News
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Agri Vision 2011 hosts dialogue for future global food strategy
30 June 2011, 10:05
Several enabling factors essential to feeding the world of 2050 sustainably were identified in two days of lively debate between a broad spectrum of stakeholders in the agri-business value chains at Agri Vision 2011. The factors include sustainable intensification, decoupling productivity from environmental impact, enabling rural entrepreneurs, broad partnerships, system transformation and greater investment in research. Agri Vision 2011 was the sixth in the biennial series of multi-stakeholder agri-business conferences organised by Nutreco together with Rabobank.
Based on the theme 'Beyond Boundaries', Agri Vision 2011 followed on from Agri Vision 2009 where delegates expressed the clear belief that it will be possible to feed nine billion people sustainably in 2050. Agri Vision 2011 explored how that can be done and identified factors for success and provided reasons for optimism. The presenters approached the objectives from different positions in the agriculture industry, from different parts of the world and even from outside of agriculture, highlighting the dilemmas facing the industry in its quest to feed nine billion people sustainably by 2050. They discussed options and opportunities, moving through perceived boundaries and heard from companies that have done so. Together they identified several enabling factors, such as sustainable intensification, water management, broad partnerships and communicating and sharing knowledge. The idea of communicating with consumers and other stakeholders via social media prompted lively debate that extended to the conference Twitter board.
Wout Dekker, Nutreco CEO: "When we organised the first Agri Vision in 2000 not many people fully appreciated the coming challenge in food production. Now everyone is aware of the challenge and the issues. Through the course of the conference we heard of shining examples from companies such as Unilever working directly with the farmers that produce our food and John Deere Water, reducing inputs while increasing yields. Three clear needs were identified; investment in research to increase agricultural productivity while decreasing environmental impact, commitment from governments and that we must ensure the farmers share in the benefit. Without farmers we cannot meet the challenge of feeding nine billion people in 2050."
Berry Marttin, member of the Executive Board of Rabobank, Chairman of Rabobank International's Rural & Retail operations and keynote speaker at the conference adds: "For a long time, the players in the value chain have not sufficiently recognised the role farmers play in the chain. Now, as they face scarcity in primary producing, the players in the value chain must use all their charms to encourage the farmers to work with them. We expect that farmers will increasingly embrace the role of rural entrepreneurs, both as the key link in the value chain and as the primary producers who will ensure sustainable primary production until 2050."
Agri Vision 2011 was the sixth in the biennial series of multi-stakeholder agri-business conferences organised by Nutreco together with Rabobank. Nutreco has organised the alternating multi stakeholder business conferences AquaVision and Agri Vision since 1996. Agri Vision 2011 attracted 375 delegates from 37 countries. The international character of the conference was further confirmed as more than 100 delegates came from outside Europe. Agri Vision 2011 ran from 21 to 23 June in Noordwijk aan Zee in the Netherlands. Nutreco is now preparing ideas for AquaVision 2012 and Agri Vision 2013.
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Nutreco
Nutreco is a global leader in animal nutrition and fish feed. Our advanced feed solutions are at the origin of food for millions of consumers worldwide. Quality, innovation and sustainability are guiding principles, embedded in the Nutreco culture from research and raw material procurement to products and services for agriculture and aquaculture. Experience across 100 years brings Nutreco a rich heritage of knowledge and experience for building its future. Nutreco employs about 10,000 people in 30 countries, with sales in 80 countries. Nutreco is listed on the NYSE Euronext stock exchange in Amsterdam with annual revenues of EUR 4.9 billion in 2010.
www.nutreco.com
www.agrivision.com
Rabobank
Rabobank Group is an international full-range financial services provider founded on cooperative principles serving approximately 10 million clients worldwide. We are a global leader in Food and Agri financing and in sustainability-oriented banking. Next to 143 independent local banks and a central organisation in the Netherlands, the Group comprises a large number of specialised international offices and subsidiaries in 48 countries. The Rabobank Group has the highest credit rating (AAA), awarded by the well-known international rating agencies Moody's and Standard & Poor's. In terms of Tier 1 Capital, the organisation is among the world's fifteen largest financial institutions. Food & Agribusiness is the international prime focus of the Rabobank Group.
www.rabobank.com
For more information:
Jurgen Pullens, Director Investor Relations and Corporate Communication, Nutreco
Telephone: +31 (0)33 422 6134
E-mail: jurgen.pullens@nutreco.com
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Looking beyond boundaries to find food for the future
12 May 2011, 08:52
Addressing the challenge of feeding 9 billion people sustainably: deadline 2050
Looking beyond boundaries to find food for the future
The global population is growing in number and income; many more people expect to eat more and animal proteins rank high on their list of preferences. Numbers are predicted to stabilise at around 9 billion by 2050. Can the world produce enough food and keep on producing that food year after year? Agri Vision 2011 will look beyond perceived boundaries to explore how actions and attitudes today can contribute to delivering food for the future.
