Davos 2012: Kraft shares a vision for agriculture

At the World Economic Forum in Davos last week Kraft Foods, co-chair of the forum’s New Vision for Agriculture initiative, delivered a vision of how the initiative might transform agriculture through greater and smarter investment. 

The goal of the report is to help other nations begin their own transformations.

"It's clear that agriculture, done right, is the best means the world has today to simultaneously tackle food security, poverty and environmental degradation," said Irene Rosenfeld, chairman and CEO of Kraft Foods, who co-chaired the session in Davos where the new report was launched. 

"From our own work in cocoa, coffee and cashews to the work of more than 25 other companies that have joined this initiative, we're catalyzing innovative agricultural transformations around the globe. 

‘But the private sector can't do it alone. We must continue working together with national governments, multilateral institutions, civil society and farmers to create lasting change."

In early 2009 several World Economic Forum companies saw a need – and an opportunity – to improve food security. By investing in agriculture, companies saw they could also address two of the world's other most pressing problems: poverty and environmental degradation – which is how the New Vision for Agriculture initiative began.

Its goals are to increase food production by 20 percent each and every decade, while decreasing carbon dioxide emissions and reducing poverty by 20 percent in the same time span.