The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the Global Agribusiness Company Cargill on June 17 jointly launched the Holistic Agriculture Risk Management Project, a three-year pilot initiative in Songyuan, Jilin province of China. Cargill contributes US$1 million to WFP to reduce and mitigate the risks that corn farmers face and help them achieve food security while enhancing resilience at the community level.(Logo quoted from Yahoo’s image)

“WFP is grateful for the generous support from Cargill,” said Sixi Qu, WFP China Representative. ” We have a shared vision to promote a sustainable food system by helping reduce risk and vulnerability to shocks and achieving sustainable food security. Assisting corn farmers with risk management skills and sustainable practice is an important aspect of our partnership. This contribution enables us to increase farmers’ productivity and income and make the food system more resilient through working together with both the government and private sectors."

The project aims to increase the resilience of corn farmers in the project area against shocks through application of innovative financial risk transfer approach of “insurance + futures” and promoting sustainable agriculture practice to corn cultivation.

In addition, this project will regularly provide training for local corn farmers every year on agriculture risk management to improve farmers’ livelihood and promote holistic agricultural risk management in the corn industry.

President of Cargill China, Jerry Liu, said: "As the company celebrates the 50th anniversary of its operations in China this year, the project marks a major milestone in Cargill’s journey to continuously contribute to farmer prosperity, rural revitalization and sustainable agriculture in the country. WFP and Cargill have partnered globally to improve farmer’s livelihood, and I am thrilled that we are extending that partnership in China. I am sure this intervention will bring considerable value to the farmers and the corn industry in Songyuan and north eastern China."

Cargill has been working with WFP USA globally since 2001, supporting the health and nutrition of people in need in Africa, Central and South America and Asia.

(IRuniverse)