Cao Zhen
U.S. retail giant Wal-Mart will expand its Direct Farm Program in China by engaging 2 million farmers and reduce produce waste by 15 percent by the end of 2015, as part of its global sustainable agriculture strategy.
According to the Chinese headquarters of Wal-Mart China in Shenzhen, 15 percent of the company s Direct Farm produce in China will be upgraded from Green to certified Organic by the end of 2015.
The world s largest retailer, Wal-Mart is also a trend-setter in the grocery business in the world s retail industry. Its sustainable farming strategy, which concentrates more on locally grown food, is backed by a series of targets for 2015, including a commitment to selling US$1 billion in food sourced from 1 million small and medium farms.
Our efforts will help increase farmer incomes, lead to more efficient use of pesticides, fertilizer and water and provide fresher produce for our customers, Wal-Mart president and chief executive officer Mike Duke said in a statement.
Wal-Mart also plans to invest more than US$1 billion in its global fresh food supply chain over the next five years.
Wal-Mart Stores in more than 8,400 locations in 15 countries, have set country-specific goals for these targets. The retailer has 194 outlets in China. Other goals include requiring sustainable sourced palm oil for all Wal-Mart-branded products around the globe, and will only source beef that does not contribute to the deforestation of the Amazon in Brazil, where it s estimated that 60 percent of all deforestation is attributed to cattle ranching.
By Sept. 30, Wal-Mart had set up 55 Direct Farm bases in 18 provinces and cities nationwide, including a vegetable farm in Shenzhen s Gongming Subdistrict, four other vegetable farms and one pork farm in Guangdong Province. China s ministries of commerce and agriculture began piloting direct farm programs in some areas in 2007 and aim to let supermarkets source 50 percent of fresh produce from farmers by 2012.
