Benefits of Plant Science to ASEAN's Smallholder Farmers Highlighted at Jakarta Forum

At the Responsible Business Forum on Food & Agriculture held on March 14-15, 2017 In Jakarta, Indonesia, CropLife Asia Executive Director Dr. Siang Hee Tan highlighted the benefits of innovative plant science technologies and the role they play in benefitting smallholder farmers in ASEAN and Indonesia.

"Ensuring a safe, affordable and sustainable food supply here in Indonesia, the region and around the world begins with enabling and empowering our smallholder farmers - plain and simple. Producing more food with fewer resources to feed a growing planet is a 21^st Century dilemma, and it requires 21^st Century tools and technology. The innovations of the plant science industry are game-changing for our 525 million smallholder farmers and a key component of the solution needed to address the looming food production challenges."

Tan also noted the critical role that plant science plays in supporting women smallholder farmers in Indonesia and the larger region, where the female labor force is involved in agriculture at an astonishing 70%. Women growers could produce 20-30% more food on their farms if they had the same access to modern crop inputs as men, which could result in the ability to feed an additional 150 million more people.

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