Our employees work directly with farmers to overcome challenges, providing knowledge and resources to help farmers succeed.
Training More Than 2.4 Million Chinese Farmers
Across China, more than 2.4 million farmers have participated in Cargill's productivity-enhancing programs on animal nutrition, sanitation, genetics and farm management. We have committed to expanding this program to 50 locations by 2015, allowing an additional 500,000 farmers to be trained in modern animal nutrition and innovative feeding programs. Cargill conducts more than 20 training sessions per day to help farmers improve efficiencies and increase incomes.
In drought-stricken areas, we have begun a Water Saving Irrigation Improvement Plan to help farmers conserve water and increase crop yields, improving food security and raising living standards while benefiting the environment.
Supporting Smallholder Farmers in Indonesia
In the area around our palm plantations in South Sumatra and West Kalimantan, Indonesia, we are providing training to more than 12,000 smallholder farmers to help them grow and harvest palm more safely, sustainably and profitably.
We are helping 8,800 of these farmers gain Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certification – about half of them achieved this milestone in August 2010, making them the first group of palm smallholders in the world to earn this accreditation under the new RSPO smallholder criteria, which ensures that the palm is grown responsibly according to strict social and environmental standards.
Our broader commitment includes delivering free medical care, building schools, offering daycare and providing housing for our plantation workers and their families.
High Quality Cotton Means Better Livelihoods in Zimbabwe
In Zimbabwe, Cargill’s farmer training program for 60,000 cotton growers helps farmers move beyond subsistence-level livelihoods. The result has been increased production – triple the size of former yields, in some cases.
Training on proper use of pesticides lowers costs for farmers while safeguarding the environment – pesticide spraying has gone from as many as 22 applications a season to as few as nine. Simply training farmers on the optimum time to pick their cotton can result in 20 percent more cotton being of higher quality, thus improving incomes and allowing farmers to buy school uniforms for their children, purchase livestock, acquire farm implements, and pay for medical care and other necessities.
Tapioca in Thailand – Working with Cargill employees, Thai farmers are making changes that can double their tapioca yields, such as planting for better drainage, spacing out plants and using improved hybrids. Cargill is helping farmers mechanize harvesting, which keeps children in school.
Cocoa in Vietnam – In Vietnam, we have trained more than 10,000 farmers in best practices for cocoa farming, harvesting and fermentation technology. Growing cocoa and processing pods in his fermentery, which employs eight workers, farmer Nguyen Binh estimates his income has increased fivefold.
Farm Management – In the Chendge area of China, hog farmer Li Lian Shen learns science-based farm management by participating in Cargill farmer training sessions.
