New Partners and Board Member Join Global Harvest Initiative
Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) September 11, 2013 -- The Global Harvest Initiative is welcoming the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture and the Purdue University College of Agriculture as new consultative partners, and Jesus Madrazo, international corporate affairs lead for Monsanto Company, to the GHI Board of Directors.
Founded in 1942, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA) works closely with the ministries of agriculture in its 34 member countries in the western hemisphere to achieve more productive and sustainable agriculture, address national food security needs, and improve the lives of small and mid-size farmers in member countries.
The Purdue University College of Agriculture is widely regarded as one of the leading colleges of agriculture in the world. A land-grant university, Purdue Agriculture’s programs span teaching, research, and extension missions, all in a global context, and focus on helping the people of the world improve their lives and livelihoods.
Dr. Margaret Zeigler, Global Harvest Initiative executive director, said, “The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture and the Purdue University College of Agriculture bring deep expertise in key areas that GHI focuses on – from improving agricultural research to working in regions of the world like Latin America where the potential to further increase agricultural productivity is significant. We are very excited that IICA and Purdue Agriculture have joined our growing network of consultative partners.”
Global Harvest Initiative consultative partner organizations are non dues-paying members that support GHI’s mission and offer their expertise to guide GHI’s programs, research, and the development of the signature Global Agricultural Productivity Report® (GAP Report®). The 2013 GAP Report® will be released with support from several GHI consultative partners on October 16, 2013, at the World Food Prize in Des Moines, Iowa.
New member of the GHI Board of Directors Jesus Madrazo replaces the role previously held by Jerry Steiner, executive vice president of sustainability and corporate affairs for Monsanto Company. Steiner is a founding member of the Global Harvest Initiative and had served on the Board of Directors since 2009.
On joining the Board, Madrazo said, “The Global Harvest Initiative is a great collaboration between the private sector and stakeholders across the agricultural value chain. I look forward to working with the other members in support of GHI’s mission.”
The Global Harvest Initiative (GHI) is a private-sector voice for productivity growth throughout the agricultural value chain to sustainably meet the demands of a growing world. GHI believes the right policies can improve global food and nutrition security by accelerating agricultural productivity gains while conserving natural resources. Every year GHI releases its signature GAP Report®, an annual benchmark of the global rate of agricultural productivity. Established in 2009, GHI’s growing membership includes DuPont, Elanco, IBM, John Deere, and Monsanto. Visit us at http://www.globalharvestinitiative.org, Twitter @Harvest2050 http://twitter.com/Harvest2050, and Facebook http://www.facebook.com/GlobalHarvestInitiative.
Catherine Pepper, ProActive Communications, http://proactivecommunications.com/, +1 (202) 596-7517, [email protected]
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