The initiative comes as Europe faces a growing demographic challenge in agriculture. According to European Commission and Eurostat data cited by the programme partners, only around 11% of farm managers across Europe are under the age of 40. At the same time, farmers are navigating increasing pressures from climate change, rising input costs and market volatility.

Future Harvest will operate in France, Spain, the Netherlands, Poland and Türkiye, with the aim of reaching approximately 900 young and next-generation farmers during 2026. The programme is intended to support farmers who are already managing farms or preparing to take over family operations, providing them with skills, practical knowledge and access to professional networks.

Funded by the PepsiCo Foundation and implemented by EIT Food in collaboration with local partners, the programme will combine online learning with practical farm-based experiences. Participants will follow tailored learning pathways covering sustainable farming practices, business management, entrepreneurship and leadership development.

A central element of the initiative will be the Future Harvest FarmHub, which will offer farm clinics, field visits, mentoring opportunities and peer-to-peer knowledge exchange. Organisers say the platform is intended to connect farmers with innovation ecosystems and practical expertise that can be applied directly on-farm.

The programme will also focus on regenerative and climate-resilient farming practices, alongside digital technologies, agritech applications and financial management skills. The objective is to help participants strengthen business resilience while adopting new approaches that support long-term sustainability.

Monica Bauer, Senior Vice President, Global Social Impact, PepsiCo, and President of the PepsiCo Foundation, said: “As a food and beverage company, PepsiCo’s connection to agriculture is fundamental. The ingredients in PepsiCo’s products start with farmers and farming families who are facing growing pressure, from rising costs to climate uncertainty. Through the PepsiCo Foundation, we aim to support initiatives like Future Harvest that are rooted in local realities and delivered with trusted partners, helping farming communities build resilience and opportunity over time.”

While the programme is built around a common European framework, organisers said delivery will be adapted to the specific agricultural conditions and priorities of each participating country.

Richard Zaltman, Chief Executive Officer of EIT Food, said: “Europe’s farming future depends on whether the next generation sees agriculture as a place to build, innovate and lead. That is why we are teaming up with the PepsiCo Foundation: to give young farmers the skills, confidence and networks to regenerate the land, strengthen their businesses and shape a more resilient food system.”

He added: “Future Harvest is part of EIT Food’s wider commitment to building a more resilient agriculture sector across Europe.”

The programme is scheduled to run from June to December, with participation opportunities opening during 2026. Details on eligibility criteria and application timelines will be announced through EIT Food and its programme partners.

The programme builds on a long-running national monitoring network operated by Fera since 2004. Aphids remain one of the most significant biological threats to seed potato production, not only because of the direct damage caused by feeding but also because they act as vectors for major potato viruses, including Potato Virus Y (PVY), Potato Leaf Roll Virus (PLRV) and Potato Virus A (PVA). According to the partners, these diseases continue to impose substantial economic costs on the UK potato industry.

Under the arrangement, growers participating in the monitoring network receive specialist trapping equipment and support throughout the season. Fera oversees trap deployment, grower onboarding, laboratory identification of aphid species and data management. The resulting information is distributed through twice-daily online updates, individual sample reports, automated text and email alerts, and weekly regional summaries.

The system is designed to support practical crop management decisions. Growers can use the data to determine whether insecticide applications are necessary, select products based on species-specific risks and resistance profiles, assess the timing of haulm desiccation and evaluate the suitability of home-saved seed. The programme also supports integrated pest management strategies by helping minimise unnecessary chemical applications while maintaining crop protection.

The expanded monitoring effort follows a season in which aphid activity and associated virus pressure reached unusually high levels across Scotland. Data from the 2025 programme showed virus pressure peaking earlier than normal, with the first major spike occurring one week earlier than in 2024 and two weeks ahead of a typical season. In some regions, virus pressure reached levels five to six times higher than the annual average, while several regions experienced multiple peaks lasting several weeks.

Regional monitoring highlighted significant differences in pest pressure. North Scotland recorded two major peaks driven largely by Peach–Potato Aphid (Myzus persicae) and Potato Aphid (Macrosiphum euphorbiae). Grampian experienced sustained pressure reaching six times the annual average, while Angus and Perthshire saw multiple peaks involving both colonising and non-colonising aphid species. In the Borders region, the Bulb & Potato Aphid (Rhopalosiphoninus latysiphon) was detected three weeks earlier than usual, contributing to elevated virus pressure during June.

The scale of the monitoring effort reflects the importance of seed potato production to Scotland’s agricultural sector. During 2025, 35 growers participated in operating traps across key seed-growing regions. A total of 443 samples were processed from Scottish monitoring sites, providing detailed regional insights into aphid populations and virus risk.

