Developing Agriculture Supply Chain to Create Jobs for Migrant Workers
Date: March. 5, 2009
Contact: Minna Zheng, China, +86-21-2306-0756, Minna_Zheng@cargill.com
An orientation program has just been organized at Cargill Food (Tianjin) Co. for 11 new co-workers, all of whom will be working for the processing line in the plant. Up to February this year, over 30% of the work force in Cargill Food (Tianjin) Co. is migrant workers. According to the rural development guideline issued by China’s State Council, expansion of the employment along the agricultural supply chain is highlighted as a key solution for rural employment. Zheng Fengtian, deputy director of the Research Institute for Agricultural and Rural Development of Renmin University of China, said in a recent interview that agriculture was a very large industry chain and there was much room for further growth in China. The development of the agricultural supply chain will not only upgrade the industrial structure in rural areas, but also create employment opportunities for the returned jobless migrant workers and increase farmers’ income.
Creating jobs for the 20 million migrant workers will be a hot topic at the National People’s Congress and China People’s Political Consultancy Conference. “China’s labor-intensive manufacturing industry used to offer lot of employment opportunities for rural workers. However, it faces huge challenges at this financial crisis. Relevant sectors along the agricultural supply chain can create more job opportunities near the migrant workers’ home. The potential should never be underestimated,” said Gerrit Hueting, president of Cargill Starches and Sweeteners Asia, “relevant sectors such as agriculture product processing, agriculture service and marketing can create lots of jobs.” The 34 plants Cargill invested in China are involved in animal feeds, corn processing, soybean crushing, and food ingredients and mostly employ local farmers. These companies have created over 5,000 jobs.
The expansion of the agricultural industry chain is not a fresh new idea. Over the years, China’s agricultural supply chain has grown from mere breeding and planting, to upstream and downstream sectors ranging from processing, logistics, service and marketing to branding. Take the processing industry for example, a soybean processing facility with daily capacity of 3,000 tons could create over 1,200 rural employment opportunities directly and indirectly while building up China’s world-class processing competence and upgrading supply chain management level.
The restrictions of small scale, scattered operation and low competency are basic challenges for agriculture supply chain development in China. “While injecting 4 trillion RMB into the rural infrastructure, the Chinese government is also boosting employment in rural areas. This is a great effort. To realize sustainable development in rural area, the improvement of agricultural supply chain and farmer capability building are the key,” said Norwell Coquillard, President of Cargill China. Over the past 30 years in China, Cargill has introduced advanced agricultural production technologies and management experience of the world to China. Cargill has provided training to over 2.1 million farmers on modern farming and animal nutrition techniques. Thanks to the training, cow raisers in Hebei province and crop farmers in Shandong province have improved the yield and quality of their products. There is also training of up-to-date food processing technologies and ingredient applications for food-sector. These trainings not only enhance the production technologies of agriculture and relevant sectors, but also help increase employment. Coquillard is always confident in China’s agriculture and food business, “we have always been closely serving Chinese agricultural companies and farmers. No doubt, this industry has huge potential. It will be not just a source of jobs creation, but also drive for farmer income increase”.
About Cargill Worldwide
Cargill is an international producer and marketer of food, agricultural, financial and industrial products and services. Founded in 1865, the privately held company employs 160,000 people in 67 countries. Cargill helps customers succeed through collaboration and innovation, and is committed to applying its global knowledge and experience to help meet economic, environmental and social challenges wherever it does business. For more information, visit http://www.cargill.com/news-center
About Cargill in China
Cargill’s presence in China can be traced back to the early 1970's. Today Cargill is proud to be an integral part of China with over 5000 employees and 34 wholly owned companies and joint ventures in China. As an experienced agriculture, food and risk management supplier, Cargill is in a unique position to contribute its global experience and expertise to China’s principle needs of raising the incomes of its rural population and developing its countryside. By bringing our global expertise and experience to improve efficiency and add value for food and agriculture products in China, we aim to promote sustainable agriculture and a secure grain and food supply for China. For more information, visit http://www.cargill.com.cn.