Elsie Nosenga grows maize on a small plot of land in South Africa to support her family of 10. That’s 10 people to feed from a modest harvest that also serves as her main source of income.
As a smallholder farmer, Elsie is one of an estimated 90 percent of smallholders who lack access to expertise on best practices, technology and management solutions that could help her maximize yields and income. Worldwide, women farmers participate in just five percent of the agricultural education services available and only own two percent of land.
These challenges exist before even considering the impacts of climate change – drought, water scarcity, crop failures, civil unrest, migration and poverty. All of which can cause devastating outcomes to agriculture across our global supply.
That’s why Kellogg made a commitment in 2015 to help increase the adoption of climate-smart agriculture practices for smallholder farmers. We are proud that, through partnerships and collaboration, we have scaled our work to help improve the livelihoods of 15,000 smallholder farmers to meet our commitment four years ahead of schedule.
We hit our target within just two years, through our collaboration with TechnoServe and suppliers from around the world. These efforts have resulted in higher yields, stronger climate resilience, and better livelihoods for smallholder farmers and their families.
This doesn’t just improve Elsie’s bottom line, but raises her income and ensures that together, our food system is secure for future generations.
It’s also why I am representing Kellogg Company in Marrakesh, Morocco this week for the UN Climate Summit, also known as COP22. Last year Kellogg leaders traveled to Paris for COP21, where a major agreement was created to try to keep temperatures from continuing to rise.
The Paris Agreement was a pivotal turning point, no doubt. We agreed something needs to be done now, now we must execute. Which is why this year’s summit is focused on demonstrating progress against climate commitments and driving urgency behind implementation.
Kellogg has made a number of commitments to support the global effort to address climate change, including our science-based targets to reduce emissions in our own operations and helping direct suppliers do the same.
And we know there’s so much more we can and must do, which is why we’ve expanded our commitments. We are fighting hunger and feeding potential with a goal to help create three billion Better Days for people around the world by 2025.
Kellogg is excited to use our leadership voice and to continue building partnerships to bring attention to these important issues. We know that working together with governments, multilateral organizations and other companies and non-profits, we can achieve our ambitious goals and help families flourish and thrive.
