JUNDIAI, BRAZIL September 3rd, 2020 – To help lessen the impacts caused by the coronavirus in the communities where AGCO operates, AGCO Agriculture Foundation (AAF), a private foundation based in Liechtenstein, and committed to fighting hunger through sustainable agricultural development, has donated more than R$ 350 thousand to organizations that aim to end hunger in Brazil. The donated amount will be invested both in the purchase of food and in its transportation logistics, benefiting families in extreme poverty and vulnerability.
The donation is part of the second phase of the AAF COVID-19 Aid Program, which supports emergency responses globally, including in South America. During the first phase of the aid program, the AAF supported the emergency response by the United Nations World Food Program (WFP), with a funding amount of US$100,000 concentrated on the most vulnerable populations in countries in Latin America and Africa. Please visit the World Food Program USA’s donation page to support the AAF’s funding campaign. The AGCO Agriculture Foundation matches any contribution made to this campaign up to $100,000.
“The AGCO Agriculture Foundation is committed to making long-term impacts in our vulnerable communities as the presence of COVID-19 calls for ongoing support,” said Metti Richenhagen, Managing Director, AGCO Agriculture Foundation.
“We are proud to provide local funding to support local resources and initiatives to help people in South America who are impacted by the pandemic and economic uncertainty.”
Amigos do Bem will direct the donation to transport and provide food, water and health and hygiene kits to families in the Brazilian northeastern hinterland. The institution serves 140 villages in the semiarid region in the states of Alagoas, Pernambuco and Ceará. Altogether, 75,000 people receive food, medical and dentist visits monthly, in addition to participating in education, work and income generation projects and access to water and housing.
For Banco de Alimentos, the funds received will be used to enhance the logistics of transportation and distribution of basic food baskets and food cards for families on the poor outskirts of São Paulo, which were severely impacted by the coronavirus crisis. The organization has existed for 22 years, collecting whole foods from supermarkets and fruit and vegetables in the metropolitan region of São Paulo to distribute them to 41 institutions such as hospitals, nursing homes and daycare centers. From April to June this year, 2,600,000 kg of food were distributed, reaching 690,000 people.
Gerando Falcões distributed the donation to the “Corona no Paredão - Fome Não” campaign. Through a connection with partner NGOs, this program provides digital distribution of basic food baskets to the most vulnerable families. To reduce the risk of contamination, instead of delivering the food to people’s homes, the organization gives food cards that can be used to buy groceries and hygiene products for three months. In addition to the donated amount, AGCO encouraged its employees to donate part of the amount in their food or meal cards for the purchase of basic food baskets. The initiative benefited 482 families affected by the coronavirus crisis.
In Argentina, the funds were made available to the MovilizaRSE organization, and will be used to purchase 110,000 meals to be distributed in General Rodríguez and other regions of the country. MovilizaRSE is a non-profit social organization that since 2005 works with young people transmitting values of solidarity, in search of equity in Argentina, from the countryside to the city, based on values such as empathy, tolerance and teamwork.
AGCO donates equipment, supplies and funds in Brazil and Argentina
In addition to the donations to entities that fight hunger in Brazil, AGCO has been implementing solidarity actions with the donation of 20,000 liters of 70% alcohol hand sanitizer and 500 face shields. It aims to help hospitals and institutions surrounding its factories and other units in the states of Rio Grande do Sul (Canoas, Ibirubá, Passo Fundo, Marau and Santa Rosa), São Paulo (Campinas, Jundiaí and Mogi das Cruzes) and Mato Grosso (Sorriso).
“AGCO is always looking for the best way to support farmers and their communities in South America. In a challenging time like this, this support becomes even more important,” said Luis Felli, Senior Vice President and General Manager of AGCO South America. “We firmly believe that the agriculture industry is essential, and our top priority is maintaining access to food throughout the COVID-19 pandemic fight.”
At the Santa Rosa factory (RS), 80 units of hospital beds were produced and delivered to Ivan Goulart Hospital, in neighboring city São Borja, and to the Santa Rosa Municipal Health Foundation (FUMSSAR), which will distribute them to hospitals and UPAs in the municipality and region, according to their needs. The company also manufactured and donated 700 3-D facial masks to healthcare professionals in hospitals in all municipalities where AGCO has operations.
In Ibirubá (RS), the manufacturing plant donated, in addition to the masks, lab coats to the city's health center. In partnership with sugar cane mills, it was possible to donate 20,000 liters of 70% alcohol hand sanitizer to hospitals in communities close to the company’s factories. In addition, AGCO also donated R$ 100 thousand to Associação Hospitalar Beneficente (HCR) in Marau (RS).
In Argentina, the company donated US$ 15,000 to Hospital in General Rodriguez in order to improve the local health infrastructure. And finally, AGCO dealers in Chile, Bolivia and Peru made machines available to support the sanitation and cleaning process in cities and to fight the spread of COVID-19.
About AGCO Agriculture Foundation (AAF)
The AGCO Agriculture Foundation (AAF), initiated by AGCO Corporation (NYSE: AGCO) in 2018, is a private foundation with the vision to prevent and relieve hunger. The foundation initiates impactful programs that support food security, foster sustainable agricultural development and build needed agricultural infrastructure in marginalized farming communities. AAF is domiciled in Vaduz, Liechtenstein and operations are managed from Duluth, Georgia, USA. For more information, please visit https://www.agcofoundation.org/
About AGCO
AGCO (NYSE:AGCO) is a global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of agricultural solutions and delivers high-tech solutions for farmers feeding the world through its full line of equipment and related services. AGCO products are sold through five core brands, Challenger®, Fendt®, GSI®, Massey Ferguson® and Valtra®, supported by Fuse® smart farming solutions. Founded in 1990 and headquartered in Duluth, Georgia, USA, AGCO had net sales of $9.0 billion in 2019. For more information, visit www.AGCOcorp.com. For company news, information and events, please follow us on Twitter: @AGCOCorp. For financial news on Twitter, please follow the hashtag #AGCOIR.