Changing 'business as usual' mindset
Part of the challenge of trying to work collaboratively with others to close the global productivity gap and the meet future food needs of growing populations, is breaking away from conventional wisdom that says "it's this way, or the highway". In other words, in order to make progress, we must change a "business as usual" mindset. A mindset takes us down the road of least resistance, but a road that surely will end as land and water resources to grow crops began to diminish.
In a speech not long ago, David Everitt, John Deere's President, Agriculture and Turf Division - North America, Asia, Australia, and Sub-Saharan and South Africa, and Global Tractor and Turf Products, made a compelling case for why we must change our mindset if we are too hasten agriculture's productivity growth rates, and laid out the critical factors for doing so. Everitt outlined a blueprint for the way forward, highlighting the following initiatives as critical elements of focus for getting there:
- Increased Productivity through Technology/Innovation
- Climate Change
- Trade
- Rural Development- Ensuring Rural Communities' Prosperity
He underlined the consequences of a "business as usual" mindset in saying:
Ignoring this looming productivity challenge or not acting quickly enough has perilous risks that should not be underestimated. At its most basic, it means additional human suffering through hunger and malnutrition. Beyond that, it means widespread social turmoil and unrest that undermine the political stability of large parts of the world -- not to mention eroding our own national security.
I don't believe any who are close to this issue would disagree with David's assessment, particularly when he frames the discussion around "the looming productivity challenge". Yes, we know it's hard to consider 2050 when we're just entered 2010. But consider David's concluding words:
Just as some of your great grandfathers made the giant leap from horses to tractors - just as John　Deere abandoned the trusty 2-cylinder Johnny Popper after 40 years, in favor of the "New Generation of Power" four- and six-cylinder tractors, we must all embrace change in nearly everything we do, in order to ensure a sustainable future for production agriculture.
Much can, and will change in 40 years. We only hope the "business as usual" mindset changes quicker. The consequences of inertia are too costly.