the solidaridad network 2013 annual report

The Solidaridad neTwork 2013 annual reporT

Mr. Enan abblé – succEssful cocoa farMEr froM côtE d’IvoIrE. rEad hIs story on thE back covEr.

2 TheSolidaridad2013AnnualReport

CoNTeNTS

ForewordRecognitionthatmatters 3

resultsandimpactConclusionsfromprogrammeevaluations 5Globalresults 6Processandfunding 8Resultspercommodity 10AboutSolidaridad 12

CommodityprogrammesCoffeeFocusonfoodsecurityandclimate 14TeaMainstreamingsustainability 16CocoaUrgentneedtorestructurethesector 18Fruit&vegetablesFreshproduceforlocalmarketsandexport 20CottonEngagingallactorsinthesupplychain 22TextilesThemovetowardsresponsiblefashion 24GoldReachingouttonewminers 26SoyPositiveimpactsofresponsiblesoy 28PalmoilFrequentandbettersmallholdersupport 30SugarcaneTurninganewleaf 32LivestockLivestockbecomespartofthesolution 34

Aquaculture25,000shrimp&fishfarmersformgroups 36

TheSolidaridadNetworkintenregionsSolidaridadSouthAmericaInnovationwithsustainablecommodities 39SolidaridadAndesScalingupe-learningforcoffeefarmers 40SolidaridadCentralAmericaBreakthroughsinsustainablepractices 41SolidaridadWestAfricaMovingbeyondcertification 42SolidaridadSouthernAfricaRapidgrowthandexpandedoutreach 43SolidaridadEastandCentralAfricaEmbracingfarmersupportprogrammes 44SolidaridadSouthandSouth-EastAsiaWaterefficiencyinindianagriculture 45SolidaridadChinaDevelopingsustainablebusinesscases 46SolidaridadtheNetherlandsHigh-qualitybusinesspartnerships 47SolidaridadNorthAmericaBuildingpartnershipstosupportproducers 48

Supervision,managementandorganisationFullsupervisorystructureinplace 50

Financialreport 53

SolidaridadNetworkadresses 57

4C CoffeestakeholderandcertificationplatformARM AllianceforResponsibleMiningBCI BetterCottonInitiativeBonsucro Globalsugar-caneRoundtableBSCI BusinessSocialComplianceInitiativeBMI BetterMillInitiativeCIDIN CentreforInternationalDevelopmentIssues

RadboudUniversityNijmegenCSO CivilSocietyOrganisationDEG GermandevelopmentorganisationETP EthicalTeaPartnershipECOM Aglobaltrading/processingcompanyFLO FairtradeInternationalGRSB GlobalRoundtableforSustainableBeefHivos ADutchdevelopmentNGOIDH TheSustainableTradeInitiativeIFC InternationalFinanceCorporationKPMG Audit,taxandadvisorycompany

LEI Social-economicresearchinstituteofWageningenURM&S Marks&SpencerretailcompanyNORAD TheNorwegianAgencyforDevelopment

CooperationOECD OrganisationforEconomicCo-operationand

DevelopmentRJC ResponsibleJewelleryCouncilgoldRSPO RoundtableonSustainablePalmOilRTRS RoundTableonResponsibleSoyAssociationRVO NetherlandsEnterpriseAgencySAC SustainableApparelCoalitionSAI Globalfoodanddrinkindustryinitiativefor

sustainableagricultureSNV InternationalNGOwithanemphasisonreducing

povertyUtz UtzCertifiedWBF WorldBananaForumWWF WorldWildlifeFund

gloSSary

TheSolidaridad2013AnnualReport 3

Photo:EljeeBergwerff

Foreword

reCogNiTioNThaTMaTTerS

onceagaintherehasbeendynamicgrowthinourbudgetandourstaffing.in2013theincomeofthenetworkorganisationincreasedto€33.8million(comparedtolastyear’s€26.9million).in2014thisgrowthisexpectedtoaccelerate,withabudgetofover€42million.Numbersofstaffgrewworldwidefrom176to276 full-timejobsintenregionalofficesonfivecontinents.

The rapid growth of the operations of Solidaridad Networkcanonlybeunderstoodagainstthebackgroundoftheshiftingparadigmfromaidtotradeinthepublicdomain.Moreover,inthe private domain future scarcity of resources and supplychain concerns of traders and brands have created a willing-nessinmanycompaniestoinvestingoodbusinesspractices.Theydothistoincreaseyields,toraisequalityandtoenhancesustainability among producers. Solidaridad is well able toaddressthesechallengesandrespondtotheseopportunities.

We are well positioned due the choice we made to becomea network organisation for international cooperation. Thischoice led to fundamental changes in governance andmanagement.Inthenewstructuregovernanceisprovidedbyfivecontinentalsupervisoryboardsandasingleinternationalsupervisory board composed of dedicated, experiencedmen and women. Management is provided by directors,who manage their own regional offices and are collectivelyresponsible for setting policy at the global level in the BoardofDirectors.

Regional and global programming are interlinked and care-fully balanced. Regional offices with local staff have clearmandates. After all, only empowered staff can serve theneeds of empowered partners. A local presence and strongcapacityforimplementingprogrammesarekeyassetsofSoli-daridad. Regional programmes are making strong contribu-tions to global programming that focuses on sector changein our chosen commodities. A new delivery mechanism isbeing tested. No longer top-down with instructions fromcentral management, but creating the discipline needed todeliver results by involving people who participate in globalpolicy setting. This feeling of ownership of global policiesand a shared understanding of the agreements made withglobal funders and partner companies create a commit-menttocontributetomakingthesepoliciesandagreementssuccessful.Andthisishappening.

In 2013 we saw also the emergence of a ‘claiming’ culture. Inrecent decades we witnessed the growth of a complianceculture.Certificationencouragedanattitudeinwhichpeoplesometimes pretended to comply with sustainability criteriasimply by following a checklist. For-profit firms created newbusiness in auditing. But we have learned that just achievinga sufficient score on a checklist does not lead to continualimprovement or encourage further innovation. A value-

based approach delivers much more than a control-basedapproach.

Andnowwearewitnessingtherapidgrowthofanotherbusi-ness: monitoring and evaluation. Not primarily for learningand innovation, but in order to claim results and impact.To guarantee continuous funding, positive results in inde-pendent, objective evaluations are decisive. In this annualreport we also report on such results. And with some pride.But let’s be cautious. Funders can claim too much. The realcontributions to success come from producers who areimproving their practices, workers who are organising them-selvesandminersstrugglingforlegalisation,aswellascoura-geous women who are breaking through cultural barriers.Theircontributionisbeyonddispute.

We sometimes see certification programmes claiming hugeresults. This is like judging a school system by controllingthe quality of diplomas and not that of the curriculum. Thetraining programmes offered by implementing organisationscontribute so much more than the auditors who registertheirresults.Weseeorganisationsthatplayavaluableroleinbringingthesectortogetherclaimingtheactualworkdonebyallofthepartners.

At Solidaridad we need to be critical and modest about ourown contribution. We claim very little. Those we do it for –thoseforwhomthechangewebringaboutmatters–theyarethe people who make the real difference. And, in the end, it’stheirrecognitionthatmatterstous.

NicoRoozen


reSulTSaNdiMpaCT

Photo:MatthijsNieuwenhuis


ConClusions from programme evaluations

in 2012-2013 solidaridad commissioned one internal and nine external evaluations of programmes and projects carried out in the period 2009-2012. these studies contain summary conclusions about support for smallholders, gender equity as well as sustainable market development.

support for smallholder produCers

Producer support mainly involves organising smallholdersin producer groups, providing training in good agriculturalpractices,marketing,genderequityandothertopics.Inmanycasessupportwasalsoprovidedforachievingcertification. Farmers note numerous benefits from being membersof producer groups. These include marketing their produceat a good price, better access to information and training,participating in a forum for exchange of ideas and buildingsocial capital. Producers become more professional, thereis improved trust and joint motivation because farmers aremore united as a group and share knowledge of good prac-tice. TheevaluationsconcludethatSolidaridad’strainingmodelforproducersworkswell,asmostofthetargetedfarmerswhoattended the training courses increased their level of knowl-edgeandarenowimplementingwhattheyhavelearned. Acriticalsuccessfactorwiththistrainingmodelisthemoti-vation of lead farmers to continue training other farmers.This calls for strategies to transform voluntary systems intosustainable business models. Another point of attention isthat continued support for young farmers in particular isnecessarytoensurefutureproductionlevels. The courses also resulted in safer working conditions,especiallyrelatedtothecorrectuseandapplicationofpesti-cides and use of protection measures (Personal ProtectiveEquipment(PPE),storagefacilities,disposal,etc.). Thepositionofsmallholdersvis-à-vischainplayerssuchasinput providers, traders, mills, crushers and large corpora-tionshasimprovedasaresultofourinterventions. Mostevaluationsshowedthattheinterventionsresultedinincreasedfarmerincomes(seeTablebelow).Higherincomesaretypicallydrivenbyhigheryields(production),lowercostsofproductionandhighermarketprices.

gender equity

Training has resulted in increased awareness of discrimi-nation, resulting in more women attending courses and,in some cases, in equal payment of female workers. In thesoy programme in India, land ownership issues preventedinvolving women in the project. NGO partners have regis-tered specific groups of women so that female producerscould qualify for RTRS certification as well. An evaluation ofthe cocoa programme in Ivory Coast showed that the focusof the programme on farmers registered with a producergroup tended to exclude women and young workers fromtheprogramme.Acoffee-sectorevaluation,withcasestudiesin Ethiopia and Kenya, shows that independent membershipof cooperatives by females, female land/tree ownership andmore female education can improve their bargaining posi-tion.

sustainable market development

The commitment of major international companies topurchase certified products from smallholders – notablycoffee and cocoa – gives them confidence about growingmarkets.Typicalweaknessesofcertificationprogrammesaretheir high costs, complex procedures, the perceived lack oftransparencyoftheauditingprocessandpremiumpayments,andalackofmarketuptakeofcertifiedproducts. Inpalmoil,soyandsugarcaneagrowingnumberofglobalcompaniesareinvolvedinsourcingfromsustainablesourcesandco-investinginproducersupportprogrammes.AsfortheGold programme, the evaluation concludes that, due to Soli-daridad’sprogramme,supplierstojewellersbecameactiveintheFairtradeandFairminedStandard(FT-FM)market.

a more comprehensive article including a list of impact studies is available on www.solidaridadnetwork.org

effects on farmer income and yield

Commodity/Countries period income increase yield increase due to

Tea,Kenya 2010-2012 23% (7.7%peryear) 11% (3.7%peryear) Improvedyields,lowerinputcosts,higherpricesandtheeffectoftheUTZpremium

Soy,India 2009-2012 139% (35%peryear) 54% (13.5%peryear) Improvedyields,lowerinputcosts,higherprices

Sugarcane,Belize 2010-2012 Notreported 67% (22%peryear) Improvedyields

PalmOil,Malaysia 2010-2012 Notreported 108% (36%peryear) Improvedyields

Cocoa,Ghana 2010-2012 110% (37%peryear) 20% (6.7%peryear) Improvedyields,higherprices

6 TheSolidaridad2013AnnualReport6 TheSolidaridad2013AnnualReport

Thepeople

Global results per commodity

45 meters

90 meters

X2,618,803

=1,073,280ha.

heCTareSuNderSuSTaiNableMaNageMeNTworldwide

ToTaloF1,073,280heCTare(eXCludeSgoldaNdaquaCulTure)

SolidaridadNeTwork

globalreSulTS

FarmersWORLDWIDESUPPORTED

571,769

MinersWORLDWIDESUPPORTED

5,420

workersWORLDWIDESUPPORTED

179,169

externalevaluationsin2013concludedthatthepositionofsmallholdershasimproved.interventionsresultedinincreasedfarmerincomes,higheryields,lowercosts,andhighermarketprices.

TheSolidaridad2013AnnualReport 7 TheSolidaridad2013AnnualReport 7

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GrowinG proGramme investments

actuals 2012 and 2013, budGet 2014


proCeSSaNdFuNdiNg

CoreaCTiviTy:SuSTaiNablevalueChaiNS

● Training

● Strengtheningorganisations

● Developingregionalfoodmarkets

● Reinforcingmarketpositions

●Directcontactwithsustainableproducersandbuyers

● Increasingthesupplyofsustainablerawmaterials

● Gettingsustainablerawmaterialsfromsourcetoconsumer

producers Traders

SuSTaiNablelaNduSe,beTTerliviNgaNdworkiNgCoNdiTioNS,FoodSeCuriTy,

dyNaMiCproduCerorgaNiSaTioNSFairaNdTraNSpareNTTrade

raiSiNgaNdMulTiplyiNgFuNdSForparTNerSaNdaCTiviTieS

whereourFuNdSCoMeFroM

63% goverNMeNTS

aNdMulTilaTeralorgaNiSaTioNS

19% privaTeFuNdS

aNdiNdividualdoNorS

18% Co-FuNdiNg

byCoMpaNieS

originoffunds1

supply chains are the key workinG area for solidaridad. to meet our Goals we orGanise interventions with all actors in 12 commodity chains.


● Dobusinessdirectlywithsustainableproducersandtraders

● Increasethesupplyofsustainablerawmaterials

● Communicateandmarketsustainability

● Raiseawarenessaboutsourcesandproductionmethodsofsustainableproducts

● Supportlabels

● Raiseawarenessaboutwhattobuy

Companies Consumers

CorporaTeSoCialreSpoNSibiliTy,biobaSedeCoNoMy awareCoNSuMpTioN

parTNerSMulTiplyourFuNdS weCoNTraCTparTNerSForiMpleMeNTaTioN

prograMMeaCTiviTieSwiThbeTTerreSulTSaNdiMpaCT

programmmeactivities

MaTChFuNdS

M

aTChFuNdS

MaTChFuNdS

M

aTChFuNdS

FuNder

Solidaridad

FuNder

Solidaridad

implementingpartner2 3 4


peopleSupporTed

77,290

27,579

6,000

Tea

CoFFee

COMMODITY

137,290

HECTARESSUSTAINABLYMANAGED

9,869

126,328

MARKETCOMPANYPARTNERSHIPS

67

10

FarMerS

FarMerSaNdworkerS

produCerFaMilieS

liveSToCk

150,000CoTToN

167,427 13FarMerS

119,703TeXTileS

20reTailerS

105 FaCTorieS

aFFeCTed#oFworkerS

91,270CoCoa

80,034 18FarMerSTraiNed

9,570palMoil

71,365 24

4

8

produCerSaNdworkerS

5,420gold

23MiNerSaNdworkerS

89,635Soy

388,419 7produCerS

120,859SugarCaNe

91,175produCerSaNdworkerS

10,431 1,373 25FarMerSaNdworkerS

FruiTaNdvegeTableS

10,431farmers and workers

SolidaridadNeTwork

results per commodity

peopleMakeadiFFereNCe

globalreSulTSSolidaridadNeTworkperCoMModiTy


howweworkTowardSSuSTaiNableiMpaCT

ThereSulTSChaiN

1Sectoranalysis

2intervention

3businessmodel

4Targetgroupperformance

5Sustainable

sectordevelopment

6Sustainableimpact

Assessmentofthetargetgroupsandissuesinthesector.

Weidentifiykeyconstraintsandkeyactorswhocanbe

involvedinchange.

ChangeisinitiatedbytheinterventionofSolidaridad

andpartners

Trigger reaction

Thesearecombinedforthetargetgroup

Changetakesplaceasaresultofadoptednewpracticese.g.:

–Increasingyields–Reducingpesticideuse

–Higherreturnsoninvestment

Basedoneconomically,sociallyandenvironmentally

sustainablepractices.Reducingbad

practices.

Ultimategoalsare:–Improvedlivelihoods–Futureperspectives

–Foodsecurity–Abetterenvironment–Aninclusiveeconomy

Train,sell,build

Buy,use,apply

woMeN’SeMpowerMeNT

STarTSwiThreCogNiTioNoFTheirpoTeNTial

If only I could buy some land

If only I had time to attend that meeting

I wish I could decide what to use our income for

I wish they would allow me to follow

that training


CoMModiTy

COFFEE

TEA

COCOA

FRUIT/VEGETABLES

COTTON

TEXTILES

GOLD

SOY

PALMOIL

SUGARCANE

LIVESTOCK

AqUACULTURE

OTHERPROJECTS

ToTal

abouTSolidaridad

huMaNreSourCeS

regioNaliNveSTMeNTSiNglobalCoMModiTyprograMMeS

--

3 32

54

19

17

30

14

7

8.5

89

NorthAmerica

CentralAmerica

TheNetherlands

WestAfrica EasternandCentralAfrica

SouthernAfrica

SouthAmerica

Andes

SouthandSouth-EastAsia

China

a GrowinG work force of solidaridad experts in ten reGional centres

per solidaridad expertise centre x 1,000 euro

ensuringqualityoflifeandahealthyplanetforallofusisnosmallfeat.That’swhyweneedtostepupourgameinsafeguardingfoodsecurity,acceptablelabourconditions,responsibleminingandasolidtransitiontoabio-basedeconomy.Solidaridadisgreatatfiguringouthowtodojustthatindifferentindustriesanddifferentgeographiclocations.exposingthecommongroundbetweensmallholderfarmers,businessandgovernmentiswhatwedobest.affectingchangethatmatters.Joinourcauseatwww.solidaridadnetwork.org

ToTal**

0 0 1,290 43 185 327 8 0 2,690 50 2,726

4 0 92 76 0 0 490 17 94 0 733

0 3,873 0 0 40 11 0 0 1,332 8 4,150

11 18 886 10 16 51 243 0 204 0 1,382

229 627 233 90 0 0 53 189 3,821 10 3,326

0 0 0 0 0 0 237 71 1,466 8 1,715

0 422 31 23 0 254 0 0 639 8 1,005

339 0 0 2,303 0 0 356 137 1,520 25 3,396

0 1,976 0 174 240 384 191 0 1,697 36 3,291

93 0 195 372 13 0 439 0 2,042 8 1,373

205 0 73 917 90 0 116 0 568 25 1,434

0 0 0 0 0 0 233 0 94 8 334

102 0 131 343 0 0 27 82 2,709 0 860

982 6,915 2,931 4,352 584 1,027 2,391 497 18,876 186 25,726

southern africa

west africa

eastern & central

africa south

america central america andes

south & south-east

asia china the

netherlands*

north

america

* Netherlandsinvestmentsinclude€12.3millionbudgettranferstootherSolidaridadexpertisecenters.** Thenettotalexcludes€12.3millionbudgettransfersbetweenSolidaridadexpertisecenters.


Photo:BetterCottonInitiative–TristanGaland

CoMModiTyprograMMeS


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CoFFee

FoCuSoNFoodSeCuriTyaNdCliMaTe

in2013Solidaridadlaunchedamajorfoodsecurityprogrammeineastafricawhichintegrateshorticulturewithcoffeeproduction.inlatinamericaaclimate-smartcoffeeproductionprogrammewaslaunchedtohelpfarmersadapttoclimatechange.increasedrainfalltherecausedaseriousoutbreakofcoffeerust,makingrenovationofplantationsurgent.

prograMMeSeTTiNg

Fair trade coffee has been on the market for a quarter of acentury. A new report by the Sustainable Commodity Initia-tive reveals that 40% of world coffee production is nowcompliant with one of the seven mayor standards (2012data). The seven standards in order of volume are: 4C, UTZ,CAFÉ practice (Starbucks), Fair Trade, Rainforest Alliance,TripleAAA(Nespresso)andOrganic.Between2008and2012annualgrowthof26%wasachieved. In the coffee sector there is consensus that sustainablecoffee needs more than certification. Research shows thatthe impact of certification is limited and not enough to liftfarmersoutofpoverty.Anumberofcompaniesarecurrentlyimplementing ‘Beyond Certification’ programmes. Solidari-dad’s Beyond Certification programme, which started twoyearsago,focusesonfoodsecurityandclimatechange.

reSulTS

In2013foodsecuritywasintegratedinthecoffeeprogrammesin East Africa and Central America. Income from productiondepends on harvest volumes and the world market price.Even a doubling of production levels – Solidaridad’s target –is often no guarantee of sufficient income for smallholders.Dependingonthelocalsituation,farmerscanchoosetogrowadditional crops, which generate both food for their familiesand income through selling surpluses. Most opt for horticul-tureandhoneyisalsopopular. In Latin America adapting to climate change is the mainfocus of a programme funded by Norad, which integratesproducing coffee for export with food security initiatives.Coffee farmers often lack sufficient food for their family – asituation which is exacerbated by lower productivity dueto climate change. This programme helps farmers adapt toclimatechangeandreducesGHGemissions,whileidentifyingnew options for farmers, such as long-term credits for reno-vationofcoffeeplantations. Work on developing a farmer support methodology thatis widely accepted and integrates sustainable coffee produc-tionbasedonfarmers’prioritieswiththerequirementsofthemainstandardshasstartedinVietnamandPeru.Thisisdonethrough the Sustainable Commodity Assistance Network(SCAN), which is a platform with members from standards,research,developmentandUNorganisations. Programmes designed to involve young people continuedin Peru and started in Kenya. In Peru students at high schoolare taught good coffee practices to motivate them to

continueworkingonfamilyfarms.InKenya,youngpeoplearegiven the opportunity to lease land from poorly maintainedcoffee farms and trained in Good Agricultural Practices aswellashowtoofferneighbouringfarmersspecialisedservicessuchassprayingandpruning.

iMpaCT

In 2013 an impact study commissioned by Solidaridad andpublished by CIDIN confirmed earlier conclusions thatinterventions are needed that move beyond certification.The study compared the benefits of UTZ-certified farmerswith FLO-certified farmers over five years. CIDIN foundthat farmers who have received training, joined coopera-tives and diversified by growing for local markets improvedyields, quality and livelihoods. East African coffee farmersreceivedonlymarginallymoreincomeasaresultofcertifica-tion. Although certification is not enough to lift them out ofpoverty,itisausefultoolthatcandrivesustainability.Solidar-idad will continue to focus on sustainable coffee farms withfinancialsupportfromIrishAidthroughIFTN.

MarkeTparTNerShipS

Cooperation has been established with the largest coffeeroaster of the world: Nestlé – the main partner in the foodsecurity programme in East Africa, in which nine other part-nersparticipate.Theseincludeexporters,aresearchinstituteandproducerorganisations.

ChalleNgeSahead

The main problem the coffee sector is facing is how to makecoffeefarmingattractiveforthenextgeneration.Addressingfoodsecurityandclimatechangearepartofthat.Intheyearsahead,Solidaridadintendstostimulatedebateatthenationallevelaboutatransitiontofewer,youngerfarmerswithlargerfarms in order to support revenues and employment in thesector.

MarketpartnersNestlé,ECOM,Armajaro,Volcafé,LouisDreyfus,NeumannKaffeeGruppe,CafédelMar,Bewleys,SustainableHarvestdonorsIrishAid,RVO,NORAD,EUNicaragua,ACDI-VOCA,DutchEmbassyinColombia,theregionalgovernmentofAntioquia,FNC,theBillandMelindaGatesFoundationthroughDEG,SECO,ArgidiusandCordaid


-

JanekimothopracticeslandconservationmethodsastaughtbytheSustainableManagementServicesgroup.Shehas650treesproducing3,000kgofcoffeeandanannualincomeof€1,400.Sheisawidowwithonedaughterincollegeandaseconddaughterinprimaryschool.

Totalnumberoffarmerssupported

Totalvolumeofcertifiedcoffee(metrictonnes)

TotalnumberofcompaniesengagedwithSolidaridad

budgetsandactualfiguresforcoffee

actual2013€2,726,000

realised201377,290farmers

realised2013131,816 mt

realised201367 companies

Budget2013€3,338,000

Actual2012€2,269,000

Canada,Colombia,Ethiopia,Guatemala,Honduras,Ireland,Kenya,Mexico,theNetherlands,Nicaragua,Peru,Switzerland,Tanzania,Uganda,UnitedStatesofAmerica,Vietnam

Planned201355,220 farmers

Planned2013120,661 mt

Planned201363 companies

Budget2014€ 2,479,000




Photo:H.P.AltingvonGeusau

Solidaridad’scoffeenetwork


-

Tea

MaiNSTreaMiNgSuSTaiNabiliTy

in2013SolidaridadfocusedonmainstreamingsustainabilityintheteasectorbyimplementingtheTehlestariandTrusteacodesinindonesiaandindia.inChina,kenya,Srilanka,indonesia,Malawiandargentina,over12,000smallholdersweresupportedwithaccesstoinputsandadoptingcertifiedsustainablepractices.

prograMMeSeTTiNg

Smallholders – now the main global tea producers – arecritical suppliers to tea packers. However, lack of access totechnical know-how and inputs and declining yields, coupledwith low global tea prices, often result in poor quality tea,inadequate returns, poor working conditions and low wagesforlabourers.Bybuildingsupplychainpartnershipsinvolvingproducers, traders, brands, retailers and governments, Soli-daridad is supporting technology transfer, organisationaldevelopmentandmakingsurethatsmallholdersgetaccesstoservicesandinputs.

reSulTS

Solidaridad is partnering with a range of companies to helpthem source sustainably from smallholders in East andSouthern Africa, South America, China, India, Sri Lanka,Vietnam and Indonesia. Solidaridad helped develop the draftTrustea code, audit protocol and implementation guides,and hosted farm support centres in the field. Four large tea-producing groups will soon be verified under the Trusteadraft code, thus sustainably transforming 4.5 million kilos ofteaproduction. In Sri Lanka, support was provided to 2640 workers and187 smallholders were trained in internal control systems tofacilitate Utz certification. In Indonesia, together with Busi-nessWatch,Solidaridadcontinueditssupportfor12,000teasmallholders under the Teh Lestari sustainability standard. InKenya, Solidaridad supported 7200 smallholders attached tofiveKenyanTeaDevelopmentAuthority(KTDA)teafactorieswithclimatechangeadaptationandmitigation. In Malawi, 500 lead farmers were trained in Good Agricul-tural Practices (GAP). Solidaridad partnered with the EastAfrica Tea Trade Association (EATTA) and developed a teaproduction curriculum and training materials, which wereused for capacity building. Sixteen master trainers wereequippedwiththeknowledge,skillsandtoolsneededtotrainotherfieldstaff,farmersandproductionstaff. InArgentina,1750hectareswerebroughtundersustainablemanagementpracticesand4200tonnesofteawerecertified.Around90%ofthesmall-scaleteafarmerswhohaveadoptedsustainable practices also produce Yerba Mate; so the nextstep is to scale up to Yerba Mate, an infusion that is widelyconsumedinArgentina,Paraguay,BrazilandUruguay.

iMpaCT

The Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH) commissioned a studyby Aidenvironment in April 2013 to describe and analyze theLestari Tea Standard. The standard’s establishment, its func-tioning and the business case it presents to smallholders,were all considered. The study revealed that the introduc-tion of the Lestari certification scheme has had a significantimpact on tea smallholders. It has positively affected theirlivelihoods and strengthened relationships within the supplychain.Forfurtherupscalingofthestandard,threemainchal-lengeshavebeenidentified:(1)createdemand,(2)buildtech-nical and organisational capacity and (3) finance the neces-saryinvestmentsatthefarmlevel.TogetherwithUtzCertifiedandLEI(WUR),along-termimpactstudywasstartedinKenyaand Malawi in 2010. This showed that average sustainabilityscoreshaveincreased,alongwithsignificantimprovementsinhealth,safetyandenvironment.TheselessonswereanalysedandarenowbeingintegratedinSolidaridad’steaprogramme.

parTNerShipS

The Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH), Hindustan UnileverLimited and Tata Global Beverages are funding the TrusteaprogrammeinIndia,andIDHisalsoinvolvedinEastAfrica.DEFoundation is the funding partner in Sri Lanka. Implementa-tion partners are Business Watch Indonesia and Sariwangi inIndonesia,theCentreforSocialDevelopmentandEthicalTeaPartnershipinSriLanka,andKTDAandEATTAinEastAfrica.

ChalleNgeSahead

The Kenyan Tea Development Authority (KTDA) modelhas long been seen as the only successful way to addresssmallholders’ sustainability issues. It has worked very well inKenya but is difficult to replicate in Asia, where smallholdersprimarily cater to domestic markets. There’s a need for localownership of sustainability standards, as has been shownwith the fast uptake of the Lestari standard in Indonesia andthe potentially massive impact of the Indian and Chinese teastandards. Finally, it’s crucial for Solidaridad to engage in teatrade policies and connect the sustainability discourse withdemand,supply,qualityandpriceissuesatthegloballevel.


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inSrilanka,supportwasprovidedto2,640workersonteaplantationsincludingmedicalcare,children’seducationandmorenutritiousfoodforworkersandtheirfamilies.

Totalnumberoffarmersandworkerssupported

Totalnumberofhectaresundersustainablemanagement


budgetsandactualfiguresfortea

actual2013€733,000

realised201327,579farmers/workers

realised20139,869 ha


Budget2013€595,000

Actual2012€592,000

Argentina,China,Kenya,India,Indonesia,Malawi,SriLanka

Planned201314,165 farmers/workers

Planned201310,077 ha


Budget2014€ 1,608,000




Photo:StijnvanGeel

Solidaridad’steanetwork


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CoCoa

urgeNTNeedToreSTruCTureTheSeCTor

Thecocoaprogrammefocusesontrainingfarmersandbuildingthecapacityofprivatesectorpartnersandgovernmentagencies.Thenextstepistorespondtogrowingdemandandcompetitionforscarcelandandotherresources.Newprogrammesdesignedtointensifycocoaproductionareneededtosecurethefutureofcocoafarmingworldwide.

prograMMeSeTTiNg

Almost all traders and brands have adopted the 2020 goal ofincreasing cocoa supply by 1,000,000 MT to meet growth indemand. Producing country governments are strengtheningtheirgriponthecocoasectorandthereisincreasingcompe-titionwithothercrops,suchasoilpalmandrubber.Thesevenlargest traders and brands – organized in the SustainableCocoa Leadership – took the initiative to draw up a masterplan for cocoa sustainability. It is broadly understood thatcocoa certification is only a limited solution to the problemsthesectorisfacing.

reSulTS

In 2013 there was training in good agricultural, social andenvironmental practices in Ghana, Ivory Coast and Nigeria,reachingover91,000farmers,78,500ofwhomadoptedthesepractices. Almost 81,000 hectares of land are now farmedsustainably. In Ivory Coast a toolbox is being developed to reach 75%of unorganised farmers, in collaboration with three buyingcentres.Andanewprogrammewasstartedtodelivertraining,planting material and fertilisers, together with Mars andCargill.Inover100workshops,staffofgovernmentextensionservices, cooperatives and private sector partners in Ghana,Ivory Coast and Nigeria were trained in sustainable produc-tion.Twenty-threecivilsocietyorganisationsand450trainersarenowinvolved.Solidaridadplaysanincreasinglyimportantrole in developing national sustainability strategies on cocoasustainability,workingwithover26governmentagencies. Thecocoaprogrammeisimplementinganewstrategywithaclearerfocusoneconomicbenefits.InGhanaaconsortiumof government partners, key private sector partners andknowledge institutes was formed to develop new modelsfor cocoa intensification and rehabilitation. The consortiumobtained €7 million of funding from the Dutch Embassy inAccra for the next four years. To diversify the income ofproducers – and impact food security – 1,250 lead farmerswere trained in plantain sucker multiplication and nurserydevelopment.

iMpaCT

KPMG evaluated the cocoa programme in the period 2008-2012.Interventionswereconsideredtobesuccessfulandtheprogrammehasmadethecaseforsustainablecocoaproduc-tion, leading to change in the sector. It engaged with private-sector partners, who account for 40% of global cocoa trade

andtriggeredco-investmentofover€5.8million.AreportbyCOSAwasalsopositiveabouttheimpactsoftheprogramme.In 2013 an impact assessment of programmes in Ghana andIvory Coast was started with Wageningen University. Themainconclusionofallthesestudieswasthattheprogrammehashelpedfarmersprofessionalise,oftenresultinginproduc-tivity increases of around 40%. However, a number of socialandenvironmentalissuesstillneedtobeaddressed.

parTNerShipS

Existing partnerships were strengthened and new onescreated.BaselineresearchwithCargillshouldprovideinsightsinto the impact of programmes as well as input for strategydevelopment.WithMarsanagreementwassignedfordevel-oping tools to reach unorganised farmers. ‘For the love ofchocolate’, a multimedia exhibition with photographer Kadirvan Lohuizen was launched in Amsterdam’s National Mari-timeMuseumandisnowtravellingtootherlocations.

ChalleNgeSahead

The main producing countries will become middle incomecountriesinthenearfuture.Competitionfromothercropsisbecomingfierceandyoungpeoplearenotinterestedintakingover low-yielding farms. New business models and financingfor service delivery are needed, as well as new productionmodelssuchaslargerfarmsandout-growersystems.

MarketpartnersMars,Cargill,Touton,Ecom,InternationalCocoaOrganization(ICCO)donorsTheDutchEmbassyinGhana,TheSustainableTradeInitiative(IDH),WorldCocoaFoundation


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ThelastofthecocoabeingremovedfromacontainerattheCargillfacilityintheportofamsterdam,wherecocoaisstoredonarrivalfromwestafrica.TogetherwithCargillandMars,SolidaridadsetupanewfarmersupportprogrammeinCôted’ivoire,whichmakestraining,plantingmaterialandfertilisersavailabletofarmers.

Totalnumberoffarmerstrained



budgetsandactualfiguresforcocoa

actual2013€4,150,000




Budget2013€3,654,000

Actual2012€3,625,000

Brazil,France,Germany,Ghana,IvoryCoast,theNetherlands,Nigeria,Switzerland,UnitedKingdom




Budget2014€1,981,000




Photo:KadirvanLohuizen

Solidaridad’scocoanetwork


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FruiT&vegeTableS

FreShproduCeForloCalMarkeTSaNdeXporT

TherenewedFruit&vegetables(F&v)programmeistakingshape.Collaborationwithretailersandbusinessplatformsisgainingmomentum,whilecompaniesareincreasinglywillingtoinvestinsustainability.inseveralSolidaridadregionalexpertisecentresinitiativeshavebeendevelopedthatfocusonexportaswellasnationalmarkets.

prograMMeSeTTiNg

Traders, retailers and NGOs signed a covenant for sustain-able F&V to develop projects that will improve sustainabilityin developing countries. The World Banana Forum (WBF),a multi-stakeholder platform, is now linked to this covenant.In the juice sector cooperation with the European sectororganisationAIJNwasestablishedaswellaswiththebusinessplatform SAI. Food security and nutritional value are beingaddressedbyimprovingtherobustnessoflocalfoodproduc-tionanddistributionsystems.Asthesustainabilitychallengesdiffer significantly per product and region, a one-size-fits-allapproach will not work. Solidaridad is developing a tailoredregionalapproach.

reSulTS

Solidaridad has conducted sustainability analyses for Fries-landCampinaRiedelonorangesinBrazil,SouthAfrica,Mexicoand Belize, mangos in India and Peru, as well as bananas andpassion fruit in Ecuador. A study of the sustainability land-scape related to the sector found that producers vary fromsmall-scalesubsistencefarmers(mangoinIndia,passionfruitin Ecuador) to large-scale professional farms (South Africaand Brazil). Major issues are labour rights, low productivity,lack of knowledge, lack of access to inputs, pollution, waterstress,erosionandlossofbiodiversity. Solidaridad worked with WBF on developing a web-basedplatform – hosted by Bioversity on the Promusa website –for sharing best practices throughout the banana sector anda proposal for co-funding this initiative was approved. Soli-daridad also played a leading role in building a coalition withleading banana companies and retailers in the UK, the Neth-erlands and Germany to develop a proposal for improvinghealthandsafetyinthebananasector. Solidaridad is developing a portfolio of food security-related projects in Bangladesh, Kenya, Ethiopia, South Africa,Mozambique and Ghana. Income from export crops canallow farmers to improve crops for domestic consumption.The food security programme in Kenya and Ethiopia – withcontributionsfromNestlé,Ecomandothercompanies–isanexampleofthisapproach,targeting120,000farmers.

iMpaCT

In Peru, Solidaridad broadened its scope to build a sector-wide initiative in cooperation with farmers, governments,fruittradersandNGOs.Thisplatformidentifiessustainabilityissues related to water and pests and provides lasting solu-

tionstourgentproblems.InthehorticulturalsectorinKenya,training materials were developed and more than 10,000farmers were trained in Good Agricultural Practices, groupdynamics, financial management and enterprise develop-ment. New local markets were developed, including UchumiSupermarketandTruFoodsLtd,aswellaslinkstolocalagents.In South Africa, farmers were trained to produce greenmango achar in partnership with Selbourne Food Manufac-turers, standards organisation SIZA and Woolworth. Theseexamplesshowthattheactiveinvolvementofchainpartnersis a key success factor. This is why Solidaridad is focusing onpartnership development throughout the chain in the fruit,bananaandvegetablesectors.Creatingthesepartnershipsiscrucialtosectortransformation.

MarkeTparTNerShipS

FrieslandCampinaRiedel(FCR)isthemainpartnerinthefruitjuicesector.ByworkingtogetherwithFCR,Solidaridadbroad-ened the collaboration to the European juice business asso-ciationAIJNandtheSAInetwork.Theseorganisationsrepre-sent companies that are working towards significant changein the sector. Solidaridad sits on the executive committeeof the WBF and works with leading banana companies suchas Chiquita, Dole and Fyffes and retailers such as Tesco andAhold. Solidaridad is working with them on a project toimprovehealthandsafetyinandaroundbananafarms.

ChalleNgeSahead

In order to strengthen F&V production systems, Solidaridadmobilises technical knowledge and access to high-qualityinputs. The bargaining position of banana companies in rela-tion to retailers has deteriorated in recent decades. Solidar-idad therefore encourages retailers to commit to sustain-ability. Fruit producers often produce mainly for the freshmarket,withleftoversbeingsoldtothejuiceindustry.SoSoli-daridad aims to align initiatives in the fruit juice sector withthoseinthefreshfruitsector.

MarketpartnersFrieslandCampinaRiedel,WBF,AIJN,SAI,UchumisupermarketsdonorsNetherlandsEnterpriseAgency,DutchembassiesinKenya,BangladeshandColombia,OIKOS,FoundationforHumanRights.


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inperu,Solidaridadbroadeneditsscopetobuildasector-wideinitiativeincooperationwithfarmers,governments,fruittradersandNgos.

Totalnumberoffarmersandworkerssupported(includedhorticultureandfoodsecurity)



budgetsandactualfiguresforfruit&vegetables

actual2013€1,382,000

realised201310,431farmers/workers



Budget2013€2,127,000

Actual2012€1,107,000

Bangladesh,Belize,Brazil,Colombia,Ecuador,Ethiopia,Ghana,Germany,India,Kenya,Mexico,Mozambique,theNetherlands,Peru,SouthAfrica,UnitedStatesofAmerica,UnitedKingdom


Planned2013217 ha


Budget2014€ 3,686,000




Photo:GrupoHualtaco

Solidaridad’sfruit&vegetablesnetwork


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CoTToN

eNgagiNgallaCTorSiNTheSupplyChaiN

Solidaridad’scottonprogrammeisenteringacrucialphase.goodresultshavealreadybeenachievedandthereisgrowinginterestamongbrandsandretailers,aswellaswillingnesstoco-investinfarmsupport.however,thecommitmentoflargefrontrunnerstosourcesustainablecottonmakesup-scalingsupplyacriticalchallenge.

prograMMeSeTTiNg

Sustainablecottonisonitswaytobecomingthenorm,hope-fully in the next decade. The four main initiatives – organic,FairTrade,CottonmadeinAfricaandtheBetterCottonInitia-tive(BCI)–nowhaveatotalcapacityofover5%andvolumesare growing fast. On the demand side, the main players havepublished their commitments. The frontrunners have prom-ised 100% sustainable cotton sourcing within the next fewyears. There are strong signals from game changers suchas IKEA and H&M. Yet the response of actors in the supplychain to such signals remains an issue. In order to keep themomentumgoing,thisgapneedstobeclosed.

reSulTS

Solidaridad has a long track record of supporting farmers inimproving their social, economic and environmental perfor-mance. Such improvements are badly needed, as cotton isstill grown under unacceptable conditions, leading to devas-tatingsituations:damagetohealthduetopesticideuse,poorlabour conditions, water scarcity, and poverty due to lowyields and incomes. The programme is multi-standard, whileacknowledging growing demand for Better Cotton. Solidar-idadisoneofthemainpartnersintheBCI,withprogrammesin India, China, Brazil and sub-Saharan Africa. In 2013 the BCIprogramme was expanded to Kenya, Senegal and Mozam-bique. Solidaridad is also actively involved in shaping andmaintaining the BCI as a credible multi-stakeholder initiative,withaseatonthecouncil. In 2013 the cotton programme grew significantly, reachingoutto150,000farmersin10countriesanditisnowlinkedtothesupplychainof12majorbrandsandretailers.Keyperfor-mance indicators include the self-reliance of local partners.Under Solidaridad’s mentorship, such partners becomefinancial and organisationally independent and can thuscontinue to grow sustainable cotton on their own. Anotherstrategyistofocusnotonlyoncotton,butalsoonimprovingbasic farming practices, such as intercropping and rotationcropping. In Southern Africa a programme making the linkbetweencottonandfoodsecurityisbeingdesigned.

iMpaCT

The most important indicators of success are achievementsat the farm level. Within BCI, farmer data are collected andanalyzed and BCI smallholders in India, Mali, China and Brazilare performing better in terms of increasing yields, reducingwater and pesticide use, and profitability – compared to a

group of control farmers. In addition to quantitative data,farmer stories are collected in order to capture qualitativeinformation. Stories from Solidaridad’s programme in Mali,in partnership with APROCA and CMDT, are a good exampleof this. Women farmers explain how training in literacy, lead-ership and communication has changed their lives. Based onthesestories,thisprojectwontheBCIprizein2013.TheBetterCotton Fast Track Programme (BCFTP) finalised an externalimpact study in 2013. Their assessment of the impact at fieldlevel was very positive. Solidaridad has been advocating anintegrated approach for years: gaining more insight into thesourcingstrategyofbrandsandretailers,collaboratingmorewithsuppliersandestablishinglinkages.

parTNerShipS

Partnership with brands and retailers is crucial to theprogramme. These organisations are best placed to drivefurtherchangeintheindustry.In2013,Solidaridadpartneredwith 12 brands and retailers, indirectly through the BCFTP aswell as directly, for example with Bestseller, Decathlon andTommyHilfiger.Thiscollaborationincludesfinancialsupport.

ChalleNgeSahead

Current projects have clearly contributed to impact at thefarm level, but their scope is a challenge when it comes totransforming the entire sector (around 50 million farmerscurrently cultivate cotton). This is why it is important to findsolutions that are scalable, to focus on self-reliance, cost-efficient replicable farm support systems, and embeddingstrategies in local and national policy. The other challenge istolinksupplyanddemand.

donorsBCFTF, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Farmer SupportProgramme), GSRD Foundation, CFC, Rabobank Foundation,LibertyFoundation,DeNederlandscheBank(DNB)brandsandretailersBestseller,Decathlon,TommyHilfiger,VFCorporation(NorthFaceandotherbrands)andpartnersintheBCFTPinitiativesBetter Cotton Initiative, Textile Exchange, Better Cotton FastTrackProgramme


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workers’quartersinguoxin,China.Solidaridadimprovesworkers’accommodationbyprovidingelectricityandwarmshowers.

Totalnumberoffarmerssupported


Totalnumberofcompaniesengagedinsupplychainprogrammes

budgetsandactualfiguresforcotton

actual2013€3,326,000




Budget2013€ 2,195,000

Actual2012€2,391,000

Brazil,China,India,Kenya,Mali,Mozambique,theNetherlands,Scandinavia,Senegal,Tanzania,Uganda,UnitedKingdom,Zambia




Budget2014€1,239,000




Photo:JosKuklewski

Solidaridad’scottonnetwork


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TeXTileS

TheMoveTowardSreSpoNSibleFaShioN

Thetragicaccidentsinbangladeshin2013broughthomethechallengesinthetextilesupplychain.Solidaridad’stextileprogrammeoffersaneffectivestrategythatcanaddresssocialandenvironmentalproblemsbyworkingwithfactoryandmillownersinbangladesh,indiaandChina.

prograMMeSeTTiNg

Fashionislifestyle;ithelpspeopleexpresstheiridentity.Italsocreatesmillionsofjobsindevelopingcountries.Thedemandforapparelcontinuestogrow,becauseofpopulationgrowthandincreasingconsumption.However,therealcostsofover-consumptionarepaidbythosewhomakeourclothesandbytheenvironment.Unacceptablepracticesarestillprevalentinthis industry, as we’ve seen in Bangladesh and more recentlyin Cambodia. Many people and organisations demand mean-ingfulchange.

reSulTS

Solidaridad concentrates its textile efforts in Bangladesh,China and India, the top three in global apparel production.These include training, technical support, capacity buildingand skills development in textile mills and factories, with afocusonsocialandenvironmentalaspects.InBangladeshthewet processing programme Partnership for Cleaner Textilesis in its first year of operation, while a new programme inChina (the Better Mill Initiative, BMI) was launched in 2013.Bothprogrammeshaveanimpactonhundredsofmills,whichare linked to the supply chains of major brands and retailers,such as H&M, C&A, Inditex and Primark. Another priority isimproving labour conditions in sewing factories. SolidaridadisimplementingafireandbuildingsafetyprogrammeinBang-ladesh,togetherwithBestsellersuppliers. Solidaridad also plays an active role in the SustainableApparel Coalition, which brings together key stakeholdersin the sector (over 400 members and >40% coverage of theapparelmarket).Ratherthancreatingacertificationstandard,it aims to measure and communicate the impact of apparel.The tool used is the Higg Index, which enables customers tocompare products and brands. As a result, sustainability isbecoming a competitive parameter, alongside quality andprice.

iMpaCT

The global textile team is working on a comprehensivemanagement system, which makes it possible to compareprogress with targets in the multi-annual strategy. A partnerfactory has, for example, reported a reduction in waterconsumption from 120 to 60 litres per kilogramme of fabric.ThefacilitymoduleintheHiggIndexwillallowbenchmarking,whilealsoprovidinginsightintosocialandlabouraspects. Programmes on wet processing not only cover the condi-tionsinmills(water,energy,chemicals,etc.),butalsomonitor

brands and retailers. This is at the heart of Solidaridad’sstrategy: creating impact in the supply chain through collab-oration with companies. The monitoring system will capturechangesinawareness,commitmentandactions.

MarkeTparTNerShipS

Twenty brands and retailers such as H&M co-invest in textileprogrammes and are closely involved in their design andimplementation. With some brands there is also collabor-ation on cotton projects in a move towards more strategicpartnerships.

keyChalleNgeS

Improving sustainability in the textile supply chain is longoverdue. The programmes we have today are effective andwill reach reasonable scale in the years ahead. The real chal-lenge, however, is to transform the whole sector – togetherwith all those involved: mill owners, factory owners andretailers.

donorsASNBank,InternationalFinanceCorporation(IFC),theDutchEmbassyinDhaka,DutchMinistryofForeignAffairs(FarmerSupportProgramme)brands&retailersH&M,Bestseller,C&A,Inditex,Kapphal,Lindex,G-Star,Primark,Tesco,ICA,NewLook,Carrefour,WEFashion,Walmart,s.Oliver,Mothercare,LeviStrauss&Co,Falcon,ChasinandTedBakerinitiativesMADE-BY,SAC,BusinessSocialComplianceInitiative(BSCI)


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inbangladeshthewetprocessingprogramme‘partnershipforCleanerTextiles’,whichisinitsfirstyearofoperation,isamongotherthings,helpingtosavewater.

improvementprojectsaffect(numberof)workers

Totalnumberoffactoriessupported

Totalnumberofbrands/retailersengagedinasupplychainprogramme

budgetsandactualfiguresfortextiles

actual2013€1,715,000

realised2013119,703workers

realised2013105 factories

realised201320 brands/retailers

Budget2013€ 294,000

Actual2012€477,000

Bangladesh,China,India,theNetherlands,Scandinavia,UnitedKingdom

Planned2013150,000 workers

Planned2013200 factories

Planned201315 brands/retailers

Budget2014€ 1,954,000


Planned2014268 factories

Planned201420 brands/retailers

Photo:MariekeWeerdesteijn

Solidaridad’stextilesnetwork


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gold

reaChiNgouTToNewMiNerS

duetomajorchangesinthecertificationstandardforsmall-scalemining,uptakeofresponsiblegoldstalledtemporarilyin2013.however,withrisingdemandandsuccesseswithminingcommunitiesinperuandghana,Solidaridadsecuredfundingforexpandingtoeightnewsmall-scalegoldminingcommunitiesinthosecountries,andbegananewprojectinargentina.

prograMMeSeTTiNg

Early in 2013, the Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM) andFairtrade International (FLO) ended their partnership tojointlycertifyartisanalandsmall-scalemines.Asaresult,theyindependentlyissuednewstandardsattheendoftheyear. Solidaridad contributed to updates for all three stand-ards available for third-party certification of gold mining– Fairmined, Fairtrade and Responsible Jewellery Council.Stronger criteria and more flexibility for buyers are expectedtoincreasedemand. As gold certification systems multiply and evolve, Solidari-dad’sworkatmineswillbelargelyunaffected.ThisisbecauseSolidaridad’s objective is to enable miners to improve theirpractices and livelihoods. Certification can be a useful tool;however it is not the final goal. Miners still need trainingto legalise and to improve their environmental and socialpractices to achieve certification. They also need access tomarketsatfairprices.

reSulTS

In 2013 Solidaridad expanded its work through four newprojects.InPeru,wereceivedafour-yeargrantfromtheEuro-pean Union to enable new artisanal and small-scale mining(ASM) communities to achieve certification, while workingwithlocalgovernmentstosupportaresponsibleASMsector.Also in Peru, Solidaridad received funding to extend its workintheMadredeDiosregionoftheAmazonbasinfortwomoreyears. A new grant will enable Solidaridad to add two newindustrial mines to its pilot project for Responsible JewelleryCouncil certification. The mines that join will also commit tosupporting nearby small-scale miners towards better prac-tices. Finally, in the Jujuy region of northern Argentina, Soli-daridad will support the ASM miners of EcoAndina, who useno toxic chemicals, to achieve eco-premium certification.Work in Colombia is on hold pending further review due tothe increased involvement of illegal armed groups in goldmining. To raise awareness of the harsh conditions in the miningsector, Solidaridad and the European Youth Olympic gamesjoined forces to award the first-ever ‘good gold’ medalsduringthecompetitionin2013.Themedalscontainedadropof pure Fairtrade gold from certified miners in Solidaridad’sprogramme in Peru. Three-time Olympic gold medal winnerPietervandenHoogenband,aDutchswimmer,presentedthemedals. He served as Solidaridad’s ambassador to advocatefor all future Olympic gold medals to be made from certi-

fied gold mined under the best conditions. These medalswould then represent the highest standards for the ultimateachievementinsport.

iMpaCT

In 2013 Solidaridad commissioned an independent evalua-tion of the design and pilot phases (2009-2013) of its GoldProgramme. During this time, the programme’s primaryfunding partner was the Adessium Foundation. The resultswere positive, confirming the value of Solidaridad’s strategyofworkingacrossthesupplychainfromminestoretail.Localpartners in the Global South and standards bodies, such asFairtradeInternationalandtheResponsibleJewelleryCouncil,clearly appreciate this approach. However, there is a need tomoreclearlycommunicateSolidaridad’sstrategy,targetsandimpacts as new initiatives are taken up in the sector. A newwebsitewillbelaunchedin2014topresenttheprogrammeinmoredepthandtoexplainitsimpacttodate.

