Positive Sparks: food for thought From fertiliser to food waste: two companies tackling a global efficiency problem. August 2026 Article 6 m

Deere and Ecolab offer complementary ways to improve food-system efficiency while generating durable investment opportunities.

• Global food demand is expected to rise by more than 50% by 2050, while more than 70% of ammonia fertiliser production depends on natural gas and roughly one-third of food is lost or wasted before consumption.
• Fertiliser prices rose by almost 50% in two months after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, while about one-third of global seaborne fertiliser trade passes through the Strait of Hormuz.
• Deere's See & Spray can reduce herbicide use by up to 50%, while ExactShot can cut fertiliser use by up to 60%; Deere's engaged acres grew from 315 million in 2020 to nearly 500 million in 2025, and the authors estimate that See & Spray avoided about 3,040 tonnes of herbicide in 2025.
• Ecolab supports food quality and safety across 36% of the world's processed food and more than 40% of global processed milk, while its services helped customers save 927 billion litres of water in 2025 and realise $12.9bn of cumulative value since 2019.
• Both companies are expanding digital and recurring-revenue offerings: Deere is developing a cloud-based farm-management hub, while Ecolab's enterprise penetration at major customers remains below 50% and its digital tools deepen customer relationships.

Takeaway: The authors see Deere and Ecolab as long-term investments whose pricing power, recurring revenues and hard-to-replicate positions align measurable environmental benefits with potential returns, although the publication is promotional and not independent research.