Options for setting an international standard

for responsible AllanblackiaNovella Partners Meeting

Ghana, November 2008

Prepared by Nancy Vallejo, Director, Pi

Presented by Kristy Faccer

Content

• The Allanblackia Process• The Need for an International Standard• Core Elements and Purpose• Existing Standards• Potential Partners• Recommended Next Steps

AB Process

• Establishment of the Novella Partnership and promotion of AB NTFP– Use of potential economic benefits to

contribute to poverty alleviation, sustainable use and equitable benefit sharing throughout supply chains

– Initial focus in Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania– Wild collection

AB Process

• Acceptance of AB as Novel food in EU– Upscale of project to

• Liberia, Cameroon and Democratic Republic of Congo

• Domestication and farming (small and medium size plantations

Need for mechanisms to ensure that the enlargement is framed by sustainability practices and that good practices are recognized and encouraged by the market

Core elements

• Internationally credible– Follow WTO requirements– Follow ISEAL code of good practice

• Applicable throughout supply chains– Conservation and sustainable use of BD– Fair and equitable benefits of risks and

benefits– Traceability and transparent business

practices

• Participation in poverty alleviation

Shape depends on purpose

• Promoting better practices– Code is enough but does not allow credible

communication

• Demonstration of achievements or progress to customers– B2B declarations backed by a verifiable standard and a

robust verification mechanism

• On product declarations– Certification (more complex & rigid than verification)– Strict mechanisms for managing claims– Applicable if final product contains a substantial amount

of AB• Not really credible to put a label if a the portion of a product

that contains AB is small, even if all the AB is certified

Do existing standards cover AB needs?

• Comparison of AB needs with 6 standards– Chosen for “philosophical” similarity with AB– FSC, UEBT, FairWild, SAN, FLO, IFOAM

• No single standard covers all of AB– Need to develop a new one, but– Developing a new scheme is a daunting task

Explore possibility to develop a specific application to AB of an existing standard

Standard comparison

Choosing a partner organization

• The Development of a specific application of an existing standard to AB, and using the verification system going with the standard, implies to partner with the organization owning the standard and the verification system

• Criteria for identifying potential partners

Criteria FSC BioTrade FairWild SAN FLO IFOAM Standard compatibility

High Very high Very low Moderate Moderate Low

Allanblackia product incorporation

High Very high Very low Moderate Low Low

Suitability for small producers

High High0 High Moderate High Moderate

Standard requires implementation along the supply chain1

No Yes No Yes2 No Yes3

Transparent multi-stakeholder mechanism for standardization

High Very high No High4 High High

Progressive implementation

No5 Yes No No Yes6 Yes

Experience in designing technical assistance packages for producers

High7 Low8 No information

High High high

Claims Certificate and label

B2B (no on-product claims)

Certificate and label

Certificate and label

Certificate and label

Certificate and label

0 In theory very high, but still have to demonstrate it in practice 1 see description of organizations above 2 covered up stream from the farm only 3 for certain aspects 4 for the revision of its standard SAN is using the same mechanism as BioTrade did and will be rated very high once the new standard is published 5 packages have been developed by external organizations, but this is not part of the scheme itself 6 entrance condition nearly a the level of maximum requirements thus no differentiation in claims 7 notably through external initiatives 8 As new organization no, but as it is an offspring of the UNCTAD BioTrade Facilitation Programme, numerous packages have been developed

Recommended potential partners

• FSC– Pro:

• Deals with wild collection and plantations• Process for local adaptation and sector specific

application• Well established and recognized label

– Con:• Stringent certification approach• Little flexibility particularly for small scale• Slow administrative process• Not applicable throughout supply chains

Recommended potential partners

• UEBT– Pro:

• Deals with wild collection and plantations• Process for local adaptation and sector specific

application• Flexible verification approach based on gradual

implementation• Supply chain management approach• Works with both FSC and SAN auditors and creates

bridges with them

– Con• New organization (not widely known yet)• No on-product claim, thus less visible to consumers as a

differentiation mechanism

Recommended potential partners

• SAN (less applicable)– Pro:

• Well established and recognized label• Specialised in agriculture

– Applicable at farm level

– Con• Does not address wild collection• No well established process for local adaptation• Not applicable throughout supply chains

Recommended next steps (1)

1. Organize a partner’s workshop to discuss:

– The report and its recommendations – next steps– identify whether the flexible B2B or the visible

certification approaches is desirable– timeframe

2. Get in a dialogue and preliminary exploration for a potential partnership with the scheme(s) that the Novella Africa partners have identified as suitable

Recommended next steps (2)

3. If this preliminary exploration is not positive, start develop own standard for AB

4. If it is positive, with one or several of the chosen schemes, explore the possibilities and proposals for developing a sector specific application– that builds upon and reflects the objectives,

core elements, values and current guidelines

Recommended next steps (3)

5. If the implementation of the choice becomes too complicated, revisit the decision – i.e. start develop own standard, as per point 3.

above)

6.Evaluate the services provided by the applied solution:– flexibility, – robustness of verification– sustainable development on the ground and – forest conservation

Recommended next steps (4)

7.Develop either sector specific application within a chosen scheme or own standard as per point 3 above

Thanks!