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Investing in Agriculture
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“In contrast to others that speculate on soft commodity prices and can drive prices up [as shown in 2008], by identifying those companies that are addressing food shortages our fund could benefit the billion people who, according to the United Nations, will be undernourished by 2015,” says Bill Barbour, investments specialist at Deutsche Asset Management, referring to Deutsche Bank’s DWS Global Equity Agribusiness Fund. The fund seeks those companies working to feed the world and invests in listed companies across the agribusiness supply chain, from seed right through to the consumer’s plate. Deutsche sees the tailwinds in agribusiness in the form of soaring population growth, rising incomes in the developing world, limited agricultural land, biofuels and climate change and global warming. “These drivers are in place today and that makes agribusiness investment a very compelling idea over the next three to five years,” says Barbour._x000D_
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A Growing Market
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The global seed market is forecast to reach US$47 billion by 2015, according to a new report released by Global Industry Analysts Inc. The United States represents the single largest market for seed, said the report titled Seeds: A Global Strategic Business Report. Demand for seed in the United States is expected to maintain steady growth in the coming years, spurred by the development and launch of a wide range of high-end transgenic and hybrid seeds. The market is also likely to be shaped by a number of favourable factors, such as growing garden and lawn expenditures of consumers, a general shift towards narrow planting of rows and expanding new uses of crops. Europe and Asia-Pacific are the other important seeds markets. Demand for seeds is forecast to be the fastest in Asia-Pacific, which is expected to increase at a compounded annual growth rate of more than five per cent through 2015._x000D_
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Promoting Competition
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South Africa’s competition watchdog has rejected the takeover of local seed firm Pannar Seed by Pioneer Hi-Bred, a subsidiary of DuPont, saying it would harm competition in the seed industry, reports Reuters. “The merger has been rejected,” Marteen van Hoven, manager for mergers and acquisitions at the Competition Commission told Reuters. “The market is highly concentrated at the moment with only three players and the merger would have reduced that to two.” Pioneer said in September it would buy Pannar Seed, which operates seed businesses in nine countries in Africa._x000D_
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The Importance of Bees
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“We are losing more than a third of our colonies each winter, but beekeepers are a stubborn, industrious bunch. We split hives, rebound as much as we can each summer, and then just eat our losses. So even these big loss numbers understate the problem,” says 50-year beekeeper, David Hackenberg, who owns the Buffy Bee honey farm outside Tampa, Fla. “What folks need to understand is that the beekeeping industry, which is responsible for a third of the food we eat, is at a critical threshold.”_x000D_
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Get Your Employees on the Social Media Bandwagon
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“A recent online survey found that when companies look to ramp up social media initiatives, many turn in-house first. This is even more likely for small businesses with limited resources. For those companies currently looking to build up or maintain their social media presence—whether it be a corporate blog, Facebook page, and/or Twitter feed—employee buy-in is vital to ensure success,” says Kirsten Watson, director of corporate marketing at operations planning company Kinaxis, in a blog on Bloomberg.com. She has the following tips for small businesses looking to entice their employees to embrace the benefits of social media:_x000D_
• Hold training/information sessions. Explain to employees why social media engagement is important.
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• Seed topic ideas. Hold brainstorming sessions. Circulate questions about topics to facilitate new suggestions. Share links to recent industry news. Encourage employees to develop ideas for content.
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• Identify “champions” or assign a group of individuals to a social media task force.
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• Leverage existing opportunities. Content is everywhere; employees should think critically about what they already have available to them.
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• Help employees feel invested. For small businesses that are struggling to spark employees’ interest, making contributions part of their job objectives, tying them to bonuses can help.
