The Human and Environmental Impact of Plantations International’s Sustainable Agriculture: Plantations International projects follow ecological and environmental principles, working closely with national environmental regulatory bodies. As Plantations International relies so directly on the productivity of the land, it ensures its land is used wisely and maintained for use of generations to come. Plantations International is committed to conserving natural resources through eco-efficient management strategies, performance metrics and continuous improvement focused in five key areas that are important to our long-term business success: energy and water use, waste generation and recycling, sustainable packaging, sustainable agriculture, and supply chain optimization.
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. Food security ought to be a priority for all countries, whether developing or developed. Although low levels of food security are commonly associated with poverty stricken countries they are also found in affluent developed countries as well. Food security rankings despite providing a decent gauge of performance are not without limitations. For example, some of wealthiest countries logically fare well in overall rankings as they have the capability and infrastructure to provide accessible, healthy food to their populations. Yet these high rankings dangerously mask their poor natural resources and resilience rank which measures food import dependency to a small degree. This raises the question, how can a country be food secure when they can be highly dependent on others for their food supply?
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.
Water scarcity is another impending crisis. 28% of agriculture lies in water stressed regions. It takes roughly 1,500 litres of water to produce a kilogram of wheat, and about 16,000 litres to produce a kilogram of beef. In 2050, the world will need twice as much water. As the world population soars, arable land per person proportionally shrinks. The stresses on food production and food prices will inevitably keep rising. Arable land loss can be combated by improving productivity per acre and taking measures against climate change and erratic weather conditions. 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.
Sea levels are expected to rise between 7 and 23 inches (18 and 59 centimeters) by the end of the century, and continued melting at the poles could add between 4 and 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters). Hurricanes and other storms are likely to become stronger. Species that depend on one another may become out of sync. For example, plants could bloom earlier than their pollinating insects become active. Floods and droughts will become more common. Rainfall in Ethiopia, where droughts are already common, could decline by 10 percent over the next 50 years. Less fresh water will be available. If the Quelccaya ice cap in Peru continues to melt at its current rate, it will be gone by 2100, leaving thousands of people who rely on it for drinking water and electricity without a source of either. 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.