Global Water Challenge (GWC) and Cargill announced today the expansion of their Cargill Currents partnership into Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica and Türkiye. Launched by GWC and Cargill in 2021, Cargill Currents is a joint initiative that works in partnership with communities, governments and local organizations to help address the water challenges facing each region. As part of a global partnership, these new country activities join ongoing programming underway in Brazil, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and North America. Planned activities include improving access to safe water and sanitation, repairing water systems and supporting their long-term maintenance, promoting more efficient water use in farming, and restoring and monitoring watersheds.
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Through Cargill Currents, landowners in Texas received support to protect and restore playas. These shallow wetlands play a vital role in replenishing groundwater and maintaining watershed health.
Since the partnership’s launch, Cargill Currents has supported programming across five continents, with outcomes that include improving water access, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) for nearly 200,000 people in Brazil and West Africa. Across North America, the partnership has supported regenerative agriculture across nearly 42,000 hectares, restored more than 1,700 hectares of forests, wetlands, and grasslands, and planted more than 283,000 trees.
“Water is essential to people and agriculture, which makes it essential to our business,” said Pete Dahm, Senior Director, Sustainability and Global Water Lead at Cargill. “We’re excited to further expand our partnership with GWC through this next phase of Cargill Currents and build on the strong progress we’ve made together over the past five years.”
New Cargill Currents country activities include the following expected outcomes:
- Bolivia: Improved access to safe water and sanitation for more than 1,000 households – representing more than 3,500 people – while supporting watershed conservation and local management of water systems.
- Colombia: Improved reliable drinking water access for approximately 1,000 people across five rural communities through aqueduct rehabilitation, water treatment solutions, and strengthened community water governance.
- Costa Rica: Improved long-term water security for 10,000 people by modernizing aging water infrastructure. These improvements will help reduce water losses frequently caused by leaks and other inefficiencies in aging pipes and infrastructure. The partnership will also strengthen the capacity of local utilities to manage and maintain their systems.
- Türkiye: Implementation of sustainable agriculture practices for 125 farmers around Lake İznik, with training in precision irrigation and regenerative practices designed to use water more efficiently across 500 hectares. The project is expected to conserve an estimated 374 million liters of water annually.
Expanded Cargill Currents country initiatives include the following expected outcomes:
- Brazil: Improved WASH services for nearly 38,000 people across 39 communities and 61 schools in Bahia and Pará.
- Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana: Improved WASH services and programs focused on strengthening women’s livelihoods and community water management for approximately 55,000 people across twelve cocoa-growing communities (six in each country).
- North America: Watershed mapping and assessment for approximately 170,000 hectares of estuarine and marine ecosystems in California’s San Francisco Bay-Delta to identify erosion risks, habitat conditions, and climate vulnerabilities. The findings will inform projects, such as planting native vegetation and restoring wetlands, to help reduce erosion and protect nearby coastal communities.
“Water security looks different in every community, and the solutions must be designed accordingly. Our Cargill Currents partnership brings together the resources, expertise, and local leadership needed to respond to those differences – from strengthening water systems and expanding access to safe water and sanitation, to helping farmers use water more efficiently and protecting the watersheds communities depend on. As we reflect after World Water Week, expanding this work into four new countries is an important step in building lasting water security where it is needed most.” said Monica Ellis, CEO of Global Water Challenge.
This work supports Cargill’s ambition of enabling a water positive impact across its operations, supply chains and communities by 2030.
Learn more about how Cargill works to improve water access, availability and quality around the world.
About Cargill
Cargill is committed to providing food, ingredients, agricultural solutions, and industrial products to nourish the world in a safe, responsible, and sustainable way. Sitting at the heart of the supply chain, we partner with farmers and customers to source, make, and deliver products that are vital for living.
Our 155K+ employees innovate with purpose, providing customers with life’s essentials so businesses can grow, communities prosper, and consumers live well. With 160 years of experience as a family company, we look ahead while remaining true to our values. We put people first. We reach higher. We do the right thing – today and for generations to come. For more information, visit Cargill.com and our News Center.
About Global Water Challenge (GWC)
Global Water Challenge (GWC) is a sector leader in mobilizing clean water access and advancing water security and community empowerment in high need regions around the world. Since 2006, GWC has positively impacted millions of people across Africa, the Americas, and Asia with improved WASH delivery and water security. With over 600+ multi-sector partners, we engage for action – catalyzing financial resources and driving innovative programming for sustainable, local solutions. For more information, please visit globalwaterchallenge.org.
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