Cargill commits to development in rural China

On Nov 25, Cargill announced a Golden Key Plan, which is a series of agriculture training programs aimed at increasing farmer incomes.

Greg Page, Cargill's global chief executive officer, made the announcement during a recent visit to China. The Golden Key Plan will consist of three parts: First the company will increase its farmer training centers to 50 from 21 in China and by 2015 the company will train 500,000 farmers on modern animal nutrition and planting technologies.

Second, Cargill will send farmers to overseas universities and advanced farms to learn farm management, the company said. Cargill said it would also assign their own young Chinese talents to overseas assignments and provide then with a venue to learn global technology and best-practices in its global operations.

Cargill will establish a risk and supply chain management innovation center to address China's volatile agriculture sector and complex value chain. Customers and partners can learn about managing risk and how to supply safe and stable quality food. The company said it would also work with customers to help them improve supply chain efficiencies and to manage rapid product development cycles.

"Our aim is not only to help increase farmers' incomes but also to upgrade the "soft strength" of farmers in China and therefore promote the long-term sustainable development," Page said. "Food and agriculture industry development requires collaboration from every relevant party in the farm to table supply chain, including companies, farmers, government officials and industry associations. Only by ensuring effective and safe operations of each part of the supply chain can we all reach a win-win situation."