The world’s 550 million smallholder farmers are amongst its poorest inhabitants, eking out a subsistence on farms smaller than 10 hectares. With minimal financial resources, they face unending challenges from weather, disease, pests, weeds, uncertain prices, and highly seasonal growing conditions.
Why Sharing Economic Growth with the Community Is Good Business
Mutually beneficial partnerships can both drive profit and alleviate poverty.
October 25, 2022
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Summary.
Subsistence dairy ranchers in Central America struggle to stay afloat during the dry season when grass is scarce. Global life sciences company Bayer has launched a program to enable them to produce their own corn silage feed. The results of this program are helping to pull the ranchers out of poverty because they are now able to sustain a consistent milk output through the year and can increase the number of cattle they keep. This in turn makes them more reliable (and cheaper) suppliers for large-scale milk processing companies. This innovation creates value for Bayer and its partners in the program as well as for the ranchers and their customers.