Key Takeaways
- Tesco is selling potatoes grown using low-carbon farming techniques.
- Trials include robotic tilling, low-emissions fertilizers, and nitrogen-capturing technology.
- Tesco absorbs financial risk via long-term contracts with suppliers.
- Data will be shared with other retailers and farming groups to encourage broader adoption.
- The program targets 2030 emissions benchmarks amid worsening climate volatility.
Tesco will soon place a modest crop of potatoes on its shelves that carry ambitious weight: they were grown on a low-carbon farming trial designed to reshape how British agriculture confronts the climate crisis.
The potatoes come from Langrick Farm in Lincolnshire, one of two “low-carbon concept” farms funded by Tesco as part of its supply chain decarbonization effort. Grown using a suite of climate-smart technologies—from robotic tilling to low-carbon fertilizers—the 520-tonne harvest will yield an estimated 260,000 two-kilo bags.
From Sustainability Goal to Market Test
Tesco launched the concept farm in January with a clear objective: test whether low-carbon farming can work at scale, and whether farmers can afford it.
“Technology exists,” said Ashwin Prasad, Tesco UK’s chief executive. “But we need to know which ones actually cut emissions—and which ones make sense on a farm budget.”
Among the innovations: R-Leaf, which transforms nitrogen oxide pollutants into nutrients; Omnia, a digital farm-mapping tool; and biomass heating, pollinator cover crops, and anaerobic digesters. Tesco’s trials span peas, wheat, broccoli and potatoes in a seven-year rotation aimed at boosting soil health and minimizing disease.
Low-Carbon Farming as Risk Management
The UK supermarket giant is underwriting these climate trials to remove one of the biggest barriers to change: financial risk. Tesco’s long-term contracts allow suppliers to adopt new methods without gambling their livelihoods.
“We’re not asking them to shoulder the risk alone,” said Prasad. “We’re betting with them.”
While no incentives for wide adoption have been announced, Tesco plans to share results via its sustainable farming groups before exploring commercial scale-up.
Collaboration Over Competition
Tesco is also pushing its network of suppliers to collaborate pre-competitively—a break from the typically guarded world of agriculture supply chains. The aim: to identify what works fast enough to influence the UK’s 2030 climate targets.
“This is about building a resilient food system,” Prasad said. “Not just for Tesco, but for the country.”
Pressure From Climate and Consumers
The trials come amid increasingly volatile British weather and looming regulatory benchmarks. By helping to de-risk low-carbon farming, Tesco hopes to accelerate adoption of practices that both reduce emissions and protect food security.
As Prasad noted, the stakes aren’t just environmental: “Consumers want sustainability, but not at exorbitant cost. We have to deliver both.”
