Message From Our Chairperson

Reflecting on 2022, it is impossible to look back without noting the geopolitical tensions that had such far-reaching macro- and socioeconomic impacts on industries, countries and populations around the world. In food and agricultural production, the trade disruptions caused by these events created uncertainty for all stakeholders – from farmers to end consumers.

Amid these and additional challenges and disruptions due the ongoing pandemic and climate-related uncertainty in many geographies, agribusinesses like LDC diversified their supply chains and expanded into new markets, as they sought to keep food and feed chains moving, meet commitments to customers and maintain global access to essential products. 

In order to shape a more sustainable food and agriculture system, able to sustain the world’s growing population for the long-term, collaboration will be critical in the years ahead. Farmers, agribusinesses, governments, financial institutions, NGOs, food manufacturers and final consumers must work together to produce and consume responsibly – conserving native vegetation, biodiversity and soil health, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and ultimately safeguarding the natural resources we all depend on.  

This shift will require innovation to develop new products, solutions and technologies with the potential to transform food and agricultural production, as well as regulations that incentivize both sustainable production and consumption.  

From the millions of smallholder farmers who grow over a third of the world’s food, to the world’s billions of individual end consumers, it is crucial that policies, investments and developments seek to ensure fair outcomes for all supply chain stakeholders, in order to secure access to safe, healthy and affordable sustenance for all. 

Despite new and unprecedented challenges arising from geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty in 2022, LDC worked alongside many stakeholders and organizations – including the Louis Dreyfus Foundation – to advance progress in this sense, continuing to invest in transformative innovations and technologies, accelerating efforts for supply chain decarbonization and engaging with thousands of farming communities worldwide to promote more sustainable agricultural practices.  

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our business counterparts around the world for their trust and partnership throughout 2022, and equally all our employees globally for their outstanding commitment to LDC’s important mission and purpose.  

In the extremely complex environment we face together, collaboration across value chains is more essential than ever to find shared solutions to common challenges and help provide sustenance for people worldwide. 

Looking ahead, we therefore remain committed to playing our important part in creating a more sustainable and equitable food system, one that can withstand the challenges of our rapidly changing world, and we invite our fellow value chain stakeholders to join us in this goal, prioritizing collaboration, innovation and peace as the best avenues to address the increasingly urgent climate challenges facing our planet, build a more sustainable agriculture system and ensure global access to essential food and agricultural products. 

Margarita Louis-Dreyfus
Chairperson