Jakarta, Indonesia, March 18, 2019 – Corteva Agriscience™, the agriculture division of DowDuPont (NYSE: DWDP), today announced the extension of its corn cultivation initiative with the Australia-Indonesia Partnership (AIP) for Promoting Rural Incomes through Support for Markets in Agriculture (PRISMA). The new initiative aims to enable Indonesian farmers to access market leading seed (corn and rice) and crop protection solutions from the company’s inventory.
Since 2016, Corteva Agriscience has been working with 40,000 farmers across Madura, East Java to improve the cultivation of corn through the adoption of better farming practices and hybrid seeds. The initiative has successfully improved productivity by increasing corn yield in this region by 50% and has been expanded to farming communities in East Java and East Nusa Tenggara.
In its collaboration with PRISMA, Corteva Agriscience aims to spur growth along the value chain by reducing constraints and barriers to farmer productivity, performance and market access. The initiative has established a partner ecosystem and provided post-harvest solutions and services, such as access to markets, micro-financing and financial literacy, to corn farmers in Madura.
Through this, more than 13,500 farmers have been able to raise their average incomes by as much as 290%. It has enabled 6,000 women corn farmers to gain access to financing, expanded market access for their crops and access and enabled training in the use of technology. And in this expanded initiative, Corteva Agriscience is targeting even more women farmers.
“Corteva Agriscience is delighted to announce our continuous support to rural agricultural development in Indonesia. Through our collaboration with PRISMA, we aim to offer more Indonesian farmers access to a broader suite of high-performing hybrid corn seed, and crop protection solutions proven to optimize yield and harvest quality, and to share the latest knowledge of optimal application and agronomic practices,” said Ms. Farra Siregar, Managing Director, ASEAN. “This collaboration also shows our continued commitment to support improving farmers’ lives in Indonesia. We believe that by enabling farmers with the latest solutions and knowledge, agricultural production can be strengthened, and productivity increased in line with Indonesia’s strategic goal of domestic food security.”
The expanded initiative is hoped to enable Indonesian corn and rice farmers in East Java, Central Java, East Nusa Tenggara, and West Nusa Tenggara to further secure their livelihoods through the adoption of better farming practices and products that will improve productivity and profitability. Corteva Agriscience has been contributing towards food security objectives and enriching lives of farmers and agriculture ecosystems in Indonesia since 1974.
Indonesia’s agriculture sector continues to be one of the biggest contributors to the country’s economy - a total of 100 million people work in the agricultural sector in Indonesia. In 2017, agriculture contributed 13% to Indonesia’s GDP and remains the second biggest employer in the country making up 30% of total employment.
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About Corteva Agriscience™, Agriculture Division of DowDuPont
Corteva Agriscience™, Agriculture Division of DowDuPont (NYSE: DWDP), is intended to become an independent, publicly traded company when the previously announced spinoff is complete by June 2019. The division combines the strengths of DuPont Pioneer, DuPont Crop Protection and Dow AgroSciences. Corteva Agriscience provides growers around the world with the most complete portfolio in the industry — including some of the most recognized brands in agriculture: Pioneer®, Granular, the newly launched Brevant™ seeds, as well as award-winning Crop Protection products — while bringing new products to market through our solid pipeline of active chemistry and technologies. More information can be found at www.corteva.com.
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All products, unless otherwise noted, denoted with ™, ℠ or ® are trademarks or registered trademarks of DowDuPont.
About PRISMA
PRISMA is a multi-year partnership between the Government of Australia and Government of Indonesia which supports the development strategy to accelerate poverty reduction through inclusive economic growth.
PRISMA focuses in agriculture, horticulture, livestock and aquaculture sectors which have strong growth potential and are the main source of incomes for a large number of Indonesia’s smallholder farming households. Its goal is to achieve a sustainable 30% increase in the net incomes of 1,000,000 smallholder farming households by 2023. The program works in Central Java, East Java, West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara, West Papua and Papua.
Contact:
May Meere
Director, Corporate Communications, Asia Pacific
Corteva Agriscience
+65 9366 2351
may.meere@dupont.com