SUPPORTING GLOBAL FARMERS – SUSTAINABILITY BREAKFAST SERIES: SEPTEMBER

Kisum Chan from Rice Inc. described how the team behind The Paddi Range of rice products envisions effective supply chains for South East Asian rice farmers, that will maximise crop yield and vital income for their suppliers. We heard how five hundred million tonnes of rice is grown across the globe each year, yet thirty percent of it is wasted during the growing process  – enough to easily end world hunger on its own!

Wastage is caused when producers try to meet demand, using traditional rice growing methods such as sun drying, or tending farms with cattle driven machinery and using old rice bags and other resources to harvest and transport the grain. Poverty is the root cause of the problem, because the average farmer just doesn’t have the money to invest in the machinery needed to do the work more efficiently. Rice Inc. target the problem by working towards the Sustainable Rice Platform in the mill and on the farm, equipping the farmers with better technology and ensuring fairer prices through direct trade. Over two million meals of rice have been saved as a result and more than two hundred and fifty farmers have been impacted by these improvements.

Photo: Stephen Du from Beams Coffee answering a question from the audience after Herman Wong presented 

The sustainability meet-up series is a monthly gathering designed to educate and empower the Hong Kong foodservice community – chefs, restaurateurs, FOH, BOH, suppliers and sustainability leads.

Inspired by our framework, the programme is curated to inspire the community in novel ways that let them introduce small but significant changes to their sourcing choices, menu design and supplies. We will be organising talks delivered by sustainable food industry leaders, on various themes linked to UN International Days and our three pillars – Sourcing, Society and the Environment.