Shundi Foods Reports Steady Progress in Its Regenerative Agriculture Initiative

Building on more than 15 years of advancing sustainable agriculture, Shundi officially launched a new regenerative agriculture project in January 2024. The project is now taking root and expanding across China’s main garlic-producing regions.

The project targets core challenges in conventional garlic farming: soil degradation, water wastage, unstable yields, and loss of biodiversity. In its first phase, it has already covered several thousand mu of garlic fields, helping hundreds of smallholder farmers improve land productivity and resilience, enhance their livelihoods, and bring positive effects to surrounding ecosystems.

The project focuses on three key practices:

Organic fertilizer application: Providing free organic fertilizer to farmers, encouraging them to cut back on synthetic fertilizers and increase soil organic matter.

Soil nutrient management: Offering professional training on scientific fertilization, along with soil testing tools, technical guidance, and incentive payments, to help farmers transition to precision fertilization. (Scientific nutrient management means using the right fertilizer, at the right time, in the right amount, and in the right place.)

Mulching practice: Supplying biodegradable mulch film and application guidance at no cost, gradually replacing conventional plastic film to reduce plastic pollution in soil at the source.

May is garlic harvest season. The project team continues to track farmers’ top-dressing practices and record detailed fertilization data, building a foundation for future KPI assessment. Early this month, the biodegradable mulch film provided by the project began to crack naturally—slightly later than expected, which helps keep soil moist for longer. Based on current observations, the mulch film has not had any negative impact on yields.

Digital monitoring is also being upgraded. A professional system has been introduced to track plot locations, organic fertilizer application, and a rating of farmers’ actual practices after nutrient management training. The collected data has already been uploaded to the system database.

As for harvesting, early-maturing fresh garlic is currently being brought in. Initial estimates show stable yields per mu. Representative yield data will be collected from selected plots, and dry garlic yield data will be obtained through farmer interviews and field measurements.

We aim to build a more sustainable and healthier supply chain—and that starts at the source. Smallholder farmers are at the heart of many of our raw materials. Supporting them will help us accelerate our transformation. We believe that with continued effort, this project will bring lasting, far-reaching benefits to both Chinese farmers and ecosystems.