DuPont VP: Innovation and open markets key to meeting world food needs

Meeting the challenge of global food needs will require both collaborative innovation to increase food production and open markets and public policy to ensure the availability of food to those who need it, DuPont executive vice president James C. Borel told participants of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture at its 2010 annual meeting in Dover, Del.

James C. Borel

“As an industry, our priority should be delivering the best agricultural products in the shortest amount of time to the people who need them all over the world,” said Borel.

By 2011, the world’s population will exceed 7 billion people, and is expected to grow to 9 billion people by 2050.

“Increased sustainable productivity will need to occur as available arable land and resources shift, remain unchanged, or in some areas, decrease,” he said. “Sustainable development integrates social, economic and environmental needs to develop better solutions to today’s problems, while also providing good stewardship of the resources needed for the future.

“Successful collaboration in agriculture reaches across the industry, from researchers to farmers and inventors to exporters,” said Borel. “It begins with incentives, including intellectual property rights and open, competitive markets.

“Open, competitive markets mean that customers have access to new innovations. These markets require both domestic competition policies and, of course, an international emphasis on enabling trade.”

Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, is the world’s leading developer and supplier of advanced plant genetics, providing high-quality seeds to farmers in more than 90 countries. Pioneer provides agronomic support and services to help increase farmer productivity and profitability and strives to develop sustainable agricultural systems for people everywhere. Science with Service Delivering Success.

DuPont is a science-based products and services company. Founded in 1802, DuPont puts science to work by creating sustainable solutions essential to a better, safer, healthier life for people everywhere. Operating in more than 90 countries, DuPont offers a wide range of innovative products and services for markets including agriculture and food; building and construction; communications; and transportation.