PepsiCo Shares Details of "Women Who Feed the World" Project

PepsiCo, one of the world's largest food and beverage companies, presented the "Women Feeding the World" Project, which it launched in Adana to support small-scale women farmers and producers, at an event held in Adana to commemorate 14 May World Farmer's Day.

Under the project, women producers in Ceyhan and Yüreğir districts of Adana have recorded significant progress in potato, broccoli and corn cultivation, while cooperation initiated with Meryem Women's Cooperative accelerated the project implementation process.

PepsiCo, one of the world's largest food and beverage companies, continues its work under Positive Agriculture, one of the three most important pillars of its end-to-end sustainability transformation strategy PepsiCo Positive (pep+).

Through the "Women Feeding the World" project, implemented in Turkey with a budget of TRY 35 million with support from the PepsiCo Foundation and in cooperation with CARE Turkey, women farmers and producers in Adana are being supported.

Under the project, grants are provided to 450 women farmers and producers. Through training on sustainable agriculture techniques, digital marketing and communication techniques, it is expected that more than 35,000 women farmers and producers in total will benefit from the project.

At an event held in Adana on 14 May World Farmer's Day, Adana Yüreğir Deputy Mayors Cüneyt Patır and Rukiye Alpay Çınkılıç, PepsiCo Turkey Senior Director of Corporate Relations and Sustainability Esra İren and CARE Turkey Corporate Communications Director Esat Akgül met with farmers.

Seeds sown by our women are turning into saplings of hope
"At a meeting organized under the "Women Feeding the World Project," PepsiCo Turkey Senior Director of Corporate Relations and Sustainability Esra İren shared her thoughts: "The progress made by our project, which we launched to support women farmers and producers in this earthquake-affected region, has renewed all of our hopes for a better future. As a company that understands the importance of creating resilient agricultural ecosystems to support the creation of a completely sustainable value chain from farm to table, we place great importance on partnerships, especially to move faster and create greater impact in this matter.

CARE's mission in empowering women and its expertise in working with small-scale agricultural producers have been our greatest strength in this project. I thank the Adana Governor's Office, Yüreğir and Ceyhan District Governorships, Adana Provincial and District Directorates of Agriculture and Forestry, Adana Metropolitan Municipality, Yüreğir Municipality, Ceyhan Municipality and Meryem Women's Cooperative for their support and strong cooperation in our project. With the "Women Feeding the World" project, supporting our women farmers in turning their dreams into reality and contributing to increased women's access to land is important for us. I believe that with the strength we draw from our growing partnerships with each passing day, the seeds sown by our women will turn into saplings of hope and strengthen our belief in a better future," she said.

Adana Yüreğir Deputy Mayors Cüneyt Patır and Rukiye Alpay Çınkılıç, who attended the World Farmer's Day event, said: "As a municipality, we stand by all efforts that will increase the production capacity of our farmers. This project will encourage rural development and further highlight Yüreğir's agricultural potential."

CARE Turkey Corporate Communications Director Esat Akgül: "When women are empowered, communities are empowered. This project is not just about increasing productivity; it is about transforming lives and breaking the cycle of poverty in the communities we serve. Empowered women empower communities. Sustainable agriculture begins with empowering women. Every woman and women farmer has the potential to change the world. Through this partnership, PepsiCo supports women's empowerment by providing the tools, training and grant support that women farmers need to improve their livelihoods. PepsiCo's commitment to community development aligns with CARE's shared vision of building resilience and promoting sustainable growth."

Contribution to local development
Meryem Women's Cooperative Board Member Derya Dizi Boduk said: "Through this cooperation with CARE, our women farmers are both strengthened in production and become agents of rural development. This project is very valuable in making women's labor visible in agriculture. By supporting women's access to agricultural knowledge, equipment and markets, this project makes important contributions to local development both economically and socially."

Three demonstration farms were established under the project
In October 2024, CARE launched the first demonstration farm focusing on broccoli and potato cultivation with a group of 26 women farmers in Ceyhan district. In January 2025, CARE established the second demonstration farm focusing on potato cultivation in an area of approximately 18 decares in Yüreğir district with 86 women producers. Yüreğir Municipality also provided support for this demonstration farm, which was carried out in partnership with Meryem Women's Cooperative. At the end of February, the third demonstration farm focusing on corn cultivation was established in Ceyhan with 57 women farmers.

Improvement of compost facility in Yüreğir successfully completed
Many shared infrastructure improvement initiatives were also carried out under the project. The first of these initiatives, the improvement of the compost facility in Yüreğir, was successfully completed and the facility is now operational at full capacity. Supported by Yüreğir Municipality, this facility plays a critical role in promoting sustainable agricultural practices in the region by providing free fertilizer to local farmers. In addition, through electrical infrastructure improvements carried out at the compost facility in Yüreğir, the facility was equipped to serve farmers more efficiently. Natural fertilizers produced from waste vegetables and fruits collected from the market were distributed free of charge to nearly 4,000 farmers.

Under the project, "Men in the Kitchen" learned to cook healthy meals
As one of the secondary objectives of the project, several initiatives were implemented to increase access to and consumption of nutritious food in households and communities. Through an initiative carried out by Community Health Volunteers (TSG) in Yüreğir and Ceyhan districts of Adana to raise nutrition awareness, it is aimed to reach 5,000 farmers and producers directly. In this context, the distribution of Information, Education and Communication materials related to nutrition was carried out with the support of Yüreğir Municipality.

Through this activity, approximately 4,000 people were reached. Within the framework of the same organization, the "Men in the Kitchen" program was organized to encourage men to take an active role in household responsibilities, with professional chefs and under the guidance of a nutrition expert. A nutrition specialist from Yüreğir Municipality provided general nutrition training to male participants, while chefs also taught them to cook nutritious meals by providing recipes.