Beyond supporting immediate crop protection decisions, the programme also contributes to broader sustainability objectives. Monitoring data helps reduce unnecessary pesticide use, supports insecticide resistance management, protects beneficial insect populations and contributes to long-term crop resilience. These outcomes align with increasing industry focus on balancing crop protection requirements with environmental stewardship.

Commenting on the programme, Lisa Blackburn and Larissa Collins of Fera said: “Aphid pressure in 2025 has been exceptionally high, and the rapid reporting enabled by this monitoring network has been crucial in helping growers act quickly and confidently. Our work with Albert Bartlett ensures Scotland’s seed potato sector is equipped with the science and data it needs to manage virus risk effectively.”

For Albert Bartlett, the expanded sponsorship represents a continued investment in science-based crop protection and supply chain resilience. By supporting independent monitoring at a national scale, the company aims to help safeguard the quality and reputation of Scotland’s seed potato industry while providing growers with increasingly sophisticated tools to manage evolving pest pressures.

The company’s new platform builds on its existing yeast-based RNA technologies and could address some of the practical limitations that have constrained broader deployment of RNA-based biological products, including production scale, delivery efficiency and cost.

Renaissance’s current RNA work has focused on RNA interference (RNAi)-based biopesticides for chewing insect pests. For the potato sector, that category includes high-profile targets such as the Colorado potato beetle, one of the industry’s most persistent insect challenges and a species frequently associated with resistance development against conventional chemistry.

According to the company, the new VLP technology uses nanoscale, non-infectious structures generated by engineered yeast to package and deliver RNA more efficiently. Renaissance says the platform increases RNA production quantities while improving amplification, stabilization and delivery efficiency.

For potato growers and crop protection developers, the significance lies less in a single future product and more in the possibility of widening the range of biological interventions that become technically and commercially viable.

One of the historical constraints of RNAi approaches has been delivery. Existing systems have generally been strongest in applications where pests ingest the active material directly. Renaissance says the small size of its yeast-derived VLPs may open additional delivery possibilities that could eventually support biological control approaches beyond traditional chewing insect targets.

That could create future opportunities not only in insect control but potentially in broader crop protection categories including fungicides and herbicides — applications that remain developmental but illustrate the wider direction of RNA-enabled agricultural inputs.

The company also suggests that increased RNA production efficiency could improve scalability and economics — an important consideration for agricultural adoption, where manufacturing cost and field practicality often determine whether promising biological technologies reach commercial use.

Renaissance emphasized that these applications remain prospective and require further development and validation. However, the patent filing signals continued investment in platforms intended to move RNA technologies closer to commercially deployable crop protection tools.

The agency said weather conditions favourable to the development and spread of potato blight are expected to emerge from Tuesday afternoon and evening before becoming more widespread between Thursday and Saturday.

The advisory highlights a combination of humidity and unsettled conditions that can accelerate the development of blight, one of the potato sector’s most economically significant crop diseases. Blight can spread rapidly under favourable weather conditions and remains a major driver of crop protection decisions throughout the growing season.

Met Éireann noted that growers may face operational challenges in responding to the elevated risk, warning that there will be “very limited opportunities” for fungicide applications between showers during the early part of the week. Improved conditions for spraying are expected on Wednesday before weather patterns become less favourable again later in the advisory period.

The Irish weather authority issues potato blight advisories to help growers make more targeted crop protection decisions and reduce unnecessary fungicide applications during periods of lower disease pressure.

Blight, caused by a fungal-like pathogen, affects both foliage and tubers. Early symptoms typically include brown lesions developing on leaves, often surrounded by pale or yellow margins. As infection progresses, tubers may develop dark discolouration and internal browning, ultimately leading to rot and quality losses.

For commercial potato producers, elevated blight pressure at this stage of the season can influence spray timing, field access planning and disease monitoring intensity. Limited spray windows can also complicate fungicide programmes where repeated rainfall reduces opportunities for effective application.

Growers in affected regions are being encouraged to monitor local forecasts closely and adjust crop protection schedules accordingly as conditions evolve over the coming days.

Biosecurity Concerns Return To The Forefront

Potato wart is a soil-borne disease that affects potato production and remains a highly sensitive issue in North American potato trade. According to the industry submission, the pathogen can persist in soil for decades and no chemical treatment is currently available to eliminate it.

The U.S. industry groups argue that an introduction of the disease into domestic production areas could have broad commercial consequences beyond direct crop losses, including disruption to export access and downstream economic activity. The NPC cited the U.S. potato sector’s contribution of more than USD 100 billion annually to the national economy and support for more than 714,000 jobs.

