Arva, Nestlé Purina, Riceland Sustainable Rice Program

In 2023, the Arva, Nestlé Purina, Riceland Sustainable Rice Project saw great headway towards our goal of increasing both grower enrollment and acreage in the project. In 2022, the project had 23 unique farmers that covered just over 10,000 acres. In 2023, grower enrollment tripled to 69 unique growers spanning nearly 50,000 acres. The project continues to garner positive interest from rice growers in the area and has great potential to scale. Further engagement can be achieved by encouraging farmers to adopt regenerative practices, and Arva and Riceland intend to be key partners to Nestlé in order to continue supporting their commitment to resilient landscapes and communities by assisting with farmer outreach, training, and data-backed management plans and incentives.

Since 2022, Nestlé Purina and Riceland have partnered with Arva to build a program that delivers environmental results and creates real value for farmers, all in an effort to support the adoption of sustainable practices in rice production. By incentivizing regenerative practice changes, this collaboration is helping to strengthen farmer livelihoods, reduce on-farm water use, and drive down Scope 3 GHG emissions.

Now in its third year, the 2024 program year supported 138 regenerative agriculture farmers across 871 fields, spanning 47,098 acres. This expansion reflects a strong and ongoing interest from growers, as well as the strength of the program’s incentive structures and data-driven approach. 

As the program continues, maximizing environmental impact and farmer success through measurable outcomes and thoughtful incentives will continue to be central to the project’s strategy. Together, Nestlé Purina, Arva, and Riceland are helping build a more resilient agricultural system, while ensuring high-quality ingredient sourcing and supporting the communities and landscapes behind them.

A major focus of this project is the reduction of Scope 3 GHG emissions as a result of advancing regenerative agriculture. Now in its third year, the project continues to deliver impact thanks to strong farmer engagement, data-driven insights, and a shared commitment to sustainable outcomes.

Working with 138 regenerative farmers, the 2024 year achieved 50,000 tCO2e of total Scope 3 emission reduction benefits. The 2024 project year also captured detailed primary data that enabled us to establish a 2018 baseline and assess impact values of specific regenerative interventions. Compared to a 2018 baseline, the project has seen a 49% improvement in emissions performance. Altogether, the emissions progress of the program compared to 2018 are equivalent to the avoided emissions of driving approximately 174M miles (equivalent to going to the moon and back 364 times!).

Practice adoption also remains strong across the board. In 2024, 91% of participating farmers used five or more regenerative practices on their fields - highlighting the depth of engagement and commitment to sustainability across the grower network. While not an all-inclusive list, practices included nutrient management plans, split nitrogen application, AWD practices, conservative tillage, and crop rotation.

Arva is committed to an accurate and transparent approach to carbon quantification, helping Purina get access to primary data within its supply sheds and helping farmers advance on their sustainability journeys. In 2022, the project delivered over 14,000 CO2e tonnes of Scope 3 emission reduction benefits.

In 2023, the project delivered nearly 63,000 CO2e tonnes of total GHG emission reductions and removals (86% were emission reductions).

Reduction practices included crop rotation and nutrient management, such as the use of a nutrient management plan (NMP), nitrogen inhibitor, split application, and/or variable rate technology (VRT). Water management and field preparation consisted of multiple inlet rice irrigation (MIRI), alternate wetting and drying (AWD), zero-grade fields, furrow irrigation, cascade irrigation, and surface flooding.

Water stewardship and biodiversity continue to be important co-benefits of the collaboration. In 2023, improved water management practices helped the project save 10.4 billion gallons of water. These results reflect the strength of community engagement across Riceland’s farmer-member network, which has been a driving force behind the success of this initiative.

In 2024, the project saw continued momentum in these areas. Water savings rose to 14.2 billion gallons. For illustration, this is enough water to provide every dog in America with a bowl of water, every day, for 312 days (assuming each bowl belongs to a Labrador) or the equivalent of 676,000 ten-minute showers! Additionally, the project supported nearly 24,000 acres of dedicated waterfowl habitat. These co-benefits are a meaningful reflection of how regenerative agriculture can deliver for both people and the planet, enhancing ecosystems while supporting sustainable food systems.

In 2023, the project saved 10.4 billion gallons of water through improved water management practices and supported 29,882 acres of waterfowl habitat as project co-benefits.  A key part of the Arva-Nestlé Purina project success was community engagement through transformational collaboration with Riceland’s farmer-member network.