Delegates will hear fresh information, ideas and insights focused on the future food challenge and delivered by presenters from the agriculture industry and research, environmental and regulatory organisations, financiers and communicators. Organised by global leader in animal nutrition Nutreco and Rabobank, the international food & agribank, Agri Vision 2011 ‘Beyond Boundaries’ will take place 21–23 June at Grand Hotel Huis ter Duin, the Netherlands.
Wout Dekker, Nutreco CEO: “At Agri Vision 2009 we asked: Can we close the gap between the surging demand and struggling supplies? We optimistically, but we believe realistically, concluded: “Yes we can!” There is potential to be gained in plant and animal breeding, nutrition and husbandry and in unravelling the production potential of current and new arable land. We believe this can be achieved sustainably and without irrevocably damaging biodiversity or our environment. But it needs the cooperation of all stakeholders, willingness to open our minds to innovative concepts and the imagination to develop them into practical realities. We captured that optimism and the facts and opinions behind it in a Nutreco booklet; Feeding the Future, published in March 2010. Earlier this year we published an equivalent aquaculture Feeding the Future booklet, following from AquaVision 2010. It focuses on the potential for aquaculture to bridge the widening gap between sustainable fisheries, which cannot be increased, and the demand for fish.
“During Agri Vision 2011 we will look at the reality of today, constraints and opportunities for tomorrow and hear from companies and industry sectors already making significant progress; encouraging us to think and act Beyond Boundaries.”
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Agri Vision
Agri Vision 2011 is the sixth biennial international food and agribusiness conference organised by Nutreco in cooperation with Rabobank. The Agri Vision conferences provide a platform for discussion at a strategic level on current and future concerns in the animal feed-to-food chain. Agri Vision 2011 will provide approximately 400 delegates from around 40 countries with an unrivalled opportunity to hear industry leaders and influential stakeholders debate the issues affecting the industry and to extend their contact networks.Nutreco
Nutreco is a global leader in animal nutrition and fish feed. Our advanced feed solutions are at the origin of food for millions of consumers worldwide. Quality, innovation and sustainability are guiding principles, embedded in the Nutreco culture from research and raw material procurement to products and services for agriculture and aquaculture. Experience across 100 years brings Nutreco a rich heritage of knowledge and experience for building its future. Nutreco employs about 10,000 people in 30 countries, with sales in 80 countries. Nutreco is listed on the NYSE Euronext stock exchange in Amsterdam with annual revenues of EUR 4.9 billion in 2010.
Rabobank
Rabobank Group is an international full-range financial services provider founded on cooperative principles serving approximately 10 million clients worldwide. We are a global leader in Food and Agri financing and in sustainability-oriented banking. Next to 143 independent local banks and a central organisation in the Netherlands, the Group comprises a large number of specialised international offices and subsidiaries in 48 countries. The Rabobank Group has the highest credit rating (AAA), awarded by the well-known international rating agencies Moody's and Standard & Poor's. In terms of Tier 1 Capital, the organisation is among the world's fifteen largest financial institutions. Food & Agribusiness is the international prime focus of the Rabobank Group.
www.rabobank.com
For more information:
Jurgen Pullens, Director Investor Relations and Corporate Communications, Nutreco
Telephone: +31 (0)33 422 6134
E-mail: jurgen.pullens@nutreco.com -
Agri Vision 2011 website launched
23 February 2011, 11:27
Today the Agri Vision 2011 website has been launched.
Speaker details and programme developments are added as they unfold. Newsfeeds and network sites keep subscribers informed. This sixth Agri Vision conference is 21–23 June 2011 in Grand Hotel Huis ter Duin, Noordwijk aan Zee, the Netherlands. Success breeds success; Agri Vision 2009 brought together almost 400 delegates from 44 countries—the most yet. Organised by Nutreco in cooperation with Rabobank, the biennial event is attracting top rank speakers to discuss hot topics around the animal feed-to-food chain. Strategic issues for debate include future food security, the impact of globalisation on agriculture, and the balance between food production and protecting biodiversity.
Join the Agri Vision groups: