“For me the most important thing I would identify in a collaborative process is that it contributes to an on-going joint reflection on how to improve sustainable sourcing."
By Mieke Lateir, Vredeseilanden Program Advisor
Summary
36 tons of rice at the supermarket is merely the tip of the rice mountain. The story began eight years ago when Vredeseilanden was looking for a way to improve the quality of the rice produced in Benin and improve it on to a more competitive level, especially when compared to imported Asian rice.
The potential was there, but the rice from Benin did not have the best reputation. The farmers decided to challenge themselves, with the support of Vredeseilanden, to respond to Western consumer quality standards in order to improve their rice quality in general. Rice was purchased by Colruyt and rice importers such as Boost Nutrition. By exporting, Benin farmers had to build a network of cooperatives and to think commercially for their own market. This meant that purchasers were also faced with the realities of dealing with small-scale producers.
At the end of 2006, two employees of the rice project
in Benin were flown to Belgium to follow an internship at Colruyt. They made acquainted Colruyt headquarters
with the internal control systems in Benin and showed how the distribution and
marketing was done. The knowledge of the
rice importer and processor, Boost, had been a great motivator for farmers to
improve the quality of their rice. Moreover, the farmers' organisations had decided
to work towards FLO certification.
The Challenge
One
of the main challenges was the organisation of the farmers in order to respond
to the demands of the market, both internationally and locally. Most farmers had been working in the cotton
sector- a sector which has been coordinated by the state (state authorities
providing seeds, inputs and then also buying the product at the end of the
chain). This meant not only meant a
shift in thinking but also an overview of the necessary technical procedures required
to respond to quality requirements. One
of the important decisions was the choice of the variety of rice – it should
respond to foreign consumers taste but at the same time remain viable for the
local market. Vredeseilanden organised a
visit to Nigeria, an important market, in order to exchange with consumers
there and understand their demands. It quickly became apparent that a change of
the variety was required. The one they were using was not suited to Nigerian
cooking methods.
Dealing
with international quality standards proved very demanding and often difficult
to reach for small-scale farmers, yet it was a crucial part of the
collaborative process.
When
engaging with several persons at
different levels of the organisations and companies involved, it’s important to
not only succeed within the case but to provide leverage for further progress.
For Colruyt the parties involved were numerous: rice purchasers, those responsible
for sustainable development, the CEO, the personnel as a whole. At Boost, there
was the export and industrial sales manager, the quality manager and technical
staff; while at the farmer’s level it was not just the farmers directly
involved in two villages, but also the higher farmer organisation who demanded
to be involved in key decision moments and capacity building sessions. At the
top of the pyramid, the national rice farmer’s organisation also wished to gather
and build evidence from the case study for its political work.
With
so many involvements, it was vital to recognise the expertise and added-value
of the different actors involved and attribute clear roles, including one for Vredeseilanden.
It’s
important to allow space to get to know each other’s reality, to create respect
and confidence. Regular trips are now in place so that people from Benin can
visit the partners here in Belgium and vice versa. In the end collaboration processes are always built
on the people involved.
The Approach
Vredeseilanden
enlisted the support of the Farmer Organisation on the ground in setting up
quality procedures and supporting farmer’s methods of information gathering in
order to make profound decisions. Boost
was important in providing support for quality procedures and making them
feasible for the farmers. Boost Nutrition also added a processing procedure at
the end of the chain in order to eliminate quality failures. Colruyt created the market for the product and
engaged a fair trade relationship with small-scale farmers. They showed a great
deal of patience in order to make the project successful.
But
the biggest job was done by the farmers themselves who succeeded in delivering
a quality product to the volumes required and succeeded in receiving Fair Trade
certification. Their enthusiasm within a
challenging context has been at the forefront of moving them and the other
partners forward.
Fair
Trade certification was used as leverage tool for the farmers. It enabled them
to install the necessary procedures for better quality (via an internal control
system) and to respond to social and ecological criteria. The Fairtrade
certification guarantees the long term fair price for the farmers.
Apart
from the direct interventions within this chain, the case was also important as
a learning process towards integrating sustainability in sourcing policies.
The collaborative advantage
It is
important to understand the realities for all stakeholders and to create a
feeling of respect and confidence as this ensures all are able to move at the
same pace and allow for each other’s demands.
Undoubtedly
the expertise of different actors involved makes it a more interesting
experience. Problems can no longer be solved in isolated settings - joint
expertise leads to bigger impacts and to a more competitive chain. Contributions to a joint reflection process on
sustainable sourcing eventually lead to
a much broader impact than the case itself. Colruyt and Vredeseilanden are now
working on the analysis of a product that’s already on their shelves. The next
step is to improve inclusiveness for small farmers and enable more sustainable
sourcing.
Future
Steps
- Direct impact: improving the processing of the rice
- Indirect impact: broadening the Vredeseilanden rice project towards other West-African countries
- For Colruyt: moving towards sustainable sourcing
Conclusions
Max Havelaar labeled rice can be seen at Colruyt, Okay
and Spar. It will be sourced from less than 1% of the total annual production
of rice farmers taking part on the project, as part of the harvest is consumed
by the producers and another part is sold into the local markets.
Read More
you are invited to follow my blog
ReplyDelete