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Future Change-Makers for Sustainable Agriculture Development in China

July 13, 2020

Working with partners to nurture young talents toward more sustainable farming.

Sustainable agriculture and food processing are among the world’s most pressing challenges, to help feed the world’s rapidly growing population while protecting the environment and natural resources. As a leading merchant and processor of agricultural goods, LDC is in a key position to contribute to addressing these challenges and is committed to promoting safe and sustainable practices in our supply chains.

As one of the biggest producers and consumers of agricultural products, driving sustainable development in agriculture is a high priority concern for China, where field research[1] shows that only 18% of farmers are equipped for, and trained in, sustainable farming methods.

LDC and the Louis Dreyfus Foundation have teamed up with China Education Support Project (CESP), an NGO promoting social practice projects for college students, to help promote sustainable farming by empowering young talents to lead the change through a project we have named ‘The Sustainable Agriculture Future Change-Maker Project’.

The project will train a group of agricultural innovators to inject fresh energy into China’s sustainable agricultural development,” said Xia Jun, Secretary-General of CESP.

Over the course of three years, the project aims to reach 200 university students and over 2000 farmers, with the objective to promote good agriculture practices. During the project, the young talents will have opportunities to interact with industry experts, deliver sustainable agriculture knowledge to local farmers through field practices, and consolidate and share learnings under the guidance of academic professors.

We are very excited to launch Foundation’s first project in China, working collaboratively with our partners to engage with students and local farming communities to accelerate positive change, in line with the country’s efforts to drive sustainable agriculture,” said Robert Serpollet, General Manager of the Louis Dreyfus Foundation.

The project’s first training session took place on July 3, giving 60 students a global overview of sustainable farming development, and run online to address health and safety concerns during the COVID-19 global pandemic. Another online training was held on July 10, equipping students with practical measures to implement sustainable farming field operations, followed by a field trip to promote sustainable farming practices among farmers in Shandong and Hebei in July and August.

From textbook to farm, the project aims to give students a deeper awareness of practical challenges, and equip them to deal with these, which is aligned with LDC’s global talent management vision and model,” said Jessica Teo, Global Head of Human Resources.

Engaging bright young minds and working collaboratively with local communities is a fundamental part of LDC’s sustainability efforts globally, as we strive to contribute to the achievement of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals,” said James Zhou, Head of North Asia Region.


[1] Source: China Education Support Project (CESP) data


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