Deirdre White, CEO of PYXERA Global, Gives TEDx Talk on the Solvable Problem of Post-Harvest Loss
WASHINGTON, D.C., April 18, 2016 /3BL Media/ – Deirdre White, CEO PYXERA Global, gave a TEDx talk on April 9, on the solvable problem of post-harvest loss at the Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart. White’s talk was titled How Will the World Feed 9 Billion People by 2050? and addressed the severity of post-harvest loss and the solutions currently available.
Approximately 40% of all produce is lost between farm and market in less industrialized countries throughout the world.
“At its heart, our approach focuses on behavior change, from how small farmers grow and store their crops to how companies account for food loss and waste across their operations,” said White. “An efficient, productive food system with minimal loss is our goal – and one that is well within reach.”
White is CEO of PYXERA Global, an implementing partner for the Rockefeller Foundation’s YieldWise program focusing on post-harvest loss in Kano, Nigeria. The $130 million initiative, announced by the Rockefeller Foundation at the World Economic Forum in Davos, seeks to demonstrate how the world can halve food waste and loss by 2030. White is also an alumna of Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart.
“Food loss and waste have negative impacts far beyond food insecurity. Loss and waste reverberate across business operations, where the cost of this hidden waste is still unaccounted for on corporate balance sheets,” shared White during her talk. “As the world’s population grows and our available resources shrink, each pound of food produced that goes uneaten is a wasted opportunity to improve the health of people, the environment, and economies.”
White discussed the complexities of post-harvest loss—how neglecting this problem is harming the world’s population, while solutions to this global challenge already exist. Food loss and waste is an all-inclusive problem—eliminating it requires an all-inclusive solution that looks across the global food system.
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About PYXERA Global
@PYXERAGlobal
For more than 25 years, PYXERA Global has leveraged the unique strengths of corporations, governments, social sector organizations, educational institutions, and individuals to enhance the abilities of people and communities to solve complex problems and attain mutually beneficial goals.
The PYXERA Global team is passionate and dedicated to navigating challenges and pinpointing purposeful global engagement opportunities for its clients and partners. Initiatives include a wide range of services from local content development to global pro bono programs and integrated community development efforts that transform lives and livelihoods.
About The Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation’s mission—unchanged since 1913—is to promote the well-being of humanity throughout the world. Today, we pursue this mission through dual goals: advancing inclusive economies that expand opportunities for more broadly shared prosperity, and building resilience by helping people, communities and institutions prepare for, withstand, and emerge stronger from acute shocks and chronic stresses. To achieve these goals, we work at the intersection of four focus areas—advance health, revalue ecosystems, secure livelihoods, and transform cities—to address the root causes of emerging challenges and create systemic change. Together with partners and grantees, The Rockefeller Foundation strives to catalyze and scale transformative innovations, create unlikely partnerships that span sectors, and take risks others cannot. For more information, please visit www.rockefellerfoundation.org
Dangote Farms Limited (D.F.L) is involved in plantation agriculture and agro processing. It was incorporated in December of 1982. It is a wholly owned Nigerian Company and a member of the Dangote Group – the largest manufacturing conglomerate in Nigeria.
