Communities

Challenge: To respond to local community concerns and crises through direct support

Ensuring communities have access to affordable, healthy food is a critical element of our business purpose, but we also rely on the resources and skills we find in our local communities to help us operate our business.

We can have a significant opportunity to support these communities in times of need, through the jobs we provide, the skills we help local people develop and by providing access to our technologies and know-how. In response to local crises, including events such as flooding in Maharashtra, India in 2020 and 2021, we are able to draw on the power and commitment of our team to support the local communities in need.

During 2021, we recruited 164 employees into our PIC and ABS production sites. We also enhanced our range of placement and employment opportunities for students and apprentices. Internships and graduate programmes continued to bring new talent into Genus. For example, in the United States, ABS brought in 28 interns (including 19 women) with three already progressing into full-time roles. In the UK, we recruited 10 graduates, including 4 women.

• Support measures to prevent and respond to local community issues.
• Recruit locally into nucleus farms, and encourage support for local charities that align with our mission.
• Continue our ‘Never Stop Improving’ high school scholarship programme and our intern programme to invest in future skills our business needs (see page 40).
• Continue to deliver elite genetics to farmers in Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda in collaboration with the local partners.

Encourage support for charities close to the local businesses and aligned with our mission.