Inside Asia Podcast

When was the last time you thought about where your food comes from? And I don’t mean from your local supermarket… Well, according to the U.N. Food & Agriculture Association, 70% of food consumed globally comes from so-called “smallholder” farmers.  There are an estimated 570 million of them, and nearly half live and operate in the world’s poorest countries. In most developing markets, agriculture contributes anywhere from 15 to 35% of GDP. Without this constellation of farming communities, unemployment would soar and economies would crumble.  Not surprisingly, there’s a political dimension to supporting the smallholder farmer. This requires governments throughout the region to make constant adjustments – balancing local subsidies against foreign food imports. Into this socio-economic brew enters Corteva Agriscience, a company that a little over two years ago spun off from the chemical giant DowDupont in order to focus exclusively on agribusiness. Today, the company produces high-yield, pest-resistant