Gent-based group has pledged to embed regenerative agriculture practices across all contracted growers in Peru and Guatemala by 2035
Belgian fresh producer supplier FairFruit has said it is committed to regenerative agriculture practices across all contracted farms by 2035.
The move comes as the Gent-based group – which supplies specialty vegetable and exotic fruit to Europe, the UK, and other markets – looks to build climate resilience and safeguard its long-term supply security.
FairFruit said it is embedding several sustainability actions at a farm level in Peru and Guatemala, with water resilience the priority.
Significant progress has already been made in Peru, it noted, which was Europe’s largest snow pea and sugar snap pea supplier last year, accounting for 28.4 per cent of total EU import volume.
FairFruit was the single-largest exporter that same year.
”Healthy soils lie at the heart of FairFruit’s approach to help retain moisture so crops can thrive, quality stays consistent, and volume remains stable for European customers,” the group stated.
”To rebuild soil biology, FairFruit has developed a proprietary in-house blend of beneficial microorganisms, called Soil Balance.
”In Peru, its application has produced positive, visible impacts, with more balanced growing conditions promoting plant growth across the seasons and crops that meet accurate specifications,” FairFruit said.
Throughout Peru, FairFruit explained that its technical irrigation – both drip and sprinkler – has expanded to secure water availability, sustain usage, and reduce dependence on rainfall.
In 2025, 56 per cent of the company’s Peru’s planted area was irrigated using drip and sprinkler systems, which saved an estimated 300,000m³ of water compared with flood irrigation alone.
Drip irrigation is a particular benefit for snow peas and sugar snaps, it pointed out.
Foliage remains dry, which reduces the risk of fungal disease, and potentially lowers the need for crop protection products, while enabling fertigation and reducing nutrient loss.
Added to that, FairFruit has relocated 120ha of its Peruvian snow pea and sugar snap production away from the rain-dependent coast to Arequipa and the Sierra de Huaura where drip irrigation secures water independent of rainfall.
A multi-zone growing structure now covers seven to eight regions, from the Peruvian coast to the highlands, and the Andes.
When one zone faces climate stress, the others maintain continuity, which is “essential to protecting supply chain reliability”, FairFruit outlined.
“The future of food depends on what we choose to do today,” commented Evert Wulfrank, CEO of Durabilis, the umbrella company of FairFruit.
”Regenerative agriculture is key to building climate resilient, sustainable supply chains for the future,” he continued.
”Now, more than ever, this shapes FairFruit’s entire approach because producing this way rebuilds soil health, restores biodiversity, improves water cycles, and secures food for future generations.”
Together with local farming communities, FairFruit said that it is turning ”years of field experience” into more resilient supply lines and new opportunities for growers.
“By 2035 we are targeting a full transition to regenerative agriculture practices among our contracted growers in Peru and Guatemala,” said Guy Trachez, FairFruit’s group sustainability manager.
”We’re committed to reducing our carbon emissions by 55 per cent, and increasing the levels of carbon captured in the soil.”
In Peru, the climate mitigation model is built around restoring soil health, irrigation investment, relocating production, and phytosanitary planning.
“Soil biology promotes quality consistency; water security is volume security; new and diversified production spreads risk and widens our seasonal window, while certification gives retailers third-party evidence for their own reporting,” noted David Van de Gehuchte, FairFruit’s sales and operations manager for the EU and the UK.
”Each step is an investment in resilience for our fields, our farmers, and our future.”
By recognising soil health as the foundation of regenerative agriculture, FairFruit said it aims to protect the natural resources that underpin long-term prosperity, and build a system that sustains people and the planet.
“Healthy soils support plant strength, improve productivity, and play a key role in sustaining long-term farming systems,” explained Nery Aldana Pineda, FairFruit’s agricultural director for Latam.
”We would always rather work with nature than against it to strengthen our crops and farming practices.
”At FairFruit we want to not only grow food, but to give back to the land that sustains us,” Aldana Pineda enthused.
”In developing soil balance, we are contributing to preserving the most important resource we have in agriculture – our soils.”
