CINCINNATI-Sunday 28 April 2019 [ AETOS Wire ]
(BUSINESS WIRE) --
In celebration of Earth Week and to further its commitment to drive a
more sustainable future, the Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)
announced a new collaboration with Malaysia Institute for Supply Chain
Innovation (MISI), International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI) and
Yara International to help improve the livelihood of smallholders within
the P&G palm supply chain in Malaysia. After a successful pilot ran
between 2015 and 2018, the Company is expanding the program that
partners with independent palm oil smallholders to increase their
overall fruit yields through the training and implementation of
best-in-class, and more sustainable agricultural practices.
P&G
is committed to the responsible sourcing of palm and has declared
livelihood improvement for the palm oil smallholders as one of its
Ambition 2030 environmental sustainability goals. Today, smallholders provide
about 40% of the world’s palm oil supply, however many of them have
limited knowledge or access to agricultural resources to help maximize
their crop.
The
pilot was focused on assessing the baseline capability of around 2000
smallholder farmers in the state of Johor, Malaysia. Given its success,
the program is expanding to create 250 learning farms which will be
embedded in a P&G-led innovation system. These farms will serve as
community resource centers to drive scale and diffusion of good
agricultural practices for up to 10,000 smallholders within the next
five years. The goal is to improve yields by 30-50%, improve the
livelihood of the smallholder farmers and ensure sustainable practices
in the P&G palm oil supply chain.
“We
believe we can be a force for good and a force for growth. This program
illustrates our commitment to driving long-term sustainability
efforts,” said Jack Ryan, Vice President, P&G Chemicals. “We are
proud of the work we are doing in Malaysia because it is the right thing
to do for the local community and the global consumers we serve who
want more sustainable products.”
The
farmers of the 250 learning farms will have direct access to
agronomists and sustainability field officers and receive hands-on
technical advisory support. Together, they will work to implement
best-in-class farm operations management including harvesting
optimization, nutrient plans and budget management. In return, these
smallholders will act as resource trainers and scale the effort to other
farmers in their community.
P&G
believes this effort is helping move the smallholders in the right
direction and is setting them up for long-term success. Sustainability
of the system is underpinned by a common and shared vested interest of
smallholders, oil palm processors and fertilizer supply chains. The goal
is to increase productivity of farms and to meet the continued demand
for sustainable palm oil and palm kernel oil.
About Procter & Gamble
P&G
serves consumers around the world with one of the strongest portfolios
of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Always®, Ambi Pur®,
Ariel®, Bounty®, Charmin®, Crest®, Dawn®, Downy®, Fairy®, Febreze®,
Gain®, Gillette®, Head & Shoulders®, Lenor®, Olay®, Oral-B®,
Pampers®, Pantene®, SK-II®, Tide®, Vicks®, and Whisper®. The P&G
community includes operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide.
Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and information about P&G and its brands.
About MISI (Malaysia Institute for Supply Chain Innovation)
Located
in Shah Alam, Malaysia near Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysia Institute for
Supply Chain Innovation (MISI) is one of the six centers in the MIT
Global SCALE (Supply Chain and Logistics Excellence) Network. The
institute was launched as a joint initiative between the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT) and the government of Malaysia. The MIT
Global SCALE Network is an international alliance of leading edge
research and educational organizations, dedicated to the development and
dissemination of global innovation in supply chain and logistics.
About Yara
Yara
grows knowledge to responsibly feed the world and protect the planet,
to fulfill our vision of a collaborative society, a world without hunger
and a planet respected. To meet these commitments, we have taken the
lead in developing digital farming tools for precision farming and work
closely with partners throughout the whole food value chain to develop
more climate-friendly crop nutrition solutions. In addition, we are
committed to working towards sustainable mineral fertilizer production.
We foster an open culture of diversity and inclusion that promotes the
safety and integrity of our employees, contractors, business partners,
and society at large. Founded in 1905 to solve the emerging famine in
Europe, Yara has a worldwide presence with about 17,000 employees and
operations in over 60 countries. In 2018, Yara reported revenues of USD
12.9 billion. www.yara.com
Contacts
P&G Contact:
Robyn Schroeder
P&G Global Communications
Email: Schroeder.rm@pg.com
