To realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the active involvement of the private sector will be indispensable. Private companies and producer organizations have a key role to play in sustainable development, both through their investments and the impacts of their operations on people, the economy and the environment. For this reason, FAO is leading a project to assist companies in the tropical fruit sector to develop responsible supply chains. This in turn will contribute to sustainable development and several SDGs. The tropical fruit sector is important to developing countries as the bulk of their trade originates in these countries. It generates substantial export earnings for many of these countries, thereby contributing to food security. However, the tropical fruit industry is facing serious sustainability challenges, especially with environmental and social issues. Enhancing responsible value chains for tropical fruits would bring significant development benefits to many countries.
FAO’s Responsible Tropical Fruits project was introduced to the public in March 2021, and a special session was organized to introduce the project to members of TFNet in May 2021. The project is formally known as “Building responsible global value chains for the sustainable production and trade of tropical fruits”.
The project has a global scope and currently operates in avocado and pineapple value chains to:
- help companies to strengthen or establish risk-based due diligence systems to make their operations more sustainable and resilient to external shocks such as COVID-19;
- provide a confidential environment for peer learning on pre-competitive issues related to sustainability and resilience;
- identify measures and good practices to overcome sustainability and resilience challenges;
- develop a series of demand-driven guides to address technical challenges identified by project participants;
- analyze the policy environment and incentives, aiming to identify opportunities to accelerate sustainable investment in these two supply chains.
The project is focused on export-related avocado and pineapple value chains. As such, the project primarily targets large companies, industry associations and producer organizations engaged in the production and export of these commodities. In 2021 the FAO project team reached out to approximately 100 companies and producer organizations around the world, with about half of these engaging with the project to date.
The project team worked with participating companies and producer organizations in 2021 to conduct a baseline survey and to launch complementary capacity development activities. The baseline survey aims to understand current practices and needs of private companies operating in the avocado and pineapple value chains when it comes to sustainability, due diligence and resilience. Thirty-six companies and producer organizations representing both value chains and all the top exporting countries completed the detailed survey. Survey respondents and other industry stakeholders were given an opportunity to validate the preliminary aggregated findings of the survey during an online webinar held on 7 December 2021. Their feedback is being incorporated into a report that will be presented after further review in 2022.
The survey identified pre-competitive issues where collective action and the support of the project could strengthen sustainability. These areas include reducing the use of agrochemicals, adapting to and mitigating climate change, reducing deforestation, and improving water management. The survey also identified a growing interest in due diligence and a gap with current practices that tend to focus on voluntary standards.
To support the needs identified in the baseline survey and other interactions with companies, the project team started capacity development activities in 2021. First, the team launched a peer-learning webinar series. These events provide a neutral space where industry actors and experts can meet, discuss challenges, and exchange good practices in a confidential setting. There were four events in 2021:
- Climate change mitigation
- How the OECD-FAO Guidance for Responsible Agricultural Supply Chains can help the tropical fruit industry manage business risk
- How the tropical fruits sector can tackle deforestation and contribute to forest positive value chains
- Baseline survey findings on sustainability and resilience
Summary reports following the Chatham House Rule are published after the webinars on the project website. The reports include summaries of presentations and discussions, highlighting opportunities to increase sustainability, as well as follow up actions. More webinars will be organized in 2022, starting with an event on reducing agrochemicals and complying with Minimum Residue Levels in February.
Nearly all the organizations participating in the project consider risk assessment and due diligence of high importance to their business. At the same time there is an increasing need to prepare for new or expanded due diligence requirements such as those being developed by the European Union. As a first step, the project is drafting a technical guide to support companies in analyzing the gap between voluntary certification systems and due diligence. This tool will help companies and other actors determine how to progress from the use of certification schemes and industry standards to meeting current and upcoming due diligence requirements. This guide will be available for use in 2022. Additional technical guides on sustainability and resilience to address topics identified with project participants will be developed over the coming two years.
Looking ahead, in 2022 the project will work with industry actors to enhance capacities for risk based due diligence. The due diligence framework of the OECD-FAO Guidance for Responsible Agricultural Supply Chains will be adapted and contextualized, once for the avocado value chain and once for the pineapple value chain. The project team will adapt a tool for carbon and water footprinting to the two value chains, to support efforts to address climate change and water management. Activities will also advance our understanding of the impact of external shocks (such as COVID and also natural disasters) on the two value chains so that the project can better support companies and producers to be more resilient. Details on these activities, including opportunities to participate, will be forthcoming in the next few months.
All interested companies, trade associations, and producer organizations involved in the avocado and pineapple value chains may ask to join the project. To learn more about the project, please download the flyer and write to the project team at Responsible-Fruits@fao.org. There is no cost to participate, and confidentiality is strictly protected.
About the Contributor
Michael Riggs is the Technical Advisor for the Responsible Tropical Fruit Value Chains project at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).