Role of Plant Science in Supporting Indonesia & ASEAN Smallholder Farmers Highlighted at Jakarta Forum
14 Marzo 2017 - 02:00AM
JCN Newswire (English)
CropLife Asia Makes Case at Responsible Business Forum for
Sustainable Food Security in the Region
JAKARTA, Mar 14, 2017 - (ACN Newswire) - With today's kickoff of
the Responsible Business Forum on Food & Agriculture in
Jakarta, CropLife Asia Executive Director Dr. Siang Hee Tan
highlighted the game-changing benefits of innovative plant science
technologies and the role they play in benefitting smallholder
farmers in ASEAN and Indonesia. Dr. Tan led a working group
discussion panel focusing on how to improve regional smallholders'
access to finance, technology, knowledge and markets with the aim
to enhance productivity, profitability, environmental stewardship
across the value chain for grains.
Asia is home to 85% of the world's 525 million smallholder farmers
- and roughly 39 million of those call Indonesia home. All told,
Indonesia's agricultural sector comprises almost 40% of the total
labor force. Unfortunately, although agriculture plays such a
critical role in the makeup of the nation's total workforce, the
contribution the sector is making to Indonesia's GDP is only 14%.
The disparity suggests the sector's full potential is not being
realized.
At the same time, smallholder farmers in Indonesia and across ASEAN
are being increasingly looked to as a key part of the solution in
producing more food for a growing population. By just 2025, an
additional 60 million people are expected to be living in Southeast
Asia. With less access to arable land and water as well as more
pests and disease to combat, this makes the job for regional
smallholder farmers that much more daunting.
With the population growing, so too is the demand for food.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the
United Nations, growers around the world will need to produce up to
70% more food to meet the expected needs of the population in
2050.
"Ensuring a safe, affordable and sustainable food supply here in
Indonesia, the region and around the world begins with enabling and
empowering our smallholder farmers - plain and simple," said Dr.
Siang Hee Tan, Executive Director of CropLife Asia. "Producing more
food with fewer resources to feed a growing planet is a 21st
Century dilemma, and it requires 21st Century tools and technology.
The innovations of the plant science industry are game-changing for
our 525 million smallholder farmers and a key component of the
solution needed to address the looming food production
challenges."
Indonesia's smallholder farmers rely on crop protection products to
prevent pests, disease and weed pressures from damaging their crops
and limiting their harvests. In total, it's estimated that 50% of
the world's food production would be lost to pests, disease and
weeds if not for crop protection products.
The protection advanced pesticides provide isn't limited to the
field. They also help prolong the viable life and prevent
post-harvest losses of crops while in storage.
Additionally, biotech crops increased the production of food, feed
and fiber from 1996 to 2013 around the globe by 441 million tons
and helped slow the advance of climate change by reducing carbon
emissions. In 2013 alone, it's estimated that biotech crop
plantings lowered carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to removing
12.4 million cars from the road for an entire year. At the same
time, 90% of the roughly 18 million risk-averse farmers benefitting
from biotech crops annually were small resource, poorer
farmers.
A further benefit of plant science currently being realized is the
water conservation it promotes by helping reduce the need for
tillage. No-tillage farm techniques, where the soil remains largely
or completely undisturbed, aids water conservation by helping build
organic matter and ultimately improving the soil's moisture
retention.
There's also a critical role plant science plays in specifically
supporting women smallholder farmers in Indonesia and the larger
region. In the developing world, a high percentage of the female
labor force is involved in agriculture - across Southern Asia, the
figure is an astonishing 70%. Unfortunately, their productivity
level is lower than their male counterparts due to a number of
factors, including: cultural factors; lack of access to finances,
training, and modern inputs. Specifically, women growers could
produce 20-30% more food on their farms if they had the same access
to modern crop inputs as men. This would result in the ability to
feed an additional 150 million more people.
The opening session of the Responsible Business Forum on Food &
Agriculture began today (Tuesday, 14 March) at 9am and is scheduled
to conclude tomorrow afternoon. The two-day Forum is being held
once again at the Grand Hyatt in Jakarta, bringing together key
stakeholders and representatives from multiple sectors of the food
and agriculture industries.
About CropLife Asia
CropLife Asia is a non-profit society and the regional organization
of CropLife International, the voice of the global plant science
industry. We advocate a safe, secure food supply, and our vision is
food security enabled by innovative agriculture. CropLife Asia
supports the work of 15 member associations across the continent
and is led by eight member companies at the forefront of crop
protection, seeds and/or biotechnology research and development.
For more information, visit us at www.croplifeasia.org.
Source: CropLife Asia
Contact:
Duke Hipp
Director, Public Affairs
CropLife Asia
Tel: +65 6221 1615
duke.hipp@croplifeasia.org
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