Stewardship

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.

Stewardship: doing good business, not simply feeling good

Posted by Matthew Kovac on May 9, 2013 in Stewardship | 0 comments

For two decades the agri-business industry has acted responsibly by practicing responsible ‘stewardship’ of products. The term has confused the uninitiated but in layman terms it means managing agrochemical products from inception to use by farmers and through to phase out and disposal.

It’s a lifecycle approach that developed from a few scattered global programmes initiated by the CropLife association network twenty years ago into an integrated business model in which the major global players in the industry have embraced.