

New York | April 3 2023 – International advocacy organization Global Citizen and the PepsiCo Foundation, the philanthropic arm of PepsiCo, today announced a year-long partnership and campaign focused on alleviating world hunger and promoting economic empowerment by tapping the enormous potential of rural, small-scale farming communities. The initiative seeks to provide a platform for smallholder farmers to work alongside world leaders and advocate for delivering on commitments targeting the nexus of the food and climate crises. 

The multi-faceted partnership plans to come to life through a number of activations focusing on food security and support for smallholder farmers across the globe, highlighting the importance in six countries: Egypt, Mexico, South Africa, Brazil, Thailand and Turkey:

• Direct Farmer Advocacy: The partnership plans to create space for conversations led by smallholder farmers, specifically women, to make a case to world leaders from the private and public sectors to commit greater investments in food security to promote rural transformation and mitigate the global food crisis. 
• Farmer Storytelling Series: The partnership plans to create dignified storytelling opportunities, which will strive to raise the voices of female smallholder farmers on a global scale, and highlight actionable solutions to address global food security and climate challenges, making a case for investment in resilient food systems. The first chapter of the storytelling series is expected to air in mid-April, preceding Global Citizen NOW, a high-level thought leadership summit convening later that month.
• Strategic Farmer Outcomes: The partnership plans to unlock funding and deepen meaningful, women-centered relationships with farming communities.

The campaign will urge the private sector and philanthropists to unlock new commitments that match the scale and ambition of PepsiCo’s global Food for Good platform and support the livelihoods of farming communities in the developing world. Together, the two organizations will reaffirm PepsiCo’s $100 million commitment to the Zero Hunger Private Sector Pledge and call on broader participation of its private sector peers and business leaders. As a global food and beverage company, regenerative agriculture is crucial to PepsiCo’s business with the company sourcing 25 crops from more than 7 million acres in 60 countries.

Whilst women make up nearly half of the world’s smallholder farmers, they are often encumbered with multiple barriers, including difficulties accessing loans and financing, legal hurdles to land ownership, unpaid childcare, unpaid labor, and ‘period poverty.’ They face disproportionate impacts and vulnerabilities due to climate change, rising costs and conflict. When women are connected with the resources they need to thrive, they are more likely to reinvest resources back into their communities, making support of female farmers an essential development strategy. 

C.D. Glin, President of the PepsiCo Foundation and Global Head of Philanthropy for PepsiCo said: “Our partnership with Global Citizen builds on the history of collaboration between PepsiCo Foundation and local partners through programs including ‘She Feeds the World’ and ‘Agrovita’ to advance food security through gender-conscious community engagement. We’re focused on strengthening the role of small-scale women producers through sustainable and regenerative agriculture training, economic support and by improving linkages, including within the PepsiCo supply chain, to ensure sustainable and stable incomes for the farmer community. These efforts support our PepsiCo Positive commitment to Positive Agriculture and contribute to our goal to improve the livelihoods of more than 250,000 people in our agricultural supply chain and supporting 5 million female farmers and members of their communities by 2025.” 

Michael Sheldrick, Co-Founder and Chief Policy, Impact and Government Affairs Officer of Global Citizen said: "We're happy to work with the PepsiCo Foundation to help rural farmers and their communities by sharing their stories through Global Citizen's advocacy campaigns. These farmers, especially women, are very important for local food systems, but they often face poverty and vulnerability during crises. Smallholder farmers are crucial in fighting the hunger crisis, so it's important that leaders from governments and private sectors invest in solutions urgently. We urge corporate leaders to sign the Zero Hunger Private Sector Pledge and invest in small-scale food producers, such as through providing funding for seeds, equipment, and market access."  

###