Farmers are being helped by Rabobank

Rabobank

Building a food-secure future is a challenge. It takes a radical rethink of how we create, process, and consume our food. Rabobank has launched Kickstart Food — a three-year programme focusing on four areas considered key to healing the world’s renewable food challenge. Earth: restoring the land quality of the current arable land around the world. Waste: reducing food waste during the whole food production chain. Stability: Marketing and stimulating a much more stable and resilient food industry. Nutrition: ensuring everyone has access to diets with nutritional price that is balanced.

Using agricultural land

United Nations forecasts suggest that by 2050 the world population will be almost 9.8 billion people — an increase of more than 2 billion on current amounts. A challenge is introduced by the growing amount of mouths to feed, and by the amount of people shifting to a “Western” diet — consuming more calories from meat and dairy goods.

“Meeting the rising need for food whilst reducing environmental stress is among the largest challenges of this century,” says Gilles Boumeester, mind of Rabobank’s Research Food and Agribusiness. “We need to make smarter use of the agricultural land. Currently, about 30% of the land in usage will be degraded to some degree. Even more debatable is that the fastest deterioration in land fertility is currently in Asia and Africa, two continents in which the population will grow the fastest. We have to reverse this trend.”

High-tech agriculture

Luckily, farms are becoming high-tech environments making use of real-time details. Scanners give comprehensive details regarding the chemical composition of a farmer’s soil, without requiring a laboratory. Sensors in potato fields check that harvesting machines is properly set. Drones enable farmers to monitor their plants and precisely target fertilizers or pesticides. These smart agricultural technologies, along with qualitative precision agriculture, help lower costs, maximize profits, and minimize environmental effects.

Financial advice and much more

Innovation does not come cheap. It frequently requires substantial up-front investment. Where Rabobank comes in , that can be, clarifies Boumeester. “Our long term in the agricultural sector means we are uniquely positioned to comprehend the funding needs of entrepreneurs in the food and agricultural sector. We don’t only give attention, we also advise farmers on risk control and aid pre-finance fertilizer, seeds, or machines.”

A whole lot of what the bank goes beyond banking. GlobalFarmers.com is an internet network in which Rabobank’s farming customers exchange information in a reliable environment. FoodBytes! Is the bank’s own trading platform, connecting food and agricultural start-ups together with investors. Arable increased $4.25 million via FoodBytes! To further develop solar-powered sensors, which automatically transmits up to 40 unique kinds of information to this farmer. “These technology help raise the quality of agricultural production and together with the quality of the soil,” Boumeester comments.

Innovation is pivotal in producing more with less, in reducing waste, in balancing the nutritional value of our diets, and also in stimulating stable and resilient food markets.

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