"We all know that, globally, our population is growing. To put it into perspective, we are adding over 200,000 people to our planet every day", writes Aimee Christian, Ph.D, Head of Corporate Affairs - Vegetables and Specialty Crops at Syngenta. However what's more concerning is that as we are consuming about 50% more resources than Earth is producing, which is not a sustainable equation.
This means that while in 1950, a hectare only needed to feed two people, by 2030, it will need to feed five.
This blog piece highlights how Syngenta is working with farmers on shared value initiatives that will help address the issue while improving their returns.
Matthew Farmer's insight:
I am struck when you look at modern map projections (not the old Mercator sort that used to dominate) by just how large Africa is and while the world's biggest desert does take up a good chunk of the north of the continent there is awful lot of very fertile land.
The world will need Africa to provide a lot of food if it is to meet its growing population's needs and companies like Syngenta and Cargill have a big role to play in making it work. For Africa this is an opportunity.