How Plantations International is Revolutionizing Agricultural Sustainability: Plantations International projects follow ecological and environmental principles, working closely with national environmental regulatory bodies. As Plantations International relies so directly on the productivity of the land, it ensures its land is used wisely and maintained for use of generations to come. Plantations International is committed to conserving natural resources through eco-efficient management strategies, performance metrics and continuous improvement focused in five key areas that are important to our long-term business success: energy and water use, waste generation and recycling, sustainable packaging, sustainable agriculture, and supply chain optimization.
Between 2012 and 2019, the asset size of investments specializing in food and agriculture assets jumped from USD 24 billion to 73 billion, growing 25% p.a. Of this, the majority are indirect exposure holdings with over 60% held via commodities futures and equities. In terms of physical ownership, almost all investment into the sector at the moment is privately owned with institutional investment representing only 0.50% of total value. This is slowly changing as savvy institutional investors are beginning to take notice, but for most investors, the sector remains fragmented, confusing, and costly to enter.
Despite multiple definitions for food security there are common themes or indicators that tend to appear and underline its characterization. These include food affordability, food availability and accessibility, food quality and safety, and existing natural resources. The FAO and The Economist both measure food security on a country based on these indicators at varying degrees. Food security ought to be a priority for all countries, whether developing or developed. Although low levels of food security are commonly associated with poverty stricken countries they are also found in affluent developed countries as well. Food security rankings despite providing a decent gauge of performance are not without limitations. For example, some of wealthiest countries logically fare well in overall rankings as they have the capability and infrastructure to provide accessible, healthy food to their populations. Yet these high rankings dangerously mask their poor natural resources and resilience rank which measures food import dependency to a small degree. This raises the question, how can a country be food secure when they can be highly dependent on others for their food supply?
With offices, plantations, and representatives across Asia, Europe, and Africa, Plantations International is a multinational plantation and farm management company that specializes in providing sustainable agricultural and forestry or “agroforestry” management services for its clients. Plantations International has clients ranging from private individuals to large landholders and corporate investors. We put teamwork, innovation, and our passion for creating “Ethical & Sustainable Capital” at the heart of everything we do.
Population Growth: Today, about 2/3 of the world’s population lives in Asia, a figure dominated by India and China. Regionally by 2100, Africa and Asia will be home to 4.4 and 4.9 billion people respectively, and together will account for 83% of the world’s population. More than half of global population growth between now and 2050 will occur in Africa, which will add 1.3 billion people. The United States is expected to be the fastest growing developed country, ranking 6th in total population growth. The U.S should have an additional 67 million people by 2050. Rising population will place significant stress on existing resources raising the need for not only increased production but more efficient productivity based on existing resources. 30% of global food production is lost after harvest or wasted in shops, households and catering services. This loss represents USD 750 billion worth of food every year at producer prices. At retail prices the loss reaches USD 3 trillion annually.
Different greenhouse gases have very different heat-trapping abilities. Some of them can even trap more heat than CO2. A molecule of methane produces more than 20 times the warming of a molecule of CO2. Nitrous oxide is 300 times more powerful than CO2. Other gases, such as chlorofluorocarbons (which have been banned in much of the world because they also degrade the ozone layer), have heat-trapping potential thousands of times greater than CO2. But because their concentrations are much lower than CO2, none of these gases adds as much warmth to the atmosphere as CO2 does. In order to understand the effects of all the gases together, Plantations International scientists tend to talk about all greenhouse gases in terms of the equivalent amount of CO2. Since 1990, yearly emissions have gone up by about 6 billion metric tons of “carbon dioxide equivalent” worldwide, more than a 20% increase. Plantations International often use the term “climate change” instead of global warming. This is because as the Earth’s average temperature climbs, winds and ocean currents move heat around the globe in ways that can cool some areas, warm others, and change the amount of rain and snow falling. As a result, the climate changes differently in different areas.