Agribusiness and Food Companies Join Forces to Address Hunger and Nutrition Crisis in East Africa
Washington, D.C.—In a first-ever collaboration on emergency hunger relief, leading global agribusiness and food companies Cargill, Bunge, ADM and Louis Dreyfus Company are partnering to prevent famine and contain the spread of hunger in East Africa.
The companies will contribute a combined $525,000 to help the World Food Programme (WFP)—the world’s leading humanitarian agency fighting global hunger—reach tens of thousands of families in East Africa. WFP has launched a coordinated response to conflict-induced famine in South Sudan, and to acute malnutrition in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, where drought has destroyed thousands of acres of crops and left millions of families in need of emergency food assistance.
“We can turn the tide and save millions of lives,” said President and CEO of World Food Programme USA Rick Leach. “Support from leading companies and individuals will be the key to reaching millions of people as quickly as possible before it’s too late.”
Currently drought, economic instability and conflict are having a profound impact on more than 16 million people, including:
- In Somalia, two consecutive below-average rainy seasons have resulted in near total crop failure, widespread water and pasture shortages, an increase in livestock deaths and spikes in staple food prices, leaving 3 million people unsure of where their next meal is coming from.
- In South Sudan, more than 40 percent of the population requires urgent emergency food assistance as a result of conflict-induced food insecurity, and 100,000 people are facing life-threatening famine conditions.
- In Ethiopia, 5.6 million people require emergency food assistance as a result of drought.
- In Kenya, nearly 344,000 young children are acutely malnourished as a result of the ongoing drought in the country’s arid and semi-arid northern and eastern regions.
Because of the generosity of private sector donors, WFP is able to provide emergency food and nutrition assistance, including e-voucher-cards for local food purchases, in-kind food rations, and targeted nutrition support for pregnant women, nursing mothers and young children.
“Companies and individuals are stepping up to address the emergency and advance longer term solutions,” said Leach. “We hope it inspires others to donate and get involved today.”
To learn more and donate, visit wfpusa.org.
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About World Food Program USA
World Food Program USA is a 501(c)(3) charity that proudly supports the mission of the World Food Programme (WFP), the largest humanitarian agency addressing hunger worldwide. By mobilizing individuals, lawmakers and businesses in the U.S. to advance the global movement to end hunger, we bolster an enduring American legacy of feeding families in need around the world. Learn more at www.wfpusa.org.
About ADM
For more than a century, the people of Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) have transformed crops into products that serve the vital needs of a growing world. Today, we’re one of the world’s largest agricultural processors and food ingredient providers, with approximately 32,000 employees serving customers in more than 160 countries. With a global value chain that includes approximately 500 crop procurement locations, 250 ingredient manufacturing facilities, 38 innovation centers and the world’s premier crop transportation network, we connect the harvest to the home, making products for food, animal feed, industrial and energy uses. Learn more at www.adm.com.
About Bunge Limited
Bunge Limited (www.bunge.com, NYSE: BG) is a leading global agribusiness and food company operating in over 40 countries with approximately 32,000 employees. Bunge buys, sells, stores and transports oilseeds and grains to serve customers worldwide; processes oilseeds to make protein meal for animal feed and edible oil products for commercial customers and consumers; produces sugar and ethanol from sugarcane; mills wheat, corn and rice to make ingredients used by food companies; and sells fertilizer in South America. Founded in 1818, the company is headquartered in White Plains, New York.
About Louis Dreyfus Company
Louis Dreyfus Company is a leading merchant and processor of agricultural goods. We leverage our global reach and extensive asset network to serve our customers around the world, delivering the right products to the right location, at the right time – safely, responsibly and reliably. Our activities span the entire value chain from farm to fork, across a broad range of business lines (platforms). Since 1851 our portfolio has grown to include Oilseeds, Grains, Rice, Freight, Finance, Coffee, Cotton, Sugar, Juice, Dairy, Fertilizers & Inputs and Metals. Our products are originated, processed and transported around the world, helping feed and clothe some 500 million people every year. Structured as a matrix organization of 5 geographical regions and 12 platforms, Louis Dreyfus Company is active in over 100 countries and employs more than 22 000 people globally at peak season. For more information, visit www.ldc.com
About Cargill
Cargill provides food, agriculture, financial and industrial products and services to the world. Together with farmers, customers, governments and communities, we help people thrive by applying our insights and 150 years of experience. We have 150,000 employees in 70 countries who are committed to feeding the world in a responsible way, reducing environmental impact and improving the communities where we live and work. For more information, visit Cargill.com and our News Center.
For more information and media interviews, contact:
M.J. Altman, Editorial Director, mjaltman@wfpusa.org; (202) 627-3932
