General Mills Inc. (GIS) has announced the launch of a program “Partners in Food Solutions,” through which it will share the food processing expertise with global food makers to fight hunger in African nations. This is a non-profit program, which will help the local food processors to produce more food and feed a larger number of African people.
Higher profit for these local food processors will prompt them to source more ingredients from local small-holder farmers, creating an important and stable outlet for their crops.
General Mills had started the program in 2009 in which hundreds of employees volunteered to help the African food processors and producers for solving the technical and quality challenges.
This nonprofit program also received grants from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to expand the scale of Partners in Food Solutions through an on-the-ground partnership with Techno Serve. Cargill Inc. and Dutch food-science company Royal DSM NV have also joined hands with General Mills in the initiative.
Partners in Food Solutions will help General Mills to reach out to additional partners across the food industry. The work ranges from new product development to packaging, from plant design to fortification.
General Mills was already working with 15 food processors in about 40 projects in Kenya, Zambia, Tanzania and Malawi, impacting 60,000 farmers through the program. As a new nonprofit organization, it aims to broaden the program over the next five years to include as many as 10 corporate partners working with 200 food processors and 1 million farmers in 14 African nations.
General Mills is a leading global manufacturer of consumer products and possesses a formidable portfolio of well-established brands. The company reported results for the second quarter of fiscal 2011 on December 16, 2010.
For the quarter, adjusted earnings inched down 1.3% to $0.76 a share from the year-ago period. Total revenue for the reported quarter inched up by 1% year over year to $4.07 billion.
General Mills, which faces stiff competition from Kellogg Company (K) and Seneca Foods Corp. (SENEA), currently holds a Zacks #3 Rank on the stock. On a long-term basis, we maintain a Neutral rating on the stock, with a short-term Hold rating.
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