PepsiCo gathers growers from more than 35 countries at Hannover Agro University

PepsiCo has held its 2026 Global Agro University in Hannover, Germany, bringing together more than 140 growers, suppliers, agronomists and agricultural specialists from over 35 countries. The company reported on the event on 10 September; the programme ran across the week and combined expert-led lectures with field and storage demonstrations.

The forum is an annual fixture within PepsiCo’s wider agricultural capability-building effort, which also covers digital learning platforms, expert forums, in-person training and study tours. Global Agro University sits at the top of that structure as its global-tier event.

Full production cycle on the agenda

This year’s curriculum was built around the complete production cycle. Sessions covered seed, field preparation, irrigation scheduling and plant nutrition, moving through pest management and harvesting technique to storage optimisation. A separate strand addressed digital agriculture: crop monitoring technologies and precision farming tools intended to support in-field decision-making.

Teaching was delivered by specialists drawn from industry, academia, strategic partners and PepsiCo’s own agronomy teams. The company is explicit about the rationale — participants gain access to expertise and operational experience that is typically unavailable in their home markets.

Demonstrations in the field and the store

Organisers identify the hands-on element as the programme’s defining feature. Participants visited field and storage sites for demonstrations covering soil preparation, crop scouting, harvester optimisation, precision application technologies, storage management and tuber quality monitoring.

The reasoning behind the format is straightforward. Seeing a technique in operation and discussing it on site with a technical specialist allows a grower to assess whether it transfers to their own operation — a judgement a conference-room presentation rarely supports.

Ten case studies, weighted towards Asia

The event featured ten case studies from markets worldwide, illustrating how PepsiCo teams, growers and industry partners are addressing production challenges and moving solutions across borders.

The examples the company chose to name share a common geography:

Market	Focus
China	Improving water-use efficiency through drip irrigation
Vietnam	Grower capability development
Thailand	Increasing mechanisation uptake
India	Optimising potato supply and quality

All four are Asian. The weighting reflects where the processor is building and reinforcing its raw material base: snack production across the region continues to expand, while local potato cultivation in these markets still trails European and North American benchmarks on mechanisation and agronomic practice. The content of the remaining six case studies has not been disclosed.

Regional tier: Latin America

Alongside the global event, PepsiCo runs regional Agro University programmes tailored to local agricultural priorities. A recent Latin American session convened close to 250 participants, including almost 140 farmers from across the region, over four days.

The thematic emphasis there differed: artificial intelligence, efficient irrigation and regenerative agriculture practices. The programme combined learning sessions, expert discussion, field visits and technology demonstrations, with the stated aim of connecting digital tools and AI to practical field requirements.

The scale behind the investment

The figures PepsiCo cites for context explain why a company of its size maintains dedicated training infrastructure. It works with approximately 300,000 farmers across its direct and indirect supply chains, and sources more than 50 crops and ingredients grown in over 60 countries. Group net revenue for 2025 was close to USD 94 billion.

At that geographic spread, harmonising agronomic practice becomes an operational resilience question. Raw material quality for processing feeds directly into unit cost and finished-product yield.

Context: PotatoEurope next door

The school took place in Hannover during the same days that PotatoEurope 2026 was running at Springe, roughly 30 km away. The trade fair was held on 9 and 10 September at the Rittergut Gestorf estate — a new venue for the event — and staged alongside the inaugural SugarBeet Expo. Organiser DLG reported approximately 290 exhibitors this year, against 251 at the 2022 German edition. It marked PotatoEurope’s twentieth outing.

PepsiCo has not commented on the overlap and there is no formal connection between the two events. The logistics, however, are worth noting: the processor convened its own grower audience at a moment when equipment suppliers, breeding companies and agronomists were already in the region.

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Sources: PepsiCo (press release, 10 September 2026, PR Newswire); PotatoPro; PotatoEurope / DLG.