Debate Reopens Over Earlier Policy Decisions

The request revives a dispute that has continued since late 2021, when U.S. authorities temporarily halted imports of PEI fresh potatoes before allowing trade to resume in May 2022.

According to NPC, concerns have persisted despite mitigation protocols introduced after trade resumed. The organization referenced previous USDA assessments and questioned whether current surveillance measures fully reflect the extent of disease occurrence on PEI. The letter also reiterates proposals previously advanced by industry groups, including tighter controls on bulk shipments, enhanced traceability requirements for retail packs, and additional safeguards around agricultural waste generated during handling and processing activities. The request was signed by potato organizations representing major U.S. growing regions including Idaho, Washington, Wisconsin, Oregon, Maine, Michigan and Colorado.
The USDA had not announced any change to import policy at the time the letter was made public.

Announced by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency with support from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the regulatory update also introduces measures designed to streamline administrative processes.

The PGA described the extension as a meaningful development for Canada’s potato industry, reflecting the long timelines and investment required to breed, test and commercialize new potato varieties.

Potato breeding presents distinct challenges compared with many other crops, as seed potatoes must be multiplied over multiple years and rigorously evaluated before reaching commercial scale. Under the previous 20-year framework, breeders had a narrower period to recover research and development investment once varieties entered the market.

By extending protection to 25 years, the revised legislation is expected to improve the commercial incentive for breeders while potentially increasing competition and expanding access to new varieties for growers.

“These changes will help Alberta growers access better varieties adapting to changing growing conditions with increased disease resistance and marketable yield,” said Jake Hoogland of Hoogland Farms.

“This is an important step in keeping my farm competitive and sustainable for the future.”

The PGA said the longer protection period should help support innovation while improving growers’ access to varieties that can better respond to disease pressures, market demands and evolving production conditions.

Under the agreement, Fertiberia will progressively supply PepsiCo with up to 150,000 tons of its Impact Zero crop nutrition products annually by 2030. According to the companies, this would be enough to cover approximately 400,000 acres, or around 162,000 hectares, of farmland used to grow potatoes, corn, sunflower, sugar beet and rapeseed.

The programme will initially launch in France, Romania, Serbia, Greece and Turkey, while expanding in Spain and Portugal. PepsiCo and Fertiberia said the initiative is expected to be rolled out to additional European countries in the near future.

The collaboration follows a pilot project in Spain and Portugal, where switching to Fertiberia’s low-carbon fertiliser reduced emissions by up to 15% in potato farming and by up to 20% in corn farming, according to the companies.

Fertiberia’s Impact Zero fertiliser is produced using green hydrogen instead of natural gas. The company says the product can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 63%. It also incorporates slow-release formulas and biological inhibitors designed to improve agronomic efficiency, support yields and reduce nutrient loss.

PepsiCo said fertiliser production and use currently account for around half of its average potato carbon footprint in Europe, making the category one of the main levers for reducing agricultural emissions. Together with existing supplier agreements, the Fertiberia collaboration is expected to bring the share of low-carbon fertiliser used in PepsiCo’s European supply chain to around 50% by 2030.

“We’re working to lead the way on regenerative agriculture and helping to build a more resilient agricultural supply chain. Switching to low-carbon fertiliser is one of the strongest levers we have to reduce agricultural emissions, and use of digital technology can complement this journey towards food system transformation. We’re excited by the success of our pilot in Spain and Portugal and look forward to scaling this ambitious partnership across Europe,” said Archana Jagannathan, Chief Sustainability Officer, PepsiCo Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

The two companies will also support farmers with technical guidance and digital tools, including precision agriculture technologies intended to optimise fertiliser application and track regenerative agriculture practices.

“Since 2022, we have been developing lower-carbon hydrogen-based fertilisers, powered by cutting-edge technology such as NSAFE, the world’s first bio-inhibitor of nitrification that prevents nitrogen losses and accelerates the transformation of European agriculture. Today, this journey takes on greater meaning thanks to the trust of partners like PepsiCo, with whom we are collaborating to help decarbonise agri-food value chains. This is not just about fertilisers – it’s about demonstrating the importance of collaboration and showing that innovation, when shared, can drive both climate action and food security across Europe,” said David Herrero, Chief Operating Officer at Fertiberia.

The agreement supports PepsiCo’s wider target to implement regenerative, restorative or protective practices across 10 million acres globally by 2030. The company said it also contributes to its goal of reducing Scope 3 forest, land and agriculture greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030, against a 2022 baseline.

The study describes the synthesis of a peptide, CS5, designed to attack P. infestans without harming plants. The work was carried out by KTH researchers in collaboration with the University of Milan in Italy, Flinders University in Australia, and the Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology in India.

