How Plantations International’s Sustainable Agriculture is Supporting Local Communities: All Plantations International employees are responsible for observing and advancing our Environmental Sustainability Policy. The Company’s Sustainability Leadership Team has overall responsibility for overseeing the Company’s environmental performance. The Sustainability Leadership Team and the Vice President – Public Affairs and Corporate Responsibility regularly report progress to and receive direction from the Chief Executive Officer and the Board of Directors.
There will be 9.6 billion people in the world by 2050, that will require more than 70% more crops than we have today. This combined with a reduction in arable land and the effects of climate change will result in sector over-performance. Agriculture has outperformed most asset classes throughout history, particularly on a risk basis when considering volatility. The NCREIF Index which is the world’s agriculture benchmark has yielded an annual return of 13.69% since 2000 with a standard deviation of only 7.58%. This far outperforms equities, real estate, bond and other asset classes. Performance is expected to improve further over the next decade due to strong demand supply fundamentals.
Food security, at the individual, household, national, regional and global levels [is achieved] when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. Furthermore, low levels of food security place significant stress on government expenditures. It forces governments to invest substantial resources in the short-term through social safety net programs and conditional cash transfers. It also increases their reliance on food imports which is detrimental to long term food self-sufficiency. The FAO has reported that high rates of malnutrition can lead to a GDP loss of as much as 4-5%.
With offices, plantations, and representatives across Asia, Europe, and Africa, Plantations International is a multinational plantation and farm management company that specializes in providing sustainable agricultural and forestry or “agroforestry” management services for its clients. Plantations International has clients ranging from private individuals to large landholders and corporate investors. We put teamwork, innovation, and our passion for creating “Ethical & Sustainable Capital” at the heart of everything we do.
Population Growth: Today, about 2/3 of the world’s population lives in Asia, a figure dominated by India and China. Regionally by 2100, Africa and Asia will be home to 4.4 and 4.9 billion people respectively, and together will account for 83% of the world’s population. More than half of global population growth between now and 2050 will occur in Africa, which will add 1.3 billion people. The United States is expected to be the fastest growing developed country, ranking 6th in total population growth. The U.S should have an additional 67 million people by 2050. Rising population will place significant stress on existing resources raising the need for not only increased production but more efficient productivity based on existing resources. Food wastage’s carbon footprint is estimated at 3.3 billion tonnes of CO2. Developing countries suffer more food losses during agricultural production, while in middle- and high-income regions, food waste at the retail and consumer level tends to be higher.
Ice is melting worldwide, especially at the Earth’s poles. This includes mountain glaciers, ice sheets covering West Antarctica and Greenland, and Arctic sea ice. Researcher Bill Fraser has tracked the decline of the Adélie penguins on Antarctica, where their numbers have fallen from 32,000 breeding pairs to 11,000 in 30 years. Sea level rise became faster over the last century. Some butterflies, foxes, and alpine plants have moved farther north or to higher, cooler areas. Precipitation (rain and snowfall) has increased across the globe, on average. Spruce bark beetles have boomed in Alaska thanks to 20 years of warm summers. The insects have chewed up 4 million acres of spruce trees. Other effects could happen later this century, if warming continues. Plantations International often use the term “climate change” instead of global warming. This is because as the Earth’s average temperature climbs, winds and ocean currents move heat around the globe in ways that can cool some areas, warm others, and change the amount of rain and snow falling. As a result, the climate changes differently in different areas.