In April 2024, Shannung Foods partnered with 12 contract farms across Taiwan to launch the "Contract Carbon Reduction Program," Taiwan's first large-scale farm carbon management alliance in the food industry. The core philosophy of the program is that a significant portion of a food company's carbon footprint originates from the upstream agricultural production stage; only by assisting farmer partners in joint carbon reduction can the company's net-zero commitment truly be realized.
The program covers three main aspects: First, providing free consulting services for soil carbon sequestration technology to help farmers improve cultivation methods and increase soil organic carbon storage; second, introducing a precision fertilization system to optimize fertilizer usage through soil sensing data, reducing nitrogen fertilizer-related greenhouse gas emissions; third, subsidizing farmers for purchasing energy-efficient agricultural machinery to reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions from diesel machinery.
In its first year, the program showed initial results: participating farms reduced chemical fertilizer usage by an average of 15%, and agricultural machinery fuel consumption decreased by approximately 8%. Shannung Foods estimates that once fully implemented, the program can reduce agricultural production stage emissions by 1,840 metric tons of CO₂e annually, representing a significant part of Scope 3 emissions. The company plans to expand participating farms to 50 by 2026 and explore establishing a carbon credit sharing mechanism for farmers, transforming carbon reduction achievements into tangible income for farmers, and creating a sustainable ecosystem where businesses and agricultural partners thrive together.
"Before, we relied on nature; a typhoon would halve our harvest. Now, with soil sensing and precision fertilization recommendations, we save on fertilizer costs, and our harvests are more stable," shared Zhang Jin-he, a contract farmer participating in the program from Yunlin County. The Head of Agriculture Department at Shannung Foods stated: "The most valuable aspect of this program is not how much fertilizer money is saved, but rather the re-establishment of a trust relationship between the food company and farmers—we are not just purchasing raw materials, but partners in each other's sustainable development."