Late blight remains one of the most destructive diseases affecting potato and tomato crops. According to KTH, climate change is increasing humidity and rainfall patterns that favour the spread of the pathogen, widening the conditions under which infections can develop.

“Regions that once saw late blight only sporadically – from cool highlands to temperate fringes – are now experiencing longer, more intense infection windows as seasons become warmer and wetter,” said Vaibhav Srivastava, a glycoscience researcher at KTH. “At the same time, more diverse and aggressive P. infestans populations are exploiting these new niches, challenging spray calendars and resistance strategies that were designed for yesterday’s climate.”

The researchers focused on the pathogen’s biology. Although P. infestans is often described as a water mold, it belongs to the oomycetes, a group more closely related to algae than to fungi. Oomycete cell walls are mainly composed of cellulose and related complex sugars, with little or no chitin.

KTH said the study shows that the enzyme PiChs produces specific chitin fragments and that blocking it slows the pathogen’s growth and ability to infect plants. CS5 was designed to bind to this enzyme.

“CS5 is designed to match and bind to this singular enzyme,” Srivastava said.

In laboratory tests, CS5 blocked the enzyme’s activity and slowed or stopped pathogen growth. It also prevented infection in treated potato samples. According to Srivastava, the peptide poses no threat to plants or humans because the specific chitin synthase enzyme it targets is not present in either.

“We’ve shown that this pathogen depends on a specific internal process to grow—and that a specially designed peptide can switch it off,” he said. “This gives us a completely new way to fight late blight. It also works alongside existing methods and could help farmers slow the rise of resistance while relying less on chemical sprays.”

KTH said CS5 and related compounds could form the basis for environmentally friendly crop protection tools, either alone or in combination with other targeted treatments. The researchers also said the findings could support the development of comparable peptide-based controls against other economically damaging oomycete pathogens.

The trial, authorised by Switzerland’s Federal Office for the Environment, involves the cultivation of potato line P49 27 at Agroscope’s Protected Site. The line was developed at the University of Wageningen and contains the Rpi-chc1 resistance gene from the wild potato Solanum chacoense.

Because the resistance gene originates from a potato species and no foreign DNA is used, Agroscope describes the line as cisgenic. The research forms part of National Research Programme 84 and is intended to support further work on potato varieties with improved disease resistance, as well as greater tolerance to drought and heat.

According to Agroscope, potato cultivation in Switzerland has become increasingly difficult. Over the past decade, around 1,000 Swiss farms have stopped growing potatoes, with the agency citing more frequent disease and pest pressure, tighter restrictions on plant-protection products, and more common extreme weather events such as heatwaves and prolonged wet conditions.

The current trial is also linked to the international CRISPS project, which studies genome-edited potato cultivars as well as cisgenic varieties. Agroscope is working with research partners in the Netherlands and Sweden on the varieties Innovator and Erika, which are important for Switzerland, as well as Désirée, used as a research standard.

Over the next few years, the project aims to repair existing resistance genes or deliberately switch off susceptibility genes in these varieties before testing the resulting plants in the field.

Agroscope said conventional potato breeding is increasingly reaching its limits, as it can take more than 20 years and may not be able to keep pace with new pathogens or rapid environmental change. New breeding methods such as CRISPR-Cas are being studied as a way to develop natural traits more precisely and more quickly, without the inclusion of foreign DNA.

Photo: © Agroscope, Jonas Winizki

The initiative, titled Peel or No Peel, takes the form of a game-show-style video filmed on a McCain farm. The format pairs influencer participants with a McCain grower, combining on-farm exposure to regenerative practices with a knowledge-based challenge designed to test what participants have learned.

According to the company, the project is intended to “edutain” audiences while highlighting the role of growers and practical farming methods. The content will be distributed primarily عبر social media platforms, including Instagram and LinkedIn, reflecting a strategy focused on reaching consumers directly through digital channels.

The move underscores a growing emphasis among major food processors on communicating sustainability initiatives in more accessible formats. While regenerative agriculture has become a central theme in corporate sourcing strategies across the food sector, translating these practices into consumer-facing narratives remains a challenge.

By incorporating growers into the content and situating the campaign on an operational farm, McCain appears to be positioning primary production at the centre of its messaging. This aligns with wider industry efforts to link agricultural practices more visibly with end products, particularly in categories such as frozen potato products where supply chain transparency is gaining importance.

The campaign does not introduce new technical developments or sourcing commitments, but reflects an evolving approach to stakeholder engagement, where consumer understanding is seen as a supporting factor in advancing sustainability initiatives.