In the face of increasing population, climate change and scarcity of natural resources, the global food and beverage industry must continually tackle the most fundamental, challenge of all-ensuring food is produced and sourced in a sustainable way that also works for the triple bottom line. With support from leading food and agribusiness companies, including Syngenta, Bayer, Mars and Nestle, and numerous growers from California and other leading farming states, American Business Conferences is taking its' `Sustainable Agriculture Partnerships Summit' to San Francisco (August 10-11, Holiday Inn Golden Gateway), to help provide practical solutions for meeting this complex, long-term challenge.
With agricultural water needs predicted to rise by 140 percent by 2050, sustainability of water resources will be the main focus for the Summit. Major food industry players such as Nestle are investing in programs to help growers become better stewards of water at the Summit. Nestles' Betsy Cohen, VP of Sustainability, will be discussing how they have initiated a global dialogue with leading experts and policymakers on water stress and created partnerships throughout the agricultural supply chain to drive change and reduce water consumption and waste. Innovative technology suppliers such as Lindsay Corporation will also participate in the Summit to help drive forward the use of irrigation technologies that will allow farmers to increase crop yields while using less water, energy, labor and chemicals.