Cargill honored for strengthening farmer support, food system resilience
The recognition highlights the company’s work in connecting farmers with markets, financing, technical expertise and agricultural resources, alongside partnerships and programmes focused on sustainable and regenerative agriculture.
USA – Cargill has been named to the Fortune Change the World 2026 list, recognizing its widespread efforts to support agricultural producers and build long-term resilience across global food supply chains.
The prestigious annual index highlights 50 companies demonstrating measurable social impact and business innovation by addressing critical global challenges through core commercial strategies.
According to Cargill, the company was selected from approximately 200 candidates evaluated for the 2026 edition.
The recognition comes as agricultural producers continue to navigate changing market conditions, climate-related pressures, input costs, and the need to improve productivity while maintaining the resilience of agricultural supply chains.
The recognition underscores Cargill’s efforts to expand market access, provide structured financing, deploy technical expertise, and scale sustainable farming practices in partnership with growers and global development organizations.
According to company disclosures, Cargill directly engages with over 140,000 farmers worldwide. Since 2017, the agribusiness leader has delivered more than 7.7 million technical training sessions to producers globally.
Additionally, its regenerative agriculture initiatives have expanded across 2.5 million acres in North America since 2020, promoting soil health, carbon sequestration, and watershed protection.
Roger Watchorn, leader of Cargill’s Agriculture and Trading division, emphasized that farm-level success is fundamental to global food security.
He noted that connecting growers with viable end markets, financial liquidity, and modern agronomic tools builds systemic strength across the entire supply chain.
Beyond large-scale operations, Cargill collaborates with humanitarian groups like CARE to support smallholder farmers, broaden market access for women in agriculture, and scale adoption of nutrient-dense crops.
The Fortune honor also reflects Cargill’s investments in crop diversification and sustainable market development.
This includes creating novel commercial outlets for alternative cover crops like winter camelina, which provides winter soil protection while generating secondary revenue streams for growers.
As climate volatility, geopolitical shifts, and market fluctuations continue to challenge global food production, Cargill’s end-to-end support model demonstrates how private-sector infrastructure can reinforce agricultural livelihoods while building a more stable global food system.
The recognition also reflects Cargill’s broader approach to supporting farmers through its agricultural and food businesses.
Its 2026 annual report highlights initiatives involving agronomic support, digital tools, market connections, animal nutrition and supply-chain services.
The company reported that its 1000 Farmers Endless Prosperity programme in Türkiye increased participating farmers’ yields by approximately 26%, while farmer profitability increased by up to 39% in 2024.
Roger Watchorn, leader of Cargill’s Agriculture and Trading business, said farmers are central to resilient food systems and that connecting producers with markets, financing and technical expertise forms part of the company’s approach.
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