Posts by Matthew Kovac

Empowering farmers with technology in Asia

Posted by Matthew Kovac on Aug 19, 2013 in Stewardship | 0 comments

Advances in technology are helping people all over the world. Not a week goes by without a new announcement of the latest gizmo, widget or technological breakthrough that promises to fundamentally change our behaviour and lives.

But rather than focus on the newest and latest technology, 8Villages, a mobile social network for smallholder farmers, has gone old-school by using simple 2G/GPRS to supply farmers with a range of agriculture-related information via cell phones. It is part of the company’s DNA to ensure farmers in the field are have simple yet actionable information, while connecting mobile carriers and large agribusinesses to the ‘little’ farmer.

Malaysia’s container recycling success story

Posted by Matthew Kovac on Aug 5, 2013 in Stewardship | 0 comments

Recycling would seem to be a no-brainer as so much good comes out of recycling    empty containers and packaging materials.

But given the huge advantages and few drawbacks of recycling, it can be surprisingly difficult to get some new projects off the ground. There are many barriers for organizations like ours in encouraging the farming community to recycle more used pesticide containers.

Malaysia is a good example of the challenges faced when launching such an initiative but of the huge rewards that can be achieved if they are overcome.

Encouraging Farmers to Recycle: Responsibly, of course

Posted by Matthew Kovac on Jul 29, 2013 in Stewardship | 0 comments

What will it take to persuade more farmers to recycle their empty crop protection product containers?

The Crop Protection industry is trying to find solutions to the perennial challenge of encouraging farmers to recycle pesticide containers. Pilot schemes and programmes across Asia have been a popular choice designed to improve container management recycling rates.

Unfortunately, Asia has one of the lowest recycling levels in the world, with about 30% of containers returned and processed for re-use. This is significantly lower than other regions although developed markets have experienced far more environmental and political pressure to recycle containers.

Changing farmer behaviour

Posted by Matthew Kovac on Jul 15, 2013 in Uncategorized | 2 comments

Promoting the responsible use of crop protection products across the Asia Pacific.

In Asia, progress is being made to improve the responsible use of crop protection products or pesticides. But while immense progress is being made to ensure farmers use products responsibly there is still plenty of work to be done.

In the heart of Southeast Asia, Thailand is an excellent example of what can be achieved when different organisations come together for the common good of raising safety standards among farmers.

My food, your food, our food

Posted by Matthew Kovac on Jun 18, 2013 in Uncategorized | 0 comments

For the past few years, the global debate has intensified around food security. It’s become part of the international policy arena with the term used to focus attention on accelerating global food production to feed an expected 2 billion more people taking the total to 9 billion by 2050.

A tall order judging by recent comments from The Mary Robinson Foundation at a Dublin conference in mid-April in which the advocacy group presented research on the challenges linked to feeding the world due to climate change. They claim agricultural production will need to increase by 60% just to meet the growing demand between now and 2050.