ADM Announces Partnership with Aliança Da Terra to Encourage Sustainable Soy Farming in Brazil

“This partnership represents another important step in ADM’s commitment to responsible, sustainable agriculture. We are proud to partner with Aliança Da Terra as we work to fulfill that commitment,” Lastra added. “Eventually, we hope to expand this program to involve more growers in more regions.”

15/01/09 Archer Daniels Midland Company, a global leader in agricultural processing, and Aliança Da Terra, a leading advocate for sustainable farming in Brazil, have launched Doing it Right, a program to encourage Brazilian soy growers to adopt sustainable farming practices.

Doing it Right (in Portuguese, Produzindo Certo) enlists growers as partners in the effort to ensure that each hectare of farmland achieves its maximum yield potential. The aim is to increase farmers’ profitability while reducing the environmental impact of their operations and helping to ensure good working conditions for farm employees.

“By providing farmers with the training they need to increase their yields in sustainable, environmentally responsible ways, we can help minimize further expansion into environmentally sensitive areas,” said Domingo Lastra, president, ADM South America.

“This partnership represents another important step in ADM’s commitment to responsible, sustainable agriculture. We are proud to partner with Aliança Da Terra as we work to fulfill that commitment,” Lastra added. “Eventually, we hope to expand this program to involve more growers in more regions.”

The initial phase of the program began at a meeting held in December in Querência, Mato Grosso, and attended by more than 100 prospective grower participants. For farmers interested in participating, the program advances in a few phases. First, Aliança Da Terra will visit the farm to map the land, analyze farming operations and identify strengths and areas for improvement. ADM will fund this mapping and analysis. Growers then commit to a plan of action. When they do so, Aliança Da Terra will return after a year to evaluate progress and compliance with the plan. Participating farmers will benefit from instruction in agronomic and operational best practices that help them improve yields. For ADM, Doing It Right represents an important new initiative in the company’s ongoing drive to promote supply chain integrity and growing practices that are environmentally sound.

Doing it Right is funded through ADM Cares, the Company’s corporate giving program, which targets:

* health and safety programs for farm workers and children who live on farms;
* responsible use of agricultural chemicals;
* sustainable farming practices; and
* rehabilitation and preservation of environmentally sensitive lands.