MarkeTparTNerShipS

In 2013 Solidaridad worked behind the scenes with majorbuyers of gold in European markets. Leading internationaljewellery brands are planning to cooperate with Solidaridadand will announce new commitments in 2014. These includesourcingtargetsfromcertifiedminesintheGoldProgrammeas well as investments in better practices in mining commu-nities. In addition, Solidaridad continued partnerships withDutch jewellery designer Bibi van der Velden and SteltmanJewellers.

ChalleNgeSahead

So far, certified gold from ASM mines amounts to only400 kilograms annually and the mining companies that aremembersofRJCrepresent3percentofglobalannualproduc-tion of gold. Given rising demand for responsible gold, Soli-daridadwillworkwithbuyerstoencouragemineownersandrefinerstocommittocleaner,transparentpractices.

MarketpartnersSteltmanJewellers,BibivanderVeldendonorsEuropeanUnion,DutchNationalPostcodeLottery,HumanityUnited,AdessiumFoundation,ComicRelief


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Jamesblamefull,aged41,Malibumine,ghana:‘asaresultofattendingtrainingcoursesinowhaveanewjob.i’mresponsibleforensuringthateveryoneinandaroundourmineobservessafetyrulessuchaswearingprotectiveclothing.i’mproudtobeabletodosomethingtomakeourworksafer.’

Totalnumberofminersandworkerssupported

Totalvolumeproduced(kg)

refinersandjewellerybrandsengagedbudgetsandactualfiguresforgold

actual2013€1,005,000

realised20135,420miners/workers

realised20131,286 kg

realised201323

Budget2013€ 682,000

Actual2012€332,000

Argentina,Bolivia,Colombia,Peru,Ghana,Kenya,theNetherlands,Tanzania,Uganda

Planned20135,782 miners/workers

Planned2013875 kg

Planned201320

Budget2014€ 932,000

Planned20145,347 miners/workers

Planned20141,700 kg

Planned201425

Photo:AnnemariekevandenBroek

Solidaridad’sgoldnetwork


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Soy

poSiTiveiMpaCTSoFreSpoNSibleSoy

responsiblesoyproductionisdeliveringpositiveeconomic,socialandenvironmentalimpactsworldwide.inindia,anindependentevaluationreporteda54%increaseinproductivityandsubstantialsocialandenvironmentalbenefitsafterjustthreeyears.SolidaridadencouragescompaniestogetrTrScertification,butalsofocusesonworkingwithproducers,basedontheir interests.

prograMMeSeTTiNg

The soy market is rapidly becoming a sellers markets: therole of premium markets, such as the EU, with its additionalsustainability requirements, is decreasing. Demand for RTRSsoy is weak and not keeping up with the increased volume ofcertified production. Nevertheless, Solidaridad emphasisestheaddedvalueofresponsibleproductionforfarmers.

reSulTS

In South America – as manager of the IDH Soy Fast TrackFund – Solidaridad achieved huge increases in RTRS certi-fied volume (270,000 tonnes produced by newly certifiedfarmers). And 1.9 million tonnes are almost ready for certifi-cation. The disappointing level of demand for RTRS soy is amajor challenge. In Bolivia Solidaridad organised the processof national RTRS interpretation, bringing together the mostimportantstakeholdersintheBoliviansoychain. An important milestone was reached in China, the largestimporter and user of soy globally. Sinograin, a large Chinesecompany – through cooperation with Solidaridad – got25,000 hectares of soy under RTRS certification (to beformalizedin2014).And,incooperationwithSinograin,2,500Chinese soy smallholders are being trained in good prac-tices.SolidaridadChinaplayedacrucialroleinorganisingthesuccessful RT8 in Beijing in 2013, bringing together Chinesestakeholders with companies, producers and civil societyorganisationsfromothersoyproducingandbuyingcountries.InIndia75,000farmersarenowparticipatinginimprovementprogrammes. The lessons from India and China will be used to furtherexpand the soy programme in Mozambique, Malawi andGhana, where there are farms of similar size and there iscomparable scope for improving agricultural practices. Amulti-annualcooperationwasstartedin2013withtheBritishretailerMarks&Spencertosupportsmallholdersoyproduc-tioninParaguay.

iMpaCT

The most important external evaluation in the past year wasthat of the soy programme in India (2009-2012) by MART.The main conclusions are that 30,000 participating farmersincreasedyields(onaverage)by54%,theamountoffertiliserusedwasreducedbyanaverageof23%,andincomefromsoyproduction doubled (admittedly increases in market pricesplayed a role here). There are also considerable environ-mental and social benefits, including more farmers planting

treesontheedgesoffields(from33to81%),ahugedecreasein crop residue burning (from 79 to 5% of farmers), andconsiderable increases in wages, plus equal compensationfor men and women and a reduction in child labour from 53to17%.

MarkeTparTNerShipS

Solidaridad continues to seek cooperation with frontrunnercompanies. An important achievement was the signing of athree-year cooperation between Solidaridad and the Britishretailer Marks & Spencer. M&S has committed to contributeto a soy smallholder project in Paraguay, working with localcooperatives. In India partnerships with the largest Indiansoy processor Ruchi Soya and the Pro Terra Foundation gotunderway.

ChalleNgeSahead

The low willingness of companies to pay for sustainabilityremains a major challenge. Solidaridad will continue toencourage working with RTRS, but will also increase coop-eration with soy producers, stressing the added value ofresponsible production for farmers. A probable new focuswill be increasing cooperation with governments on regionalapproaches and the use of soy as an efficient and cheapsourceofproteintoimprovefoodsecurity.

MarketpartnersFrieslandCampina,ARLANetherlands,Keurslagers,CONOCheese,GEBANA,NASFAM/NASCOMEX(Malawi),Sinograin(China)andalargenumberofcompaniesthroughtheIDHSoyFastTrackFund.donorsDutchMinistryofForeignAffairs(FarmerSupportProgramme),IDHSoyFastTrackFund,AgentschapNL,NORAD,MooreFoundation,EuropeanCommission


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SoyfarmingfamilygopifromMadhyapradesh,india.gopiandhiswifekumariliveinanextendedfamilywithhisparentsandtwobrothersandtheirfamilies.hejoinedthesoyprogrammeand–withtheadditionalincome–hecannowaffordtopayfortheeducationofhiseldestdaughter.

Totalnumberofproducerssupported

Totalvolumeofcertifiedsoy(metrictonnes)


budgetsandactualfiguresforsoy

actual2013€3,396,000

realised201389,635producers

realised2013296,269 mt


Budget2013€ 1,152,000

Actual2012€1,706,000

Argentina,Bolivia,Brazil,China,Ghana,India,Malawi,Mozambique,theNetherlands,Paraguay,UnitedKingdom,UnitedStatesofAmerica

Planned201394,437 producers


Planned20137companies

Budget2014€ 3,061,000




Photo:SiddharthTripathy

Solidaridad’ssoynetwork


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palMoil

FrequeNTaNdbeTTerSMallholderSupporT

inlatinamerica’stopfiveproducercountriesthereisnowsector-widecommitmenttosustainableproduction.butnotallproducersseethebusinesscaseforcertification.inafrica,anincubatorwasdesignedtorolloutasuccessfulplantationrestorationapproach.

prograMMeSeTTiNg

Palm oil is the main vegetable oil on the world market: 58million tonnes were produced in 2013. Although the uptakeof certified sustainable palm oil has been rapid (now 15%;8 million tonnes), traditional market approaches involvingcertification and sourcing guidelines have limited additionalimpact, as 80% of the market is in Asia, where there are fewcertification requirements. In addition, at least 40% of theglobal palm oil area is managed by smallholders, who faceseriousconstraintswhenitcomestocertifyingtheirproduc-tion. In Latin America, with its long history of certification,RSPOisnowvirtuallya licensetooperate.However, inAfricaandAsia,thebusinesscaseforcertificationislimitedtonicheplayers and global multinationals. For smaller producers, thepalmoilprogrammeappliesafarmer-firstapproach.

reSulTS

A consortium of eight cooperative and corporate HonduranPalm Oil producers (PASH) comprises 80% of nationalproduction and all members have committed to RSPO certi-fication between 2014 and 2016. In Guatemala, five mills– covering 30% of sector output – have joined forces toimprovelabourconditions. InColombia, Indupalmahasbeenaudited against RSPO and fourteen additional companieshave committed to certification. In Ecuador, Natural Habi-tats Group, which have certified their mill and all suppliers,areworkingwithsectororganisationAncupatoextendgoodagriculturalpracticestohundredsofsmallholders. In Ghana, Solidaridad has established 30 sites, wherebest practice is demonstrated. Improved maintenance andharvesting techniques among smallholders have alreadydelivered higher yields than commercial plantations. Solidar-idadishelpingmiddle-sizedmillstoimproveefficiencyandanincubatorwillfurtherprofessionalisethesector. In South East Asia innovative projects address the chal-lengespresentedbyindependentsmallholdersandlabourers.Innovative approaches include working through a majorcredit union (Keling Kumang) in West Kalimantan and a localdealership in the Cargill supply chain in Malaysia. Verité isdeveloping a labour assessment tool that will enable certifi-cation bodies and companies to improve the quality of theirauditsandtheimplementationofRSPOstandards.

iMpaCT

Evaluation of the 2009-2012 Palm Oil Producer SupportInitiativerevealedthatrelationshipsbetweenmillsandsmall-

holdersimproved,leadingtomorefrequentandhigherqualitysupport as well as increased delivery of palm fruit bunchesto mills. Improved plantation practices led to reduced ferti-liser applications and fewer accidents. Certification of small-holders has enabled the sale of palm kernel meal certificatestoDutchdairycooperativeConoKaasmakers.

MarkeTparTNerShipS

The past year was the last of a three-year RSPO grant toSolidaridad, with support provided to projects in Honduras,Colombia, Ghana, Malaysia and Indonesia. From 2014onwards,SolidaridadwillparticipateintheRSPOSmallholderSupportFund,apermanentfacilityfinancedwithRSPOcertif-icate trade revenues. Solidaridad’s palm oil programme wasalsofinanciallysupportedbyJohnson&Johnson,HenkelandConoKaasmakers.

ChalleNgeSahead

AlthoughRSPOhasbeenamajorsuccessintermsofmember-ship,certifiedvolumesandbusinessmodel,itisunlikelythatallpalm oil producers will become certified under this scheme.So, to address the sustainability issues among domestic andAsianmarkets,otherinstrumentsneedtobedeveloped,suchas improved productivity, efficiency and a local license tooperate.

donorsConoKaasmakers,Henkel,Johnson&Johnson,RoundtableonSustainablePalmOil,NetherlandsMinistryofForeignAffairs(DGIS-DDE),RoyalDutchEmbassiesinAccraandBogotá.partnerswithmatchfunding8palmoilcooperativesandmills,WWFandSNVinHonduras;5plantationgroupsinGuatemala;5plantationgroupsinColombia,NaturalHabitatsGroupinEcuador,ADMandAgropalmainBrazil,Unilever,TOPPandBOPPplantationsinGhana,Cargill,NestléandWildAsiainMalaysia;AsianAgri,CUKK,SetaraandGoodReturninIndonesiaandNewBritainPalmOilinPapuaNewGuinea.


-

Cleaninganoilpalmplantationinghana.Solidaridadhasestablished30sites,wherebestpracticeisdemonstrated.improvedmaintenanceandharvestingtechniquesamongsmallholdershavealreadydeliveredhigheryieldsthanoncommercialplantations.

Totalnumberofproducersandworkerssupported


Numberofmillsthatimplementedimprovedequipmentand/orimprovedpractices

budgetsandactualfiguresforpalmoil

actual2013€3,291,000

realised20139,570producers/workers


realised201324 mills

Budget2013€ 3,850,000

Actual2012€1,214,000

Belgium,Brazil,China,Colombia,Equador,France,Germany,Ghana,Guatemala,Honduras,India,Indonesia,IvoryCoast,Malaysia,theNetherlands,Nigeria,PapuaNewGuinea,Switzerland,UnitedKingdom,UnitedStatesofAmerica

Planned20139,602 producers/workers


Planned201340 mills

Budget2014€5,002,000

Planned201414,198 producers/workers


Planned201454 mills

Photo:JabulaniSithole

Solidaridad’spalmoilnetwork


-

SugarCaNe

TurNiNgaNewleaF

againstabackgroundoffallingsugarpricesandincreasingbonsucrocertification,Solidaridad,iFCandfourmillingcompaniesinindiahavejoinedforcesinthelargestprojectforsmall-scalesugar-canegrowersworldwide.Thisprojectsupportedmorethan110,000growers,whilereducingwaterusedforirrigationandincreasingfinancialliteracy.Majorbrandsandregionalgovernmentsarenowkeentogetinvolved.

prograMMeSeTTiNg

The global price of sugar continued to decline in 2013 dueto surplus production and the competitiveness of ethanolcoming under pressure in Brazil. This presents financial chal-lenges to millers and growers, discouraging investments inlong-term business viability and sustainability. At the sametime, leading food and beverage companies are increasinglycommittedtoverifiedsustainablesources,suchasBonsucro-certified sugar and alcohol. Solidaridad helps growers andmillersrespondtothesemarketandsustainabilitychallenges.

reSulTS

The past year marked a transition for Solidaridad, withprojectssupportedbytheSchoklandFundcomingtoanendand those within the Farmer Support Programme startingup. Solidaridad reached out to more than 120,000 growersand workers worldwide, ranging from large-scale, well-estab-lished rain-fed growers in Brazil to first-generation irrigatedcanegrowersinSwaziland,whoarerelativelynewtogrowingcane. A new feature is supporting improved labour conditionsand reducing child labour in Mexico, in cooperation with theILO-SIMAPRO programme. As in Bolivia, projects combineimproving labour productivity and labour conditions, whilereducing downtime due to accidents or labour unrest. InBrazil,1,885canecutterswereretrainedtotakeupbetterjobsinmechanicalharvestingoroutsidetheindustry. Bonsucro is now connected to networks throughoutthe Americas, Southern Africa and India. Solidaridad alsocontributed to reviewing the Bonsucro standard. Soli-daridad continued to invest in multi-stakeholder platformsfor disseminating learning and experience and promotingdialogue about sustainable production in India, SouthAmerica and Southern Africa. A well-received positive inter-national campaign entitled ‘How to change the world withsugarcane’isincreasingawarenessandcreatingengagementfromstakeholdersworldwide.

iMpaCT

TheprogrammewasreviewedaspartoftheSchoklandFundfinalevaluation.Casestudiesonsugar-caneprojectsinBelizeand Malawi confirmed double-digit productivity increasesand effective adoption of better agricultural practices. Theevaluation stressed the importance of strengthening growerorganisationsandthecriticalroleofmills.Recommendationsincludedbetterarticulatingthebusinesscaseforinvestments

in sustainable production and focusing more on addressingroot causes, which may lie outside the supply chain. An IOBevaluationofDutchforeignpolicyinLatinAmericaconcludedthat, ‘thanks to the Solidaridad project with Argos EnergiesandUNICA,thereisnowenoughBonsucro-certifiedethanolavailable to meet EU demand for the next few years’. Theproject that helped achieve this ended in 2013 (for furtherdetails,seetheSolidaridadwebsite).

MarkeTparTNerShipS

Solidaridad and Unilever entered into a formal partner-ship to work on the sustainability and certification of canesugar production in Mexico and Central America. This wasannounced at a Solidaridad event in London entitled ‘Let’sturnanewleaf’andattheBonsucroSummitinMexico.

