{"id":4831,"date":"2015-03-12T10:00:13","date_gmt":"2015-03-12T14:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/?p=4831"},"modified":"2025-06-11T12:57:54","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T16:57:54","slug":"how-the-private-sector-can-help-stem-emissions-from-agriculture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/2015\/03\/12\/how-the-private-sector-can-help-stem-emissions-from-agriculture\/","title":{"rendered":"How the private sector can help stem emissions from agriculture"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"7732167468_3387e69626_b\"<\/a>
Credit: Flickr user Rory MacLeod<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Here\u2019s the challenge: we need to feed 9 billion people by 2050, yet if we continue with current farming practices agriculture could be responsible for 70 percent of the planet\u2019s greenhouse gas emissions by that same year, according to an official at the World Bank.<\/p>\n

So what do we do?<\/p>\n

We can\u2019t just point the finger at growers and tell them to solve the problem. This is a tall order \u2013 and it will require all hands on deck: food companies, suppliers, consumers, and producers. We all need to implement climate-smart agricultural approaches<\/a> on a global scale to reduce emissions, increase resilience, and protect farmers\u2019 livelihoods.<\/p>\n

But climate-smart agriculture absolutely cannot become mainstream without more help from the private sector. We need corporations to invest in research and to make tangible changes to their supply chains.<\/p>\n

This month, I will join a meeting of the newly established Global Alliance for Climate-Smart Agriculture<\/a> to discuss this challenge. And for the first time, the private sector \u2013agribusinesses, insurance companies, and food retailers \u2013 will be in attendance.<\/p>\n

Bringing corporations to the table is a step in the right direction and I\u2019m encouraged by this development \u2013 but we need more.<\/p>\n

Why should companies care?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A recent analysis by Accenture<\/a> found that U.S. supply chains are vulnerable and have high levels of climate risk.<\/p>\n

This means companies are much more likely to experience rising costs of supplies, if not actual disruptions to supply. So, food companies have a vested interest in making sure their supply chains are resilient and sustainable, and acting now to do so.<\/p>\n

\"supermarket-aisle\"<\/a>Investing in sustainable food<\/strong><\/p>\n

As a World Bank advisor recently suggested, the private sector can provide financing to support research and the development of new programs and products that increase agricultural resilience in the face of climate change.<\/p>\n

That\u2019ll help not just the planet \u2013 but also shareholders interested in minimizing corporate risk.<\/p>\n

Using fertilizer more efficiently<\/strong><\/p>\n

Companies can also optimize fertilizer use in their supply chains, since excess nutrients not absorbed by crops emit nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas that is 300 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. Here are several efforts already underway that are already reducing greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture:<\/p>\n