With the global population hitting seven billion this year and a prospective total of nine billion by 2050, food security remains a key challenge facing the world. It is also one of the top priorities on the agenda of the Arab Summit taking place in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.
The challenge is being highlighted and embraced by 200-year-old science-based products and services company DuPont, whose focus has firmly switched to food security and its future.
"Food is an extremely important topic - the population is growing, people are getting wealthier and people want better quality food as well as safer food," Anil Menon, UAE country manager, DuPont, told Zawya.
The 67,000-employee-strong company recently announced it will invest USD 10 billion in research and development until the end of 2020, while introducing 4,000 new products to help produce more food, enhance nutrition, boost food availability and enhance the shelf-life of food.
"Food's going to be a big focus area. Engaging and educating youth is part of our food security goals and we'll be looking at how to improve rural communities around the world," Menon said.
DuPont's other focus areas in the region are building construction, oil and gas and transportation / infrastructure.
"We see challenges and opportunities out here," Menon said of the region, "the country is booming and is moving from developing to developed. Dubai is a nice entry point, being a regional hub in the GCC and we want to strengthen our position - much of our regional management is here to support this region."
Founded in 1802, DuPont now operates in 90 countries and has had a presence in the region for the past 18 years. Its key sectors include agriculture, building and construction, electronics, energy, healthcare and medical, manufacturing, plastics, safety and protection and transportation.
According to the company's 2011 sustainability report, its greenhouse gas emissions have decreased by 75% since 1990, with a 6% reduction in absolute use of energy, but an increased production rate of 40%.
Since 2010, DuPont has also registered a use of USD 1.6 billion on products that have helped consumers reduce their own production of greenhouse gases.
Last year's figures showed global sales increased 20% on the year before, at USD 38 billion. The company increased its investment in emerging markets by 27%, while sales in emerging markets grew by 30%.
Menon joined DuPont in 2008 as an oil and gas industry leader for the MENA region and previously worked in sales and marketing, operations and customer services, logistics. He developed a distribution network in the UAE and has been country manager of DuPont in the UAE since January 2011.
"For DuPont, core values are critical. The company is over 200 years old - that's because we have had very strong core values. One of these is ethics, which is why we've survived for more than two centuries," Menon said.
"As a country leader, I need to ensure that we follow these core values and follow our code of conduct. That is my top priority; to make sure we adhere to core values without deviation and focus on growth as well as on expanding infrastructure," he said.
© Zawya 2012