ChalleNgeSahead

Food and beverage companies are increasingly approachingSolidaridad to work on sensitive and often highly polar-ised issues, such as labour and land rights. Improving thesituation on such issues is novel and it requires relationshipsoftrust.Solidaridadinvestsinbuildingsuchrelationshipsandin careful learning-by-doing on a pilot scale, always takingsharedinterestsasthestartingpointforitsprogrammes.

MarketpartnersUnilever,ArgosEnergies,Mondelez,SABMiller,InternationalFinanceCorporation,Raízen,andmanyothermillgroupsandgrowercompaniesworldwide.donorsNetherlandsMinistryofForeignAffairs(FarmerSupportProgramme),GlobalSustainableBiomassFund,Porticus.


-

Totalnumberofproducerssupported


Totalnumberofworkerssupportedbudgetsandactualfiguresforsugarcane

actual2013€1,373,000

realised2013119,219 producers


realised20131,640 workers

Budget2013€ 1,201,000

Actual2012€977,000

Argentina,Belize,Bolivia,Brazil,Honduras,India,Malawi,Mexico,theNetherlands,Pakistan,Paraguay,SouthAfrica,Swaziland,Switzerland,Tanzania,UnitedKingdom,UnitedStatesofAmerica




Budget2014€ 2,380,000




Solidaridadhaslaunchedanewcampaign:howtochangetheworldwithsugarcane.duringthelaunchinlondonSolidaridadandunileverannouncedanewpartnership.

Photo:CharlotteFielding

Solidaridad’ssugarcanenetwork


-

liveSToCk

liveSToCkbeCoMeSparToFTheSoluTioN

in2013Solidaridadstartedaseriesofnewprojectsthatfocusonlivestockonthreecontinents,coveringbeefanddairyproduction.Solidaridadisanactivememberofmulti-stakeholderplatformswhichpromotelivestockasanefficientuseoflandandotherresources.Thisisincreasinglyseenaspartofthesolutionforsustainabledevelopment.

prograMMeSeTTiNg

Witharapidincreaseinglobaldemandforlivestockproducts,the pressure on farmers to produce beef and dairy productsin more efficient and sustainable ways is mounting. Cattlehave often been seen as responsible for deforestation andrelatedgreenhousegasemissions.Butthisdoesn’tneedtobethe case. In fact, proper pasture management plays a crucialrole in maintaining productive land in several ecosystems.This is why fostering best practice and developing alterna-tives with committed partners is key to our new projects.Solidaridad is happy to contribute to working towards moresustainablyproducedanimalproteins.

reSulTS

Through its Farmers Support Programme (FSP), Solidaridadnow has eight livestock projects in Africa, Asia and LatinAmerica, working with around six thousand farming fami-lies, targeting close to a million hectares. FSP projects focuson best practices as well as local and/or international marketdevelopment. Besides the FSP projects, a major dairy developmentprojectstartedaspartofafoodsecurityprogrammeinBang-ladesh, targeting 15,000 farmers. Work on dairy immediatelydrewattentionfrommajorindustryplayersinthesectorandSolidaridad started to engage with the Dairy SustainabilityFramework. As a founding member of the Global Roundtable forSustainableBeef(GRSB),Solidaridadcontinuedtocooperateon developing its governance structure as well as its ‘Princi-ples and Criteria’ for defining global sustainable beef. Theseareexpectedtoberatifiedinthesecondhalfof2014. In Brazil a first version of the Rural Horizons tool for Live-stock (meat production) has been developed and testedin the field together with regional farmers associationAcrioeste.Theresultsoftheself-assessmentledtothedesignof three pilot farms, which will take shape in 2014. Also inBrazil, Solidaridad partnered with the International InstituteforSustainabilityandtheInstitutoCentrodeVidainaprojectthatencouragespastureintensificationandlandusemappinginordertoincreaseproductivityandthusreducepressureonforests. In efforts to develop international markets, cooperationwith retailer COOP Denmark and importer ZandbergenWorld’s Finest Meats in the Netherlands continues to befruitful.

iMpaCT

Thelivestockprogrammeis justgearingupandit istooearlyto expect measurable impacts. Solidaridad is a welcomepartner in many countries. Its solution-oriented approachand presence in Roundtables facilitates access to a broadnetworkofvaluechainactorsworldwide. Renewed attention to optimal land use as the basis forsustainable food, fibre and fuel production bring sectorstogether. Integrating livestock, agriculture and forestry –alongside spatial planning – brings us closer to a new land-scapingapproach.

parTNerShipSwiThglobalCoMpaNieS

COOP Denmark’s Savannah Fund and Solidaridad’s FarmerSupport Programme jointly invest in improving beef produc-tion among communal livestock farmers in Namibia. COOPDenmark imports beef from MeatCo in Namibia under itsSavannah brand of quality products from Africa. Part of theturnover is set aside for investments in sustainability andimprovinglivelihoods.

ChalleNgeSahead

The livestock programme will continue to grow and, withratified GRSB principles and criteria for sustainable beef,Solidaridad and its partners will move on to translate thesenorms into concrete activities on the ground. Developingbetter produced beef product lines will take time and it willrequire careful market positioning. Furthermore Solidaridadwill explore opportunities for strengthening its commitmenttoresponsibledairyfarming.

NonprofitpartnersAcrioeste,AliançadaTerra,GTPS,ICV,IIS(Brazil),CIAT(Nicaragua),SavoryInstitute(SouthAfrica)RainforestAlliance(Uruguay),UNDP(Paraguay)MarketpartnersZandbergenWorld’sFinestMeat(theNetherlands),COOP(Denmark),MeatCo(Namibia),LandInnovationsLimited(Kenya)donorsDutchMinistryofForeignAffairs(FSP&SaFal),NORAD,MooreFoundation,EuropeanCommission,PorticusFoundation.


-

westbahia,brazil.usinga‘ruralhorizons’tooltoidentifychallengesandbestpracticesinasemi-aridenvironment.

budgetsandactualfiguresforlivestock

Argentina,Bangladesh,Brazil,Denmark,Kenya,Namibia,theNetherlands,Nicaragua,Paraguay,SouthAfrica,Uruguay

Photo:AdrianoLupinacci

actual2013€1,434,000

Budget2013€ 700,000

Actual2012€138,000

Budget2014€ 2.923.000

Solidaridad’slivestocknetwork

...properpasturemanagementplaysacrucialroleinmaintainingproductivelandinseveralecosystems.Thisiswhyfosteringbestpracticeanddevelopingalternativeswithcommittedpartnersiskeytoournewprojects....


-

aquaCulTure

25,000ShriMp&FiShFarMerSForMgroupS

despitethepoliticalcrisisin2013,theaquacultureteaminbangladeshworkedwith25,000fishandshrimpfarmerstoformproducergroups.TheSeafoodTradeandintelligenceportalteamcollecteddatafromover40fishprocessingfactoriesinbangladeshandMyanmarandexpandeditspartnerstoincludeeuanduSseafoodbusinesses.

prograMMeSeTTiNg

Withongoingdiseaseproblemsinshrimpproduction,itwasagoodyearforthosewhomanagedtokeeptheirfarmsdisease-free. For shrimp buyers worldwide, however, competitionwas fierce, especially for buyers in the EU and US, who faceincreasing competition from emerging markets, combinedwithevermorestringentmarketrequirementsathome.Oneof Solidaridad's private-sector partners went bankrupt in2013, and recently another was on the brink of bankruptcy,whichreflectsthecontinuingchallengesinthesector.

reSulTS

In 2013, Solidaridad kicked off its aquaculture programmein Bangladesh with the selection of a significant number offish and shrimp farmers. The programme, which is part ofthe Sustainable Agriculture, Food security And Linkagesprogramme (SAFAL), will focus on product-market combin-ationsthatwillallowfarmerstoestablishbetterfarmingprac-ticestoincreasetheirincomewhilesafeguardingtheenviron-ment. About half of the producer groups are composed ofextensive monoculture shrimp farmers; the other half havefreshwater polyculture farms. The business cases involvelocalprivatesectorplayers,suchaspremiumretailers,aswellasinternationalshrimpbuyers. A small number of large-scale semi-extensive shrimpfarmers will be assisted with the implementation of an inter-national sustainability standard. An integrated supply chainmodel focusing on at least one of these farms will forgecollaborationwithsmall-scalefarmersinthesamegeograph-ical area, ensuring both access to high-quality inputs andmarketsforthesaleofproduce. With China turning into a net importer of farmed seafood– while still producing over 60% of all aquaculture produceworldwide – the competition for raw materials has reachedanother high. The Seafood Trade and Intelligence Portal(STIP), which expects to expand its peer-group membershipbase to the USA in 2014, has reveiled key supply-chain andfactory information relating to over 40 EU certified seafoodprocessors in Bangladesh and Myanmar. This will allow inter-nationalseafoodbuyerstoefficientlysecuresupplyfromthebestcompaniesandmeetmarketdemand.TheofficiallaunchoftheSTIPisexpectedinMay2014.

parTNerShipS

In2013,theSeafoodTradeIntelligencePortalpeergroupwascomposed of the following members: RutgerKooij Zeevis-

handel, Amacore, Esro Seafood, Den Heijer, Heiploeg andWAB Trading GmbH. A memorandum of understanding wassigned with the Bangladesh Frozen Food Exporters Associ-ation.ThescopingworkandSTIPdatacollectioninMyanmarwasfacilitatedbytheMyanmarFisheriesFederation. The SAFAL programme is funded by the Dutch Embassyin Bangladesh, while leading international social-economicresearchinstituteLEIWageningenUR,isavaluablepartnerintheprogramme.

ChalleNgeSahead

The volatility of the sector constrains the introduction ofsustainable practices. Moreover, the implementation ofleading sustainability standards will be difficult in view ofthe diversity of production systems worldwide. Solidaridadseeks to build alliances with producers, buyers and certi-fiersinordertofindtailoredsolutionsthatpayoff–bothforproducers and for market players. Starting in Bangladesh,Solidaridad will work with a leading Dutch retail company toconnectsmall-scaleshrimpfarmerstoEuropeanretailchains. In 2014, Solidaridad’s aquaculture programme expects tomove into new countries, building on scoping work with LEI-Wageningen UR in Myanmar and opportunities for the STIPin Ecuador, Peru and Indonesia. New partnership opportuni-ties with Asian, European and American businesses will leadtoscopingworkinthemangroveareasofsouth-westBangla-desh,Indonesia,ChinaandWest-Africa.


-

in2013,Solidaridadlauncheditsaquacultureprogrammeinbangladeshwiththeselectionofasignificantnumberoffishandshrimpfarmers.Solidaridadseekstobuildallianceswithproducers,buyersandcertifiersinordertofindsolutionsthatpayoff–bothforproducersandformarketplayers.

budgetsandactualfiguresforaquaculture

Solidaridad’saquaculturenetwork

actual2013€ 334,000

Budget2013€ 969,000

Actual20120

Bangladesh,Germany,Myanmar,theNetherlands,UnitedStatesofAmerica

Budget2014€ 1,825,000

Photo:MarnixPoelman/WageningenUR

...Solidaridadseekstobuildallianceswithproducers,buyersandcertifiersinordertofindtailoredsolutionsthatpayoff–bothforproducersandformarketplayers....



TheSolidaridadNeTworkiNTeNregioNS


SolidaridadSouThaMeriCa

iNNovaTioNwiThSuSTaiNableCoMModiTieS

Farmersfeel‘triggers’thatdrivethemtocontinuallyimprovetheirpractice:inputandlabourscarcity;risingdemandforrisk-free,certifiedandlegallycompliantsupplysources;robustforestrylaws;andtheneedtodesignsustainablelandscapes.SolidaridadSouthamericaaimstodeliverinnovativesolutionswhichmakethiskindofchangehappen.

eXTerNaldevelopMeNTS

Legal compliance helps make the transformation to sustain-ableagriculture.Traditionalpremiummarkets,whetherintheEU,USAorJapan–withtheirvoluntarystandards–aregradu-ally losing out to home markets and to Asia. Working withlarge brands, local businesses, communities, civil society andgovernments are creating low-risk, legally compliant farminglandscapes.

MaiNaChieveMeNTSaNdparTNerShipS

Major programmes include encouraging and helping 120miners and 2270 families who are farming 690,000 hectaresto implement voluntary sustainability standards. The mainpartners are Unilever, Rainforest Alliance (tea), Agropalma,RSPO(palm),Bonsucro,Shell/Cosan(sugarcane),Anapo,LosGrobo, INTA, Fapcen, Syngenta, DAP, RTRS, IDH, and SALSApartners(soy). RuralHorizonsisanexpertsystemthatsupportscontinualimprovement in a ‘race to the top’ approach. It involveshundreds of beef, sugar-cane, soy and cotton farmers whofarmmorethan70,000hectares. Together with Norad, Moore, IDH, and FSP as donors, andICV, Moises Bertoni, UNDP, ProYungas as partners, sustain-ablelandscapinghasbegunintheAmazon,AtlanticRainforestandChacoregions.Integratedon/off-farmincentivesprovidemetricdataforregionalmulti-stakeholderdialogues. Solidaridad South America provides the following servicesto the Solidaridad Network: RBM training, IPC livestocksupport,andFSP/FSLAgovernanceandadministration.

NeTworkSTraTegy

Rural Horizons addresses farmers’ needs in sustainability,certification and legal compliance. Spearheaded by smartland use and food security, missions took place to Colombia,MozambiqueandGhanain2013.Inreturn,valuableinputwasreceived from the Network on commodities, strategic rela-tions, systemic development and communication. As condi-tions vary considerably in different regions, expertise clearlyneedstobetailored.

orgaNiSaTioNaldevelopMeNT

With financial growth of 40%, the regional staff grew from 9to19people,andfromonetothreelegalentities,withcountryleaders based in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. ThroughparticipationinRoundtables,thinktanks,sectoralinstitutions,standard setting bodies, producer associations and commu-nicationgroupsknowledgeistransferredtotheNetworkandtransformedintovaluablemarketintelligence,whichhelpstobuildtheSolidaridad‘brand’.

a Xavante leader managing his genetically enhancedherdintheamazon.

solidaridadnetwork.org/southamerica

Coffee 43,000 Tea 76,000 Fruit&vegetables 10,000 Cotton 90,000 Gold 23,000 Soy 2,303,000 Palmoil 174,000 Sugarcane 372,000 Livestock 917,000 Other 343,000

Totalprogrammeinvestmentsineuros 4,352,000

Not commodity speci�cAquacultureLivestockSugar canePalm oilSoyGoldTextilesCottonFruit and vegetablesCocoaTeaCo�ee

South America Andes Central America

West Africa South Africa East and central Africa

South and South East Asia

China Netherlands North America

total

O�ce and other costsHRMprogrammes

South America Andes Central America West Africa South Africa East and central Africa East South and South East Asia China Netherlands

East and Central AfricaSouth AfricaWest AfricaCentral AmericaAndesSouth America

personnelatSolidaridadSouthamericainFTes

investmentsbySolidaridadSouthamericaineuros

2010 2011 2012 20134 8 13.5 19

Actual2012 Budget2013 Actual2013 Budget20142,772,000 1,594,000 4,352,000 3,825,000


SolidaridadaNdeS

SCaliNgupe-learNiNgForCoFFeeFarMerS

ThescalingupoftrainingprogrammesdesignedbySolidaridadinColombiahasstarted.inthepastyear,240extensionworkersfromeightexportcompaniesand20cooperativesparticipatedinlow-costdistancelearningcoursesonsustainablecoffeeproduction.asaresult,theyarenowabletomoreeffectivelyreach36,000farmers.


Responsible gold production faces major challenges in theAndean region. The Peruvian government has, in effect,declaredwaronillegalgoldmining.Atthesametime,growingdemandforresponsiblegoldininternationalmarketsexceedscurrentsupply.Thousandsofsmall-scaleinformalgoldminersstruggle to meet government formalisation criteria withoutmissingoutonthesemarketopportunities.


Through partnerships with Agrobiz in Colombia and theNatural Habitats Group in Ecuador, 12,888 hectares of RSPOplantations are ready to be certified in Colombia, and inEcuador,93smallholderoil-palmproducersexpecttoreceiveRSPOcertification.InPeru,115localcoffeepromotersplayedthe role of ‘live’ demonstration centres for 1,076 producers,who subsequently rehabilitated 961 hectares by engaging inpracticeslearnedatthecentres. Minersorganisations’effectivemanagementoflegalisationprocedureswhilemovingtowardsformalisationandcertifica-tion is crucial for developing a responsible gold supply chaininPeru.Over1,500minersreceivedtrainingin66workshops.

