Sustainable agriculture

Our approach

Almarai owns Fondomonte, who operate our arable farms located in primarily Argentina and the United States. Ensuring that we produce the highest quality feed for our dairy herds in Saudi Arabia is as important as our commitment to ensuring sustainable agricultural practices.

We utilize best land-use practices to ensure land productivity on our arable farms and continue to adopt regenerative farming practices where possible. Regenerative farming practices are important for the long-term sustainability of our arable farms through contributing to the health and vitality of the soil through microbial development and topsoil regeneration, while also supporting bio and carbon sequestration, soil structure, and overall ecological biodiversity. In California, we participate in a land conservation program, where around 15% of the land lays fallow at any given time to support soil regeneration. In Argentina, environmental impact assessments are conducted on a regular basis on alfalfa farms. We carefully monitor the application of fertilizer and pesticides in line with local regulations and maintain ongoing dialogue with local environmental regulatory bodies in both countries.

Our arable farming operations, based in the United States and Argentina, utilize irrigation methods most suitable for the environment. We have invested heavily in irrigation infrastructure since acquiring the farms in the United States. For example, our arable farms in Arizona use a combination of highly efficient subsurface drip and pivot irrigation. In California, where we rely on irrigation canals, we have ongoing work to line them with concrete to increase flow and reduce water loss from both evaporation and aquatic plant life. All canals are gravity fed and rely on no energy for pumping. In our United States and Argentina operations, we monitor water use in line with local regulations and maintain ongoing dialogue with local bodies governing water management.

Feed is transported from our arable farms in the United States to port for shipping by train. This mode of inland freight reduces the associated carbon footprint of our export operations. Most of electricity that powers our arable farming operations in the United States comes from renewable, hydroelectric, power sources. In addition, where irrigation pumping is required, such as in Arizona, all pumps are electric. This further contributes to a lower operational carbon footprint and the long-term sustainability of our operations.

All our operational Fondomonte USA sites are SHARPs (Safety & Health Achievement Recognition Program) certified, an OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) accreditation program. The SHARPs certification recognizes small and medium business employers who have used OSHA's On-Site Consultation program services and operate exemplary safety and health programs.

2021 performance and initiatives