20 February 2o12
In order to reduce global poverty and sustain the prosperity of the expanding global middle class, the agricultural sector needs to become increasing efficient and environmentally sustainable. As the ‘Zero Draft’ of the outcome statement for the upcoming Rio+20 Conference make clear, there is an urgent need to “increase the use of appropriate technologies for sustainable agriculture.”
The challenge, however, is to identify and develop appropriate technologies and, once developed, to disseminate them. In this regard, a technical partnership of the food industry known as the Sustainable Agricultural Initiative Platform or, more simply, the SAI Platform appears to be making a much needed contribution.
Founded a decade ago by Nestlé, Unilever and Danone, SAI Platform members include some very well-known names in the food business such as Coca-Cola, General Mills, Heineken, Kellogg’s, Kraft Foods, McCain, McDonald’s, and PepsiCo. Together, these companies are sharing experiences and developing a common vision about sustainable agriculture.
Most interestingly, the SAI Platform now has an online database of over sixty experimental member projects. These include the following:
It is precisely these types of experiments – across agricultural sectors, regions and sustainability issues – which are needed to come up with appropriate technologies for sustainable agriculture. That major multinational food companies are now undertaking such experiments and are willing to share their results through pre-competitive partnerships such as the SAI Platform is most encouraging. In their preparations for the Rio+20 conference, governments should take note.