STraTegy

Solidaridad works on sustainable banana production inNorthern Peru, supporting a platform that brings togetherthe main stakeholders: 16 producer organisations, fourgovernment entities, three export companies, three tradingcompanies and four NGOs. Within this framework it was

possibletoattractUS$285,000offundingfromtheprovincialmunicipalitytoimprovethebananaprocessinginfrastructureof two producer associations. Similarly, under the Colom-bian national coffee platform, a specialty coffee manual wasproduced with the support of the Antioquia Government,the National Federation of Coffee Growers, and five coffeegrower cooperatives. Working at the sector platform level ispartofSolidaridad’sglobalstrategy.


Solidaridad Andes opened an office in Colombia with sevenfull-time staff. This facility supports the technical secretariatfor the Sustainable Trade Platform. A website was launchedfor this programme, presenting the main principles of theplatform (www.comerciosostenible.org). The Results-BasedManagement approach was adopted for selected largeprojects.

CoffeefarmersinColombiaworkingwithnewtrainingmaterials.

solidaridadnetwork.org/andes

Coffee 372,000 Cocoa 11,000 Fruit&vegetables 51,000 Gold 254,000 Palmoil 384,000







total




personnelatSolidaridadandesinFTes

investmentsbySolidaridadandesineuros

2010 2011 2012 201312 25 26 30

Actual2012 Budget2013 Actual2013 Budget2014353,000 2,526,000 1,027,000 1,615,000


SolidaridadCeNTralaMeriCa

breakThroughSiNSuSTaiNablepraCTiCeS

withthesupportofanational-technicalcommittee,hondurasbecamethefirstcountryintheworldtodevelopanationalinterpretationoftheglobalprinciplesandcriteriaoftheroundtableforSustainablepalmoil(rSpo),usingtheguidelineforcountriesproducinglessthan5%oftotalglobalpalmoilproduction.


Despite challenging market and climatic conditions in 2013,there was a clear shift towards social and environmentalsustainabilityinitiatives.Producersofallsizes–growingpalmoil, sugar cane, livestock, coffee – worked on strengtheningtheirsustainablesupplychains.


Solidaridad-ledinnovationsinstrategicalliances,co-financingmodels, climate-smart agriculture and tool developmenthave accelerated this shift in Central America and Mexico.Solidaridad Central America strengthened strategic partner-ships with WWF, SNV and ILO, made a financial agreementwith Henkel and signed an MOU with Unilever. Solidaridadis emerging as a regional leader that is able to scale up pilotprojects into sector-wide interventions with the potential totransformentireindustriesandsupplychains.In2013sector-widepalmoilprojectswerelaunchedinHondurasandGuate-mala,pilotprojectsinsugarcaneandlivestockinMexicoandNicaragua, while the innovative Back (Bringing Agriculture,Carbon and Knowledge) to REDD project in Chiapas, Mexicohelpedcreateresilienceforcoffeefarmersintheregion. Allprojectsapprovedandlaunchedin2013involvedarangeof actors, complex relationships, and urgent interventionsthatfocusonsustainablesocialandenvironmentalpractices.Major achievements included developing the RSPO NationalInterpretation for Honduras, a Proforest-led process thatinvolvedpublicconsultationswiththeprivatesector,govern-mentandcivilsociety.

STraTegy

The commodities that are grown in region are vitally impor-tant for national economies and their impact on society, theenvironment and food security. All projects involve sustain-able use of land and water, and labour and social issues arealso increasingly important. Synergies and operational effi-ciencieswithotherregionsarebeingsought.


Solidaridad Central America focused on monitoring andevaluation, knowledge management, and ensuring sufficientquality management capacity in order to strengthen projectoutcomes and increase the potential for their replication.Interregional cooperation includes network experience inpalm oil, sugar cane, coffee, cocoa, livestock and gold. Newstaff with external communication capabilities will be avail-ablein2014.

Thisformercattlefarmernowgrowspalmoil.hisincomehasincreasedandheownssharesinapalmoilmill,refineryandbio-energyplant.

Coffee 185,000 Cocoa 40,000 Fruit&vegetables 16,000 Palmoil 240,000 Sugarcane 13,000 Livestock 90,000

Totalprogrammeinvestmentsineuros 584,000

solidaridadnetwork.org/centralamerica






total




personnelatSolidaridadCentralamericainFTes

investmentsbySolidaridadCentralamericaineuros

2010 2011 2012 2013– 7.2 10.2 7

Actual2012 Budget2013 Actual2013 Budget2014221,000 1,506,000 584,000 1,527,000


SolidaridadweSTaFriCa

MoviNgbeyoNdCerTiFiCaTioN

Thereweremanyachievementsacrosstheregion,butthehighlightwas€7millionofmajorfundingfromthedutchembassyinaccratoimplementtheCocoarehabilitationandintensificationprogramme(Corip).Thisprogrammemakesitpossibletomovebeyondcertificationtowardsintensificationinthecocoasectorofghana,thusensuringlong-termsustainability.


Solidaridad West Africa received greater commitment fromgovernments and other stakeholders to develop sustainablecommodity chains. Such platforms and opportunities wereusedtodeepenexistingrelationships,influencepolicy,initiateinstitutional reforms and implement sustainability projects.However, the fall in the world market price of gold resultedin periodic shutdowns by mines, impeding progress towardsmeetingsustainabletargets.


In 2013, the cocoa programme up-scaled its sustainabilityprojects and engaged in activities beyond certification,together with private companies. Key partners includecompanies and government agencies such as NobleResources,ECOM/Mars,Armajaro,Cargill,Touton,theIvorianConseil du Café Cacao and the Ghana Cocoa Board. In theoil palm programme, Solidaridad partnered with the Inter-national Plant Nutrition Institute, Proforest Initiative and OilPalm Research Institute to establish thirty best managementpractice plots. Together with the RSPO a road show and thefirst RSPO Lead Auditor Training Course were organised.Funding was received from the Farmer Support Programme(FSP) for a cotton project in Senegal. Other partners in thecottonprogrammmeincludeAPROCA,CompagnieMaliennepourleDevelopmentdesTextilesandSODEFITEX.Afive-yearsustainablemaizeprojectfundedbytheNetherlandsMinistryof Foreign Affairs was also secured with Yara and Wienco aspartners.

STraTegy

In 2013 Solidaridad West Africa deepened its sustainabilityinitiatives by building strategic partnerships as well asthrough learning and innovation. Improving productivity,making service delivery more efficient, developing busi-ness cases, climate smart agriculture and focusing on foodsecurity issues and gender remain central to the strategy.There is also increased emphasis on accurate data and agro-economicanalyses.


The Continental Board met twice in 2013 to discuss progressand plans. The number of staff grew by 15% (from 47 to 54)and the Côte d’Ivoire office finally acquired a certificate ofregistration. The budget increased from €6 million to €10million. After a successful external audit of the qMS, theGhanaOffice’sISO9001;2008scopewasexpandedtocoverthegoldandoilpalmprogrammes.

workersona‘bettermanaged’oil-palmplotinghana,demonstratingtheuseofweighingscalesforstandardisation.

Cocoa 3,873,000 Fruit&vegetables 18,000 Cotton 627,000 Gold 422,000 Palmoil 1,976,000


solidaridadnetwork.org/westafrica






total




personnelatSolidaridadwestafricainFTes

investmentsbySolidaridadwestafricaineuros

2010 2011 2012 201322 32 47 54



SolidaridadSouTherNaFriCa

rapidgrowThaNdeXpaNdedouTreaCh

SolidaridadSouthernafricagrewsignificantlyin2013andnowhasanofficeinMozambique.Fromfourprojectsimpacting20,000smallholdersin2012,ithasextendeditsprogrammetoreach60,000smallholdersin2013andplanstoreach90,000.itnowworkswithsevenagriculturalcommoditiesanditssmallholder’self-assessmenttoolimprovesyieldsandquality.


Theregionsuffersfrompoliticalandeconomicinstabilityandcorruption is rife, while many food-insecure countries areclassifiedasLeastDevelopedCountries,withsupportcomingfromtraditionalfundingsourcesinOECDcountriesaswellasglobal funding organisations. Standards are becoming morerelevant and Aid-for-Trade applies to middle-income coun-triesintheregion.


In 2013 Solidaridad received more funding for farmer-ledinitiatives in horticulture, livestock and grains, legumes,cassavaandsoy,mainlyforprocessing(includingthefarmer-led Mumbwa cotton gin in Zambia and mango processing inSouth Africa). Work has begun using a regionally designedself-assessment tool for smallholders to assist them inapplyingbetteragriculturalpractices.Thisworkissupportedby the Dutch Embassy and there is currently a significantpartnership with the Sustainability Initiative of South Africa(SIZA)tousetheirinternationallyrecognisedethicalstandardas the basis for a suite of tools cutting across various agri-cultural commodities. Solidaridad’s greatest achievementsremain its partnerships, which stretch across the privatesector,farmers’organisations,otherNGOs,governmentsandfunding agencies. Retailers are joining programmes, notablythrough new partnerships involving Woolworths and DanishCo-op. BCI-verified cotton is produced through FarmerSupportProgrammes.

STraTegy

Solidaridad aims to add value to smallholders’ produce, forexample by deriving more products from each crop (seedcake and fibres), mango processing, and targeting moreaffluent markets (e.g. large supermarkets such as Wool-worths).Theobjectiveforgenderequityis30to36%inmostsectors. Given the risk to agriculture in the region, climatechangeisamajorconcern,asislandscapemanagement.


Solidaridad Southern Africa has a small permanent staff,who are responsible for monitoring and evaluation, finan-cial systems and governance, plus it has technical expertsthroughout the region. A local office has been set up inMozambiqueandsimilarrepresentationisplannedforZambiaandMalawi.Solidaridadcommunicateswithkeystakeholdersthroughanannualconference.

Solidaridadreceivedmorefundingforfarmer-ledinitiativesincludingthoseinvolvinglivestock.

Tea 4,000 Fruit&vegetables 11,000 Cotton 229,000 Soy 339,000 Sugarcane 93,000 Livestock 205,000 Other 102,000


personnelatSolidaridadSouthernafricainFTes

investmentsbySolidaridadSouthernafricaineuros

2010 2011 2012 2013– 2 7 8.5

Actual2012 Budget2013 Actual2013 Budget2014542,000 966,000 982,000 1,811,000

solidaridadnetwork.org/southernafrica






total





SolidaridadeaSTaNdCeNTralaFriCa

eMbraCiNgFarMerSupporTprograMMeS

Solidaridadisreaching29,500farmersthroughfarmersupportprojectsineastafrica.Cottonyieldshaveincreasedby44%and25%ofcottonfarmerscannowaccessloansandenhancefoodcropproductioninuganda.Theintegrationofmanagementinformationsystems(MiS)insugarcaneinTanzaniainvolvedestablishingresourcecentreswheresugar-canefarmerscanaccessinformation.


The weather was favourable for agriculture, leading toincreased production of commodities and pasture, albeit atreduced prices, especially in the case of tea. Private coffeecompanies faced challenges in Kenya and Tanzania due topolicy changes that interfered with coffee marketing. Exten-sion of the African Growth and Opportunity Act initiativeopened up economic opportunities for the region. The civilwar in Sudan led to an influx of refugees in neighbouringcountries, affecting their economies and leading to greaterinsecurity.


Solidaridad launched the Food security project FOSEK inKenya and Ethiopia, targeting 120,000 farmers. A BetterCotton Initiative (BCI) was also initiated, reaching 6,000farmers, increasing productivity by 44% and 25% of thesefarmers now receive financial support from Boresha SACCOinKerioValleyKenya.ThesigningofMOUswithratingagencySCOPEInsightforassessmentsofcreditworthinessandbank-ability and with the Centre for Promotion of Imports fromDeveloping Countries (CBI) – for export coaching of SMEsinKenya–hadconsiderableimpactontheregionintermsoffinance,marketingandimprovedincomes.

STraTegy

The strategy remains to support producer groups byimproving the quality and quantity of products, whileaddressingsocialandenvironmentalconcerns.Trainingtools

designed to enhance producer group management wereimproved. Financial access through established saving andcredit cooperatives, the provision of seed capital and MISenhancedsustainability.ThroughtheEthicalTeaPartnership,a gender-mainstreaming handbook was written to help inte-gratewomeninteaproduction.


A Project Country Manager for Tanzania and an Office Assis-tant for Nairobi were engaged and programme managersparticipated in global commodity meetings. The staffmembers were trained on quality Management Systems andSolidaridad maintained its ISO 9001:2008 certification. Soli-daridad East and Central Africa hosted the Annual GeneralMeetingsoftheContinentalSupervisoryBoard.PMEtrainingon reporting methodology and recording key performanceindicators was organised in Uganda for project and partnerstaffintheregion.

Trainingdesignedtoenhancethewayproducersorganisewasimproved.

Photo:H.P.AltingvonGeusau

Coffee 1,290,000 Tea 92,000 Fruit&vegetables 886,000 Cotton 233,000 Gold 31,000 Sugarcane 195,000 Livestock 73,000 Other 131,000


solidaridadnetwork.org/eastcentralafrica






total




personnelatSolidaridadeastandCentralafricainFTes

investmentsbySolidaridadeastandCentralafricaineuros

2010 2011 2012 201310 9 12 14



SolidaridadSouThaNdSouTh-eaSTaSia

waTereFFiCieNCyiNiNdiaNagriCulTure

SolidaridadandhindustanunileverFoundationhavejointlylaunchedoneofthelargestwaterefficiencyprogrammesinindia(target:0.4to1trillionlitresofwatersavedoverthreeyearsthroughsustainableagriculture).Thiswillaffectthesugar-cane,cotton,soyandteasectorsacross38districtsofninestatesinindia(nearly700,000hectares).


By2050Asia’spopulationisexpectedtoreach5.3billion.Life-style changes have led to increased demand for land, feed-stock,fibre,bio-fuelandtimber.Yetthereisalreadyaseriousshortage of land, water and energy in the region. Solidaridadisdevelopinganintegratedsustainableland,waterandenergyuseapproach,togetherwithleadingbusinesses.


Solidaridad has started a water efficiency programmeaffecting 780,000 workers and smallholders in India inpartnership with Hindustan Unilever Foundation (HUF),while in Bangladesh a sustainable dairy and aquacultureprogramme supporting food security for 200,000 peoplehas been established in partnership with EKN, Dhaka. Aninnovative model has been created for the world’s largestsugar programme in partnership with IFC, South Asia, fourleading sugar companies and 200,000 smallholders. Thesustainable soy programme emerged as the biggest in India,supporting 75,000 soy smallholders in three states. Soli-daridad is implementing the Trustea programme that aimsto transform the Indian tea market, together with IDH, HULand Tata Global Beverages. An innovative fire and buildingsafety programme for the textile sector and the launch oftheUS$11millionWaterPACTprogrammeinBangladeshwillhelp 500 factories avoid accidents, save water and preventpollution.

STraTegy

Theregionhasleadingproducersandconsumersofalmostallthemajoragro-commoditiesSolidaridadisworkingwith.Thestrategic focus is on transforming Asian producers as well asdomesticmarketsthroughlarge-scalesustainableuseofland,waterandenergy.


Staffnumbersincreasedstronglybetween2012and2013andthe number of offices has grown from 1 to 11, with 90 FTEsemployedatyear-end2013.TheregionalofficeisregisteredinHong Kong, with branches in India, Bangladesh, Vietnam andIndonesia.Amanagerandaregionalprogrammecoordinatormanage each country and commodity programme, respec-tively. quality management (based on ISO 9001-2008), PME,financeandadministrationhavebeenstrengthened.

Measuringrainfall.Solidaridaddirectlysupports779,000indianfarmers.

PhotoJayaraj

Coffee 8,000 Tea 490,000 Fruit&vegetables 243,000 Cotton 53,000 Textiles 237,000 Soy 356,000 Palmoil 191,000 Sugarcane 439,000 Livestock 116,000 Aquaculture 233,000 Other 27,000


solidaridadnetwork.org/ssea






total




personnelatSolidaridadSouthandSoutheastasiainFTes

investmentsbySolidaridadSouthandSoutheastasiaineuros

2010 2011 2012 20139 11 19 89.2

Actual2012 Budget2013 Actual2013 Budget2014544,000 3,284,000 2,391,000 8,388,000


SolidaridadChiNa

developiNgSuSTaiNablebuSiNeSSCaSeS

Thescarcityofbusinesscaseshaslongbeenamajorobstacletoconvincingstakeholderstomakegenuineinvestmentsinsustainability.in2013–thankstointensiveeffortsdesignedtoaddresstheirneeds–arangeofvoluntaryeffortsweremadebyproducergroupspursuingsustainability.


In 2013 international development funds for the world’ssecond largest economy shrank further. In response to thischallenge, Solidaridad China intensified its efforts in findingconcretesolutionstovalue-chainsustainabilitychallenges.Asaresult,therewassteadygrowth,particularlyinthesoybean,cottonandtextileprogrammes.


