Diageo partners with tech innovators to help build resilience in Sub-Saharan African agriculture

Diageo, the maker of Johnnie Walker whisky, Don Julio Tequila and Guinness, has today announced three new partnerships with AquaSpy, Clean Crop Technologies and Smart Cloud Farming as part of its innovation accelerator, Diageo Sustainable Solutions (DSS).

Unpredictable weather with increasing droughts and floods, and a gap in agriculture monitoring capabilities, creates a serious challenge to smallholder farmers in Africa. Having access to key soil and crop insights is becoming increasingly critical, empowering farmers to adapt agricultural practices to respond more effectively to the impacts of the water and climate crises.

Using its DSS programme, Diageo created a competition to find innovators with the technology that could help to find a solution to the problem facing the farmers. Through DSS, the company has pledged to invest a total of £450,000 into the development of three potentially game-changing innovations.

DSS launched four years ago to invest in new technologies and partnerships with innovators to develop pioneering sustainability solutions. The company invests both time, resources and funding for pilots to enable innovators to unlock new ideas and innovations for adapting Diageo’s supply chain and growing its brands in a more sustainable way. The programme is about finding the future innovations that can be deployed to not only reduce Diageo’s own impact but also benefit its business bottom line.

The three successful partners offer unique solutions that align with Diageo’s pilot proposals and contribute to building resilience within smallholder communities.

• AquaSpy is a cloud-based IoT agriculture platform that provides growers with a better understanding of seasonal crop roots and soil conditions, enabling more informed decisions about planting and resource management.
• Clean Crop Technologies has developed and commercialised a technology that treats seed surfaces. This proprietary treatment accelerates germination and enhances resistance to stressful abiotic growing conditions, such as droughts or floods. This groundbreaking technology is particularly valuable for farmers operating in regions disproportionately impacted by climate change.
• Smart Cloud Farming provides precision soil maps, created through soil monitoring and scanning. This provides the foundation for accurate crop yield forecasting, empowering farmers to make data-driven decisions for a more productive and sustainable future.

John Cant, Head of Diageo Sustainable Solutions, said: “One of the key challenges for smallholder farmers in Africa is their exposure to climate change and water scarcity. We’re working with partners to find new solutions that can help to ensure they get the very best from their farms. This technology has the potential to increase yield and remove uncertainty for the farmers, helping them to earn more from their farms, while giving Diageo the product we need to make great products.”

To begin with, the pilots will take place in East Africa, Kenya and Uganda, and if successful Diageo will scale these technologies across its supply chain.

There have been 14 pilots from previous challenges, including a partnership with EXXERGY and the Ardagh Group to develop a coating to make glass thinner without losing its strength to reduce emissions and the resources needed.