- Zero Foodprint Asia (ZFPA) has launched its 1% Pledge model in Malaysia to directly channel funds from the food industry to farmers.
- The 1% Pledge involves restaurants, cafés, bars, hotels, and food retailers contributing 1% of customer spending to provide a consistent funding stream for regenerative projects.
- ZFPA’s initiative in Malaysia is a partnership with Aspen Impact Foundation and SHE Intelligence, aiming to bring together best practices and scientific knowledge for regenerative agriculture.
Speaking to AgTechNavigator, Peggy Chan, executive director of ZFPA said climate and food security funding has focused too heavily on downstream fixes while neglecting the farm‑level practices responsible for most emissions
“Everything needs to work in tandem; it’s not just one thing or the other. Right now, most government subsidies for food security and climate solutions are directed downstream, toward food waste, packaging, or shortening supply chains through hydroponic or indoor farming. Those approaches are useful, but they do not address the root of the problem.”
The former chef pointed out that 80 per cent of food‑system carbon emissions occur upstream, at the farm and land‑use stage.
“It comes down to how we use the land: monocropping, heavy tillage, deforestation for crops like palm, chemical spraying, and how animals are fed in factory farms and feedlots. Most emissions occur at the farm stage, so why are we not putting more money, investment and effort into solving the problem there?”
Chan added that buying produce from a farmer may support their day‑to‑day operations, but it rarely generates enough for farmers to reinvest in their land.
“People are risk‑conscious when it comes to cost, so they will naturally choose the cheaper option. As a result, only a very small percentage of the population is actually buying organic or regenerative food. We need to shift the system so that more people can access organic and regenerative options and rely less on conventional ones,” she said.
At the same time, in many cases, government funding is either not enough or totally absent.
“This is where ZFPA comes in. We work with consumers to divert funding directly to farms and change how food is grown, rather than simply giving people the option to choose between organic, regenerative or conventional,” said Chan.
Redirecting funds to the right place
ZFPA is the Asia-based extension of the US non-profit Zero Foodprint. The organisation works with restaurants to direct a portion of dining revenue toward soil restoration and changes in on‑farm practices through its flagship 1% Pledge model.
The pledge requires its partners such as restaurants, cafés, bars, hotels and food retailers—to contribute 1% of customer spending to fund regenerative agriculture.
This small, shared contributions from the food industry turns into a steady source of funding for regenerative farming and ultimately drive long-term change in how food is grown.
“Our approach focuses on systemic change. That means policy needs to change, consumer buying power needs to change, and we need funding and investment to flow directly to farmers, because simply buying from them is not enough to help them transition the next 10, 20 or 30 acres of land. It has to be multi‑pronged. We try to do this in a fun and delicious way through dining, where every percentage of a bill can go toward restoring soil health and supporting farmers,” said Chan.
ZFPA launches in Malaysia
In April, ZFPA officially expanded this model to Malaysia with the launch of a pilot project that connects the hospitality industry with local farmers.
“The opportunity in Malaysia is that there is a lot of land and a lot of biodiversity, including the world’s second most bio‑abundant rainforest. From what we have seen and heard through the people we’ve met, there is a much closer connection to place, life, the planet and the ecosystems people depend on.”
At the same time, Malaysian agriculture faces significant pressure from large‑scale monocropping, particularly in palm oil and durian. Chan said that these crops can be grown in far more biodiverse and regenerative ways, without heavy tillage, fertilisation or chemical inputs.
“Farmers want this knowledge and know‑how, even though government support is still limited. Many farms are already practising biodynamic, permaculture or syntropic methods, but without science‑led regenerative frameworks. What we are doing is bringing these approaches together and aligning them under a common understanding of regenerative agriculture, which is fundamentally about working with nature, not against it,” said Chan.
“That is why Malaysia presents such a strong opportunity, especially alongside a large and diverse restaurant industry, from hawker stalls and mid‑range chains to Michelin‑starred and Asia’s Best restaurants that actively champion these values through food.”
This initiative is a partnership with the Aspen Impact Foundation (AIF) and soil science experts SHE Intelligence.
Success in Hong Kong
ZFPA first launched in 2001 in Hong Kong where it has partnered most notably with Hyatt Hotels and their 19 restaurants, which has created a significant funding pool for regenerative projects.
The programme has been very successful in Hong Kong, with Chan highlighting is soil organic carbon (SOC), which the programme measures in collaboration with a local university in Hong Kong.
“Some of the farms that have completed three growing cycles have recorded soil organic carbon levels above 10 per cent, compared with an industrial average of less than 2 per cent. That is an enormous change. The farmers can see it, they can record it, and you can even taste it,” she said.
