CINCINNATI–(BUSINESS WIRE)–In celebration of Earth Week and to further its commitment to drive a
more sustainable future, the Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)
announced a new collaboration with Malaysia Institute for Supply Chain
Innovation (MISI), International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI) and
Yara International to help improve the livelihood of smallholders within
the P&G palm supply chain in Malaysia. After a successful pilot ran
between 2015 and 2018, the Company is expanding the program that
partners with independent palm oil smallholders to increase their
overall fruit yields through the training and implementation of
best-in-class, and more sustainable agricultural practices.
P&G is committed to the responsible sourcing of palm and has declared
livelihood improvement for the palm oil smallholders as one of its
Ambition 2030 environmental sustainability goals. Today, smallholders
provide about 40% of the world’s palm oil supply, however many of them
have limited knowledge or access to agricultural resources to help
maximize their crop.
The pilot was focused on assessing the baseline capability of around
2000 smallholder farmers in the state of Johor, Malaysia. Given its
success, the program is expanding to create 250 learning farms which
will be embedded in a P&G-led innovation system. These farms will serve
as community resource centers to drive scale and diffusion of good
agricultural practices for up to 10,000 smallholders within the next
five years. The goal is to improve yields by 30-50%, improve the
livelihood of the smallholder farmers and ensure sustainable practices
in the P&G palm oil supply chain.
“We believe we can be a force for good and a force for growth. This
program illustrates our commitment to driving long-term sustainability
efforts,” said Jack Ryan, Vice President, P&G Chemicals. “We are proud
of the work we are doing in Malaysia because it is the right thing to do
for the local community and the global consumers we serve who want more
sustainable products.”
The farmers of the 250 learning farms will have direct access to
agronomists and sustainability field officers and receive hands-on
technical advisory support. Together, they will work to implement
best-in-class farm operations management including harvesting
optimization, nutrient plans and budget management. In return, these
smallholders will act as resource trainers and scale the effort to other
farmers in their community.
P&G believes this effort is helping move the smallholders in the right
direction and is setting them up for long-term success. Sustainability
of the system is underpinned by a common and shared vested interest of
smallholders, oil palm processors and fertilizer supply chains. The goal
is to increase productivity of farms and to meet the continued demand
for sustainable palm oil and palm kernel oil.
About Procter & Gamble
P&G serves consumers around the world with one of the strongest
portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Always®,
Ambi Pur®, Ariel®, Bounty®, Charmin®, Crest®, Dawn®, Downy®, Fairy®,
Febreze®, Gain®, Gillette®, Head & Shoulders®, Lenor®, Olay®, Oral-B®,
Pampers®, Pantene®, SK-II®, Tide®, Vicks®, and Whisper®. The P&G
community includes operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide.
Please visit http://www.pg.com for
the latest news and information about P&G and its brands.
About MISI (Malaysia Institute for Supply Chain Innovation)
Located in Shah Alam, Malaysia near Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysia Institute
for Supply Chain Innovation (MISI) is one of the six centers in the MIT
Global SCALE (Supply Chain and Logistics Excellence) Network. The
institute was launched as a joint initiative between the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT) and the government of Malaysia. The MIT
Global SCALE Network is an international alliance of leading edge
research and educational organizations, dedicated to the development and
dissemination of global innovation in supply chain and logistics.
About Yara
Yara grows knowledge to responsibly feed the world and protect the
planet, to fulfill our vision of a collaborative society, a world
without hunger and a planet respected. To meet these commitments, we
have taken the lead in developing digital farming tools for precision
farming and work closely with partners throughout the whole food value
chain to develop more climate-friendly crop nutrition solutions. In
addition, we are committed to working towards sustainable mineral
fertilizer production. We foster an open culture of diversity and
inclusion that promotes the safety and integrity of our employees,
contractors, business partners, and society at large. Founded in 1905 to
solve the emerging famine in Europe, Yara has a worldwide presence with
about 17,000 employees and operations in over 60 countries. In 2018,
Yara reported revenues of USD 12.9 billion. www.yara.com
Contacts
P&G Contact:
Robyn Schroeder
P&G Global
Communications
Email: Schroeder.rm@pg.com