Ensuringfoodsecurityinasustainablewayworldwidecannotbe achieved without China – the top global importer ofmultiple commodities such as soybean and palm oil. In 2013,besides ongoing support to soybean farmers in China, Soli-daridad China succeeded in building alliances with leadingorganisations such as TNC, WWF, the Chinese SoybeanIndustry Association and the Paulson Institute, to mobilizemarketdemandforsustainablecommoditiesinChina.InMay2013, Solidaridad China co-organised the RTRS’ 8th annualconferenceinBeijing,encouraging240globalsoybeanactorsto jointly explore strategies promoting sustainability andresponsibility. In close collaboration with global leaders inthe apparel industry such as H&M & C&A, Solidaridad Chinasucceeded in expanding a small pilot project on cleanerproduction into a Better Mills Initiative (BMI) designed toeliminatetheuseofhazardoussubstancesandtosavemillionsoftonsofwateramong70dyeing&printingmills.

STraTegy

Besidesofferinghands-onsupporttoproducers,Solidaridad

China has long adopted a holistic approach to promotingsustainability, i.e. setting up sector-wide stakeholder plat-forms to encourage local participation and ownership,leading to genuine commitment and long-lasting impact. Inaddition, the China team is actively exploring China’s role insupportingproducersworldwide.


Despiteincreasingchallengesintermsoffundraising,Solidar-idad China has grown steadily. In 2013 the team grew from 9to17FTEs,withastrongerpresenceinthefield.Thefinancialmanagement department was also strengthened, now withtwofull-timestafftoensuretransparencyandaccountability.In addition, a full-time position focusing on market develop-ment was created to engage with business partners and tobuildstrongercollaborationwithSolidaridadregionalcentresinLatinAmerica,Asia,andAfrica.

SolidaridadsupportsChinesesmallholders,whoconstitutethebackboneoftheworld’snumberonecottonindustry.

Photo:JosKuklewski

Tea 17,000 Cotton 189,000 Textiles 71,000 Soy 137,000 Otherprojects 82,000


solidaridadnetwork.org/china






total




personnelatSolidaridadChinainFTes

investmentsbySolidaridadChinaineuros

2010 2011 2012 20134 9 9 17

Actual2012 Budget2013 Actual2013 Budget2014287,000 610,000 497,000 1,043,000


SolidaridadTheNeTherlaNdS

high-qualiTybuSiNeSSparTNerShipS

in2013SolidaridadtheNetherlandseffectivelyimplementedanaccountmanagementstructurefor56europeancompaniesandiscurrentlydiscussingclosestrategicpartnershipswithsevenofthesecompanies.Thismovefromaquantitativetoaqualitativeapproachhasalreadyproveditsvalueandambitioustargetshavebeensetfortheyearsahead.


Recent trends clearly show that there is a growing commit-ment by companies to invest in good business practices andto improve the sustainability performance of their suppliers.However,despitesuchcommitments,progresscanbeunder-mined.UntilrecentlySolidaridaddistinguishedthreetypesofcompanies:firstmovers,followersandlaggards.Nowthereisafourthcategory:underperformers–companiesthatdonotlive up to their commitments. An example of this was Dutchsoy importers, who did not increase their uptake of RTRScertifiedsoywithintheagreeddeadline.Thisnotonlydemo-tivates producers; it also sends a wrong signal to the market.In such cases, the challenge for Solidaridad is to combinethe role of a constructive partner with that of a – sometimespublic–critic.


When it comes to partnerships, Solidaridad the Netherlandsis moving from quantity to quality. In line with this approach,strategic partnerships are being developed with Unilever,Nestlé, Mars, Friesland Campina, H&M and M&S. Thesepartnerships are designed to achieve a market transform-ation which is sustainable and relevant for producers andcustomers alike. The Dutch government, which is making ashift from aid to trade, recognizes Solidaridad’s expertise inthisfieldandisprovidingcontinuedsupportforprogrammesaroundtheworld.

STraTegy

Solidaridad’s traditional focus has been on developing andimprovingstandardssystems,andthisiscrucialforachievingsector change. Notwithstanding this commitment, Soli-daridad sees the need for a critical debate on whether thesesystems effectively address the root causes of poverty andunsustainableproductionsystems.Asalearningorganisation,Solidaridadwillusethisdebatetoimproveitsstrategies.


The budget of Solidaridad the Netherlands was €18.9 millionin 2013, representing 57% of the total Network budget. Interms of staffing, Solidaridad Utrecht has grown from 30.7to 31.9 FTEs. The scope of this office has been broadened toaccommodate new livestock and aquaculture programmes,andtacklingfoodinsecurity.

TheFor the love of chocolateexhibitioninamsterdamattracted35,000peopleandisnowtravellingtootherlocations.

Photo:RobertAarts

Coffee 2,690,000 Tea 94,000 Cocoa 1,332,000 Fruit&vegetables 204,000 Cotton 3,821,000 Textiles 1,466,000 Gold 639,000 Soy 1,520,000 Palmoil 1,697,000 Sugarcane 2,042,000 Livestock 568,000 Aquaculture 94,000 Other 2,709,000


solidaridadnetwork.org/netherlands






total




personnelatSolidaridadtheNetherlandsinFTes

investmentsbySolidaridadtheNetherlandsineuros

2010 2011 2012 201320.3 27.1 30.7 31.9



Coffee 50,000 Cocoa 8,000 Cotton 10,000 Textiles 8,000 Gold 8,000 Soy 25,000 Palmoil 36,000 Sugarcane 8,000 Livestock 25,000 Aquaculture 8,000


SolidaridadNorThaMeriCa

buildiNgparTNerShipSToSupporTproduCerS

Solidaridad’snewestregionalofficehasalreadyestablishedpromisingrelationshipswithcompanies,donororganisationsandNgosasitseekstosupportsustainablemarketdevelopmentforcommoditiesproducedaroundtheworld.Fundingfromu.S.donorsisalreadysupportingthedesignofsoyandlivestockprojectsinargentina,aswellasworkwithfemalecottonfarmersinChina.


In 2013 a number of North American companies – includingGeneral Mills, Pepsico, Safeway, Walmart and Coca-Cola –made ambitious commitments on sustainable sourcing andproducersupport,includingseveralthatrelatetoSolidaridad-supportedcommodities.Meanwhile,theCaliforniadrought–theworstin500years–hasbroughtnationalattentiontotheneedtodevelopecologicallyresilientsupplychains.


Solidaridad North America developed a partnership withWalmart Foundation to support female cotton farmers inChina, and Walmart Foundation has donated their first grant(worthUS$220,000)forcapacitybuildingamongthisgroupoffarmers. In 2013, Solidaridad became an official member of theTropical Forest Alliance 2020, a public-private partnership ofConsumer Goods Forum members, governments (includingUSA,Norway,UKandtheNetherlands)andalargenumberofcivil society organisations, working together to achieve zeronet deforestation by 2020 for the soy, palm, livestock, andpulpandpapersupplychains. During the year, Solidaridad also built relationships witha number of other networks and civil society organisations,includingtheAspenNetworkofDevelopmentEntrepreneurs,the Inter-American Development Bank, the Sustainable Agri-culture and Food Systems Funders, the Rainforest Alliance,The Nature Conservancy, Columbia University’s Earth Insti-tute,andtheStanfordGraduateSchoolofBusiness.

STraTegy

Solidaridad North America is working closely with globalcommodity teams to support market development efforts.In2013theNetwork’scapacitytointegratesmartandsustain-ablelandusebybuildingin-houseknowledgeandsupportingrelevant projects was developed. In addition, the REC isworking on developing self-financing business models toscaleupbothreachandimpact.


SolidaridadNorthAmericaofficiallybecamea501(c)(3)non-profit entity, convened its first board meeting in New YorkCity, and increased its staff to three, with a new office on theEast Coast. A communication strategy was developed andwork started on creating marketing and communicationsmaterialstailoredtoNorthAmericanaudiences.

withthesupportofwalmartFoundation,SolidaridadishelpingfemalecottonfarmersinChinatoimprovetheirlivelihoods.

Photo:JosKuklewski

solidaridadnetwork.org/northamerica






total




personnelatSolidaridadNorthamericainFTes

investmentsbySolidaridadNorthamericaineuros

2010 2011 2012 2013– – – 3

Actual2012 Budget2013 Actual2013 Budget2014– 161,000 186,000 500,000


Photo:JosKuklewski

SuperviSioN,MaNageMeNTaNdorgaNiSaTioN


FullSuperviSorySTruCTureiNplaCe

TheSolidaridadNetworkaimstobeaneffective,influential,innovativelearningorganisationwithareputationasoneofthebestengagedininternationaldevelopmentcooperation.Thisrequiresawiderangeofchecksandbalances.inrecentyearsafullyoperationalnetworksupervisorystructurehasbeenputinplace.

NeTworkSTruCTure

Solidaridad Foundation, which was founded on 15 June 1976,is based in Utrecht in the Netherlands. Solidaridad gradu-ally expanded to assume its current form, a network withten local entities that are facilitated by a network secre-tariat in the same building as Solidaridad the Netherlands. InDecember 2013 Solidaridad Network formalised new stat-utes in accordance with the organisation’s current circum-stances. The new structure is intended to ensure that Solidar-idad Network is seen as a credible organisation, with atransparent, responsible, cost-effective system of supervi-sion – one that affirms Solidaridad’s vision, programme andworking methods. It is based on the following fundamentalprinciples: promoting alignment by means of global strate-gies for commodities; ensuring a high degree of autonomyfor the regional expertise centres; maintaining a profes-sional approach, which maximises the impact of Solidaridadprogrammes;andasharedvisionandmission.”

SuperviSioN

The International Supervisory Board (ISB) is the highest(international) level.TheISBmonitorspolicies,thequalityofprogrammes, financial control and the performance of theExecutive Board of Directors. Five Continental SupervisoryBoards (CSBs) monitor the regional programmes. The CSBshaveeachdelegatedonemembertotheInternationalSuper-visoryBoard,whichwillbeestablishedin2014.Untilthen,themembersoftheSupervisoryBoardofSolidaridadtheNether-landsalsocomprisetheInternationalSupervisoryBoard.

The ISB met four times in 2013. The most important topicsdiscussedwere:

− Strategy:approvingthevisionandmissionofSolidaridadaswellasdiscussingthestrategyoftheDutchMinistryofForeignAffairs,evaluatingthemeetingsoftheBoardofDirectors,whichwereheldinAprilandOctober,anddecidingontheannualplanfor2014.

− Finance:approvingtheannualfinancialreportfor2012,discussingtheinterimfiguresfor2013andapprovingthebudgetfor2014.

− Management:evaluatingtheperformanceoftheSupervisoryBoard,ExecutiveDirectorandManaging

SolidaridadSouth

America

Jeroen Douglas

SolidaridadAndes

Gonzalo la Cruz

SolidaridadCentral America

Michaelyn Baur

SolidaridadWest Africa

Isaac Gyamfi

SolidaridadEast and

Central Africa

Karugu Macharia

Executive BoardSolidaridad Network

Executive director:Nico Roozen

Solidaridad NetworkSecretariat

InternationalSupervisory BoardSolidaridad Network

Management

ContinentalSupervisory BoardSolidaridad Network

Africa


Latin America


Asia

Supervisory BoardSolidaridad Network

the Netherlands

SolidaridadSouthern

Africa

Annie Sugrue

SolidaridadSouth and South-East

Asia

Shatadru Chattopadhayay

SolidaridadChina

Martin Ma

Solidaridadthe

Netherlands

Nico Roozen

LATIN AMERICA AFRICA ASIA EUROPE


North America

SolidaridadNorth

America

AndréanneGrimard

NORTH AMERICA

Supervision

SolidaridadNetwork


Director,ensuringthatnewstatutesareinaccordancewiththestatutesoftheSolidaridadNetworkandapprovinganewinternationalcodeofconduct.

− evaluation:checkingthe2012annualreportanddiscussingthesectorprogrammes.

TheInternationalSupervisoryBoardevaluateditsownopera-tions during 2013. The conclusion of this evaluation was thatthe International Supervisory Board was suitable and effec-tive–inlinewithdevelopmentsinothersimilarorganisations.The evaluation, which focused on four points, includes 46questions,withthepossibilitytoscore“good”(4)“sufficient”(3), “moderate” (2) or “poor” (1). The average score was 3.4(onascaleof4).

MaNageMeNT

TheglobalexecutivelevelisformedbythedirectorsofthetenSolidaridadorganisationsthatconstitutethedecision-makingExecutive Board of Directors (EBoD). The EBoD is the mainpolicy-making body, providing policy coherence, consistencyand relevance and it is also responsible for implementingpolicy.ThechairoftheEBoDistheExecutiveDirectorofSoli-daridadNetwork.During2013,NicoRoozenwastheExecutiveDirector of Solidaridad Network, and he was also the statu-tory director of Solidaridad the Netherlands. The ExecutiveDirector,whoisemployedbytheSolidaridadNetworkSecre-tariat,isappointedbytheInternationalSupervisoryBoard.

regioNaleXeCuTioN

The ten Solidaridad organisations are responsible forcoordinatingglobalprogrammes,whileregionalmanagementistheresponsibilityoftheindividualdirectors,wholeadtheirregional offices and staff. The regional Solidaridad organisa-tions, which are responsible for programme development,deliverconsolidatedpolicyandprogrammedevelopment.Allregional organisations are affiliated to Solidaridad Network.This facilitates joint policy development, as well as hiring andfiringofdirectors,andensuresthatoperationsarefinanciallysound.

reMuNeraTioNoFTheMaNagiNgdireCTorS

The ISB reviews its salary policy periodically. The latestperformanceappraisaltookplaceinJanuary2014.TheDutchWijffels Code and the VFI’s Guidelines for the remunera-tion of directors in philanthropic organisations (Adviesrege-ling Beloning Directeuren van Goede Doelen) were used asguidelines in this evaluation. The latter proposes a maximumsalarynorm,basedoncertaincriteria.TheSupervisoryBoardfound the Executive Director’s position had a BSD score of460 points, for which the maximum full-time annual incomeis€124,233. The actual annual income of the Executive Director in2013 – before this evaluation – was €102,623 (17% belowthe maximum). The level and composition of this salary isexplainedinthefollowingtable.

remunerationoftheexecutivedirector

2013 2012

Employmentcontract Indefiniteperiod Indefiniteperiod

Hours 36 36

Percentageoffulltime 100 100

Period Allof2013 Allof2012

Remuneration(ineuros)

Grosssalary 87,739 82,469

End-of-yearbonus 7,282 6,845

Holidaypay 7,602 7,145

102,623 96,459

Employersocialsecuritycontribution

8,314 8,216

Taxableallowances – –

Employerpensioncontribution 24,881 21,408

Otherbenefits – –

Paymentsattermination – –

Total 135,818 126,083

Solidaridadprovidednoloans,advancesorguaranteestotheDirector. Two thirds of this amount (€90,545) is paid by Soli-daridad the Netherlands and one third (€45,273) by the Soli-daridadNetworkSecretariat. The remuneration of the regional Managing Directors isdisclosedintheannualreportsofthelocalentities.

remunerationoftheSupervisoryboardInaccordancewithSolidaridad’sstatutes,themembersoftheInternational Supervisory Board receive no remuneration ofanykind.

long-termandannualplanningEach entity in the Solidaridad Network produces a four-yearMulti Annual Strategic Plan, which shows how it translatesits mission and vision into operational objectives. This plan isdrawnupbymanagementandapprovedbytheInternationalSupervisory Board. The annual plans extrapolate the multi-annual strategic plan into more specific objectives, desiredresults,activitiesandbudgets.

Fund-raising(planningandcosts)Solidaridad Network not only finances projects in devel-oping countries; it also invests in making Western marketsmore sustainable by influencing policy-makers and throughresearch. Solidaridad Network strives to maintain a reason-able relationship between its operational costs and its totalcosts, keeping operational costs as low as possible withoutendangeringthequalityofitsoperations.


riSkS,CoNTrolaNdqualiTy

Trustcomesfirst…Above all, Solidaridad needs to maintain a trustworthy prac-tice.Whileemployeesandpartnersworkonthebasisofrecip-rocal trust, management guards against individual abuses ofthistrust.

riSkMaNageMeNT

AssessingtherisksandtheirconsequencesforourstrategyisalwaysontheagendaoftheExecutiveBoardofDirectors.Thefollowingrisksareconsideredtobecrucial: Reputational damage resulting from partnerships withcompanies. Solidaridad has internal guidelines for coopera-tionandcommunicationwithcompanies. Illegitimate use of grant funds, leading to repayment obli-gations to donors. The budget is approved by the ManagingDirector and the separation of powers is appropriate. Withlarge grants, the suitability of expenditure is investigated byanexternalauditor. Theeconomicclimateandthewillingnessofprivatedonorsto donate. Solidaridad maintains quality marks and periodicexternalauditsensurecompliance. The unpredictability of government policies. Political deci-sion-making – and available funding – are hard to predict, asarethepoliticalforceswhichaffectpartnercompanies.

CoNTrolSySTeMS

SolidaridadNetworkiscommittedtotransparencyandeffec-tivedeploymentofresources.Tosupportthis,anERPsystemcalledPROMISwasimplementedin2012.Thissystemcontrib-utes to sound management of funds and improved insightinto the allocation of resources. PROMIS monitors the fulluse of funds and the progress of projects, thus forming thebasis for assessing the proper operation of the internal riskmanagementsystemandrelatedinternalcontrols. EachSolidaridadentityhasafinancialcontrollerwhosetaskitistooverseeaccountingandinternalcontrol,inadditiontothedepartmentsthatremainresponsiblefortheseactivities.Knowledge is key to risk management. Where there is goodinsightintoactivities,policiescanbeadjustedaccordingly.

Solidaridad Network seeks to achieve high quality in allaspectsofitswork.Localentitiesthathavereachedacertainsize are required to certify under the ISO 9001:2008 norm.SolidaridadtheNetherlands,SolidaridadWestAfricaandSoli-daridad East and Central Africa have achieved such certifica-tion.Internalauditorsandanexternalcertificateissuingbodyregularly examine whether quality management systemsmeet international standards and whether any progress hasbeenmadeinthepreviousperiod. Based on the above, we believe that our internal riskmanagement and control systems provide a reasonableassurance that the financial statements are free from incor-rectdataandthatthesesystemshaveworkedproperlyduringthe year reported on. We also have no indications that thesesystemswillnotworkproperlyinthecurrentyear.

auditofannualreportandaccountsExternalreportingonalltenregionalorganisationstakesplacethroughpublicationofthisannualreportandaccounts.Theseare verified by an auditor and accompanied by an auditor’sopinion.TheauditorsdiscusstheirfindingswithmanagementandmayalsocalltheattentionoftheContinentalSupervisoryBoardtoanypointsthatneedtobeaddressed,orareaswhereimprovementscouldbemade.

STaFF,wageSaNdperSoNNelpoliCy

In 2012 Solidaridad Network employed 190 full-time staff(FTE). At the end of 2013, this figure was 276, an increase of45%. Each local Solidaridad entity decides on its own salarypolicy, which describes all staff positions and the tasks andresponsibilities that go with them. Positions at Solidaridadare typically weighted on the basis of characteristics such asknowledge and experience, independence, social skills andrisks,responsibilityandinfluence. Solidaridad Network is a knowledge-intensive organisa-tion that depends on well-qualified staff. Its staff must beinvolved, motivated, innovative and customer-oriented. Thisis why Solidaridad Network devotes a great deal of attentionto recruitment and why there is ample opportunity and anadequatebudgetforcareerdevelopment.

ThedirectorsofthetenSolidaridadorganisations,whoconstitutethedecision-makingexecutiveboardofdirectors.Nicoroozen(chair)gonzalolaCruzShatadruChattopadhayayJeroendouglasMartinMakaruguMachariaMichaelynbachhuberbaurannieSugrueandreannegrimardisaacgyamfi



FiNaNCialreporT


aNalySiSoFThereSulTSoFSolidaridadNeTworkiN 2013

ThetotalbudgetofSolidaridadNetworkin2013was€33.8million,whichis25%abovethetotalbudgetfor2012(€26.9million).Thebudgetisexpectedtogrowtoatleast€40millionin2014.

Solidaridadorganisationsintheglobalsouthcontributed45%ofthetotalbudget(against29%in2012).Theircontributionisexpectedtogrowtomorethan50%in2014.ThisincreasingcontributiontogrowthbytheregionalexpertisecentresisaresultofthecombinedeffortoftheNetworktodevelopaglobalstrategyforsustainablemarketdevelopmentandtolinkmarketsinEuropeandNorthAmericatocommodityprogrammesinthesouth.

Thetablebelowshowscontractedincomefor2013comparedto2012andthebudgetfor2014(perregionalexpertisecentre).

budgeT(in€1,000) Actual2012 actual2013 Budget2014

ContractedincomeSolidaridadAndes 305 210 800

ContractedincomebySolidaridadCentralAmerica 0 508 150

ContractedincomebySolidaridadSouthAmerica 3,207 2,352 3,100

ContractedincomebySolidaridadEastandCentralAfrica 956 1,855 1,800

ContractedincomebySolidaridadWestAfrica 3,013 8,445 6,000

ContractedincomebySolidaridadSouthernAfrica 0 66 1,000

ContractedincomebySolidaridadSouthandSouth-EastAsia 118 1,283 5,800

ContractedincomebySolidaridadChina 0 0 150

ContractedincomebySolidaridadtheNetherlands 19,048 18,473 19,375

ContractedincomebySolidaridadNorthAmerica 0 65 500

Financialgainsandotherincome 292 541 0

Estimatedincomeinthepipeline 0 0 3,325

Totalincome 26,938 33,800 42,000

Contractedfunds–oneoftheindicatorsofgrowthinaregionalprogramme–canbeinterpretedinconjunctionwithotherindicatorssuchastheprogrammeinvestmentratioandthenumberofFTEsinordertoobtainafullpictureofthescaleandactivitiesofaregionalprogramme.Regionalexpertisecentresthatspecialiseinfundraising,donormanagementandcommunication,suchasSolidaridadtheNetherlandsandSolidaridadNorthAmerica,arelikelytohaveahighlevelofcontractedfundsandalowinvestmentratio.Likewise,aregionalexpertisecentrethatimplementsprojectswithitsownpermanentstaff,willhavealowcontractedincome,ahighprogrammeinvestmentratioandahighnumberofstaffmembers.

Thebudgetfor2014ismainlybasedonsigneddonorcontracts.Theriskthatthisbudgetwillnotbeachievedislimitedtotheextenttowhichdonorsmaynotmeettheircontractualobligations.Itisexpectedthatsupplementarycommitmentsbydonorswillbemadeduring2014andthatthebudgetwillthereforebeexceeded.Currentgrowthinincomeisexpectedtocontinueasthelong-termforecastbelowshows.

ForeCaST(in€1,000) Contracted 2014 Forecast2015 Forecast2016 Forecast2017

SolidaridadAndes 800 1,000 1,500 2,000

SolidaridadCentralAmerica 150 300 750 1,000

SolidaridadSouthAmerica 3,100 4,000 4,000 4,500

SolidaridadEastandCentralAfrica 1,800 2,500 3,500 4,500

SolidaridadWestAfrica 6,000 9,000 10,000 11,000

SolidaridadSouthernAfrica 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500

SolidaridadSouthandSouth-EastAsia 5,800 8,500 9,000 12,000

SolidaridadChina 150 200 250 500

SolidaridadtheNetherlands 19,375 20,000 21,000 25,000

SolidaridadNorthAmerica 500 2,000 4,000 6,000

Other 3325 1,000 1,000 1,000

Totalforecast 42,000 50,000 57,000 70,000


FigureSperregioNaleXperTiSeCeNTre

In€1,000

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iNCoMe

Projectrevenuesfromownfundraising

210 508 2,352 8,664 1,855 66 1,283 0 18,473 65 0

OverheadsupportfromRECNL 42 194 0 0 160 176 0 0 0 104 670

ProjectrevenuesfromotherRECs 794 1,502 7,239 2,434 2,068 1,634 1,413 673 232 220 0

OtherincomefromotherRECs 0 100 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Financialincome(interestandforeignexchangegains)

0 0 0 9 0 2 0 0 385 0 3

Otherincome 107 0 -25 15 150 0 0 0 0 0 0

Totalincome 1,046 2,304 9,566 11,122 4,234 1,879 2,697 673 19,091 389 673

eXpeNdiTure

Projectexpenses–ownprojectexpenses

497 584 4,352 6,040 2,836 982 1,805 294 4,477 53 0

Projectexpenses–tootherRECs 0 0 5,976 83 0 0 110 0 12,346 40 0

Totalpersonnelcosts 367 172 476 895 213 202 553 230 2,328 158 303

Other(office)expenses 210 155 108 168 166 154 306 105 1,399 119 296

OtherexpenditureregardingotherRECs

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 0 0 0

Financialexpenses(interestandforeignexchangelosses)

53 0 0 525 0 7 0 4 0 0 0

Totalexpenditure 1,127 911 10,912 7,185 3,215 1,344 2,775 639 20,550 370 599

result -81 1,393 -1,346 3,937 1,019 535 -78 34 -1,459 19 74

aCCouNTiNgMeThodS

Thefigurespresentedabove,whichprovideafairrepresentationoftheincomeandexpenseofeachregionalexpertisecentre,areinaccordancewithlocallyauditedfinancialstatements,whichcomplywithlocalrulesandregulations.Thesefigurescannotbeaccumulatedtorepresentaggregatedincomeandexpenditurebecausetheycontaininter-regionalflowsoffunds.

TheresultsachievedbytheRegionalExpertiseCentresvaryduetothedifferentaccountingmethodsthattheyuse.Somecentresaccountforincomeintheyeartowhichitrelatesandbringforwardcontractedbutunallocatedincometootheryears.Thosecentreshavestableresultsthatbalanceataroundzero,butdonotreportthetotalincomethathasbeencontractedinacertainyear.Othercentresaccountforallincomeintheyearitwascontractedand/orreceivedandbringforwardunspentfundstothebalancesheet.Theadvantageofthelatteristhatincomeisreflectedinafairmanner;thedisadvantageisthatresultswillfluctuateovertheyears.

Intheyearsahead,SolidaridadNetworkwillharmoniseitsaccountingmethodsandworktowardspresentingconsolidatedfinancialstatements.

iNCoMe,eXpeNdiTureaNdreSulTSoFSolidaridadNeTwork

IncomeperRegionalExpertiseCentre(REC)issplitbetweenwhataREChasformallycontracteditselfandwhathasbeenreceivedviaothercentres.SolidaridadSouthAmericahasahighlevelofincomeviaotherorganisationsbecauseitadministerstheFarmerSupportProgramme,whichisfinancedbytheDutchgovernment.

ThetotalexpenditureofaRECgenerallyprovidesagoodideaofitssizeandthelevelofitsactivities.ProjectexpenditurehaseitherbeeninvestedviaotherorganisationsintheSolidaridadNetworkorbeenpaiddirectlytoexternalimplementingpartners.

* Gross expenditure including budget transferred to other Solidaridad centres.


Salarycostsinoneexpertisecentrearedifficulttocomparetothoseinanother.OnanabsolutelevelsalarycostsvarybetweenRECsbecausetheydependonpricelevels–andinflation–intheregions.Relativecomparisonsalsorevealdifferences.Organisationsthatemployexternalconsultantsontheirprojectshavearelativelylowlevelofsalarycost.Smallerexpertisecentresspendalargerportionoftheirtotalcostsonsalaries.Andfinally,someRECsaremoreengagedinactivitiessuchasfundraising,communicationandmarketlinkage.Thesecentreshavehighersalarylevelscomparedtotheirinvestmentsinprojects.

Someexpertisecentreshaverelativelyhighpositive–ornegative–results,whereasothershaveresultsthatareclosertozero.Thisisduetotheuseofdifferentaccountingpolicies,asexplainedabove.ThesignificantnegativeresultofSolidaridadtheNetherlandsreflectsadecisiontospendaproportionofthereservesthathadbeenbuiltupinpreviousyears.SolidaridadtheNetherlandshassufficientuncommittedreservestocovertheshortagefor2013.

ToTalprograMMeiNveSTMeNTS

Totalprogrammeinvestmentsarecalculatedbyallocatingaproportionofsalaryandothercoststotheprojectexpenditurerelatedtocommodityprogrammes.Theprogrammeinvestmentratioiscalculatedbytakingthetotalinvestmentsincommodityprogrammesandexpressingtheseasapercentageofthetotalexpenditureofaregionalexpertisecentre.

programmeinvestmentratiosandcostsin€1,000

Investmentratio Totalinvestmentsinprogrammes

Totalexpenditure

SolidaridadAndes 91% 1,027 1,127

SolidaridadCentralAmerica 64% 584 911

SolidaridadSouthAmerica 95% 10,327 10,912

SolidaridadEastandCentralAfrica 91% 2,931 3,215

SolidaridadWestAfrica 96% 6,915 7,185

SolidaridadSouthernAfrica 73% 982 1,344

SolidaridadSouthandSouth-EastAsia 86% 2,391 2,775

SolidaridadChina 78% 497 639

SolidaridadtheNetherlands 74% 15,132 20,550

SolidaridadNorthAmerica 50% 186 370

Someregionalexpertisecentreshavelowerspendingratiosbecausetheircoreactivitiescompriseelementssuchasfundraising,communication,influencingpolicyandmarketlinkage.Somesmallerregionalexpertisecentreshavelowerspendingratiosbecausetheyspendarelativelylargeproportionoftheirexpenditureonothercosts.SolidaridadNetworkisdevelopinganewkeyperformanceindicatorthatwillreflectlevelsofspendingontheseequallyimportantcoreactivities.

STaFFNuMberS

Attheendof2013SolidaridadNetworkemployed276staffmembers–expressedasfull-timeequivalents(FTEs)–asagainst176FTEsattheendof2012.Growthwasparticularlystronginthesouthernregions,asthetablebelowshows.

employeesasper31december(full-timeequivalents,FTEs)

2013 2012 2011 2010

SolidaridadAndes 30 26 25 12

SolidaridadCentralAmerica 7 10.2 7.2 0

SolidaridadSouthAmerica 19 13,5 8 4

SolidaridadEastandCentralAfrica 14 12 9 10

SolidaridadWestAfrica 54 47 32 22

SolidaridadSouthernAfrica 8.5 7 2 0

SolidaridadSouthandSouth-EastAsia 89.2 19 11 9

SolidaridadChina 17 9 9 4

SolidaridadtheNetherlands 31.9 30.7 27.1 20.3

SolidaridadNorthAmerica 3 0 0 0

SolidaridadNetworkSecretariat 2.5 1.6 0 0

TotalFTes 276.1 176.0 130.3 81.3

-

solIdarIdad nEtwork

wE opEratE as a global nEtwork of rEgIonal ExpErtIsE cEntrEs

solIdarIdad nEtwork

solidaridad network international secretariatDirector: Nico Roozen’t Goylaan 15, 3525 AA Utrecht, the NetherlandsTel: +31 30 275 94 [email protected]

solIdarIdad contInEntal foundatIons

solidaridad network asiaHong KongContact via Solidaridad South and Southeast Asia

solidaridad network latin america (Fundación Solidaridad Latino America)Panama City, PanamaContact via Solidaridad South America

solidaridad network africaNairobi, KenyaContact via Solidaridad Eastern and Central Africa

solIdarIdad rEgIonal ExpErtIsE cEntrEs

solidaridad south americaDirector: Jeroen DouglasFederico Lacroze 1724, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, CP: 1426 Argentina. Tel: +54 11 47 75 92 91 / 47 76 48 53Country office: Brazil contact via Solidaridad South America

solidaridad andesDirector: Gonzalo la CruzAddress: Av. Roosevelt no 5866, Miraflores Lima 18, PerúTel: +51 1 44 54 242

solidaridad central americaDirector: Michaelyn Bachhuber Baur15 Avenida 13-45, Zona 10, Oakland Guatemala Ciudad, GuatemalaTel: +502 23 66 58 56 ext 115

solidaridad west africaDirector: Isaac GyamfiHse No 18, Okine Street, East Legon, Accra Ghana

PMB KD 11 Kanda AccraTel: +233 302 52 28 69Country office: Ivory Coast (Abidjan), Cameroun (Yaounde), Nigeria (Akure). Contact via Solidaridad West Africa

solidaridad southern africaDirector: Annie Sugrue105 Oxford Road, Saxonwold, 2196, Johannesburg, South AfricaPO Box 87286, Houghton, 2041, Johannesburg, South AfricaTel: +27 11 788 79 52

solidaridad Eastern and central africaDirector: Karugu MachariaKirichwa Road, Kilimani Business CentreP.O. Box 42234-00100 GPO, Nairobi, KenyaTel: +254 716 66 68 62 / 722 72 39 16

solidaridad south and south-East asiaDirector: Shatadru Chattopadhayay1st Floor, A-5, Shankar Garden, Main Najafgarh Road, Vikas Puri, New

Delhi – 110018, IndiaTel: +91 11 25 51 51 22Country office: Bangladesh (Dhaka), Indonesia. Contact via Solidaridad South and South-East Asia

solidaridad chinaDirector: Martin MaRoom 1407, Building A, New World Plaza, Chongwen Districht, Beijing 100062, ChinaTel: +86 10 67 08 91 10

solidaridad north americaDirector: Andreanne Grimard25 Taylor Street, San Francisco, CA, 94102, USATel: +1 415 580 20 79Other offices: New York City and Washington D.C. Contact via San Francisco office

solidaridad the netherlandsDirector: Nico Roozen’t Goylaan 15, 3525 AA Utrecht, the NetherlandsTel: +31 30 272 03 13

solidaridad north america San Francisco, US

solidaridad central americaGuatemala Ciudad, Guatemala

solidaridad the netherlandsUtrecