Helping raise the living standards of farmers associated with high-risk products
Through sector-wide initiatives and international supply chain partnerships, we are working to ensure a living income for our producers in high-risk areas. This is a key driver of economic, social and environmental progress.
Why are we campaigning for a living income for farmers?
We regard a living income – and a transparent structure for its calculation – as an essential prerequisite for a life of dignity. The impact is threefold.
- Economic: it helps to meet essential needs such as food, housing, healthcare and education. Furthermore, it offers farmers opportunities to invest (again).
- Social: when there is more breathing space to live, work and go about daily life, fewer serious violations such as forced labour or child labour are observed.
- Ecological: a living income reduces the likelihood that people will exploit nature out of economic necessity – for example, through deforestation – and thus benefits biodiversity.
In that sense, our pursuit of a living income seems to us to be a means of achieving other sustainability goals. That’s correct, but because we regard a living income as a fundamental principle, we also make it a goal in its own right. We will continue to keep this issue on the agenda.
How do we raise the standard of living of farmers?
A first step is to detect which product categories have the highest risks. We do this in our due diligence analysis. We often start with products that we release under our own brands, but our efforts can also expand to a full range, as is the case with cocoa.
In most cases, we end up with products from regions where a living income for farmers is by no means a given. As these are complex supply chains involving multiple links, international cooperation is essential. This can take various forms.
We are actively involved in international initiatives aimed at securing a living income for farmers in high-risk areas. Such sector agreements involve a range of stakeholders, including other retailers, NGOs, knowledge centres, the public sector, local farmers’ cooperatives and manufacturers. The aim is to ensure that all links in the supply chain are represented.
A key example of such a sector agreement is Beyond Chocolate, which aims to make Belgian chocolate fully sustainable across all retailers. Colruyt Group has played an active role in setting the targets. For instance, the agreement stipulates that we will use only certified cocoa in all our own-brand products containing chocolate.
In some cases, international supply chain collaboration is the solution. Together with local farmers and other links in the chain, we are developing an efficient and sustainable production chain. The main focus is on ensuring a living income for farmers. We do this by guaranteeing a market for their produce and agreeing on prices. Other possible actions within such a supply chain partnership include:
- reinvesting in sustainable production methods,
- improving logistics, processing and sales,
- setting up training programmes for local young people through Colruyt Group Foundation.
We are also committed to respecting human rights in the supply chain
A living income helps to prevent human rights abuses. But we do more than that to ensure that our shops do not stock products made in degrading conditions.
