UPL Ltd. has published its inaugural ‘Africa Sustainability Report,’ highlighting its work over the last 12 months to improve farming systems’ environmental and social performance across the continent.
UPL is the first global agribusiness to dedicate a standalone sustainability report for operations across Africa, drawing on its 35-year track record supporting smallholder farmers in 30+ countries. The report covers the period 1 April 2021 to 30 March 2022 and details UPL’s key achievements to create sustainable opportunities and outcomes for farmers and food value chain stakeholders across five key pillars: Stewardship & Training, Technology, Food Chain, Partnerships, and OpenHearts.
Highlights include:
11,500 farmers trained in stewardship and 21,400 trained in Good Agricultural Practices
92 new seed varieties launched and 69 new products registered
24,000 growers reached during demo days and 1 million reached through partnerships
41 new partnerships formalised
172 workdays invested by UPL employees in community engagement
Jai Shroff, Global CEO of UPL Ltd., said: “UPL is one of the most established agricultural businesses investing in Africa, and I am very proud that we are the first global business to detail our sustainability commitment across the continent in this way. Our activities across Africa exemplify our global commitment to farmers and food systems, and the importance of reimagining sustainability as a catalyst for positive change.”
Marcel Dreyer, Regional Head of Africa & Middle East, said: “Agriculture is vital to Africa’s economies and responsible for 60% of employment across the continent. Yet, the sector faces a range of challenges and the continent remains a net importer of many staple foods. We are working with farmers to face these challenges and transform Africa’s food systems into efficient, resilient, and sustainable systems that deliver shared benefits for growers, their communities and our environment.”
UPL is a global provider of sustainable agriculture products and solutions, bringing biological and conventional agricultural inputs to more than 138 countries worldwide. UPL is the largest distributor of Africa-adapted biosolutions and integrated offers, and is the only multinational agribusiness to be a member or signatory of some of Africa’s most significant sustainability reporting initiatives, including the Cocoa and Forests Initiative (CFI).