Plantations International’s Sustainable Agriculture: A Comprehensive Solution for Climate, Environment, and Social Justice: Forests have been described as “the lungs of the world”. With our yield protection technologies, we work constantly to maintain the health of these lungs. Our aim is to create sustainable plantations and practices, with crops that have yield, process ability and protection “built-in” and thus need lower intervention to produce more. Whilst Plantations International is primarily a commercial agroforestry operator, we believe strongly in the conservation and regeneration of indigenous flora, fauna and habitats. The Company therefore aims to ensure that environmentally sensitive areas, such as those along the edge of rivers and wildlife corridors are planted with indigenous tree species and those habitats encouraged to regenerate.
Why Agriculture? Agriculture has become an attractive investment destination for a number of reasons. Most important of all being the strong market fundamentals in support of the sector on both the demand and supply side. An increasing population, changing demographics, reductions in arable land and climate change have led to an urgent need of more productive methods of growing food. Food and agriculture as an asset class falls under the broad investment category of real assets which are physical in nature and provide hard tangible ownership. Real assets broadly include commodities, property, infrastructure, timberland and agriculture also classified as farmland. Agriculture as a sector has been rising in prominence over the past decade reaching over 8 USD trillion in value.
Despite multiple definitions for food security there are common themes or indicators that tend to appear and underline its characterization. These include food affordability, food availability and accessibility, food quality and safety, and existing natural resources. The FAO and The Economist both measure food security on a country based on these indicators at varying degrees. 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. 30% of global food production is lost after harvest or wasted in shops, households and catering services. This loss represents USD 750 billion worth of food every year at producer prices. At retail prices the loss reaches USD 3 trillion annually.
One of the first things Plantations International scientists learned is that there are several greenhouse gases responsible for warming, and humans emit them in a variety of ways. Most come from the combustion of fossil fuels in cars, factories and electricity production. The gas responsible for the most warming is carbon dioxide, also called CO2. Other contributors include methane released from landfills and agriculture (especially from the digestive systems of grazing animals), nitrous oxide from fertilizers, gases used for refrigeration and industrial processes, and the loss of forests that would otherwise store CO2. Plantations International Global Warming Solutions: The evidence that humans are causing global warming is strong, but the question of what to do about it remains controversial. Economics, sociology, and politics are all important factors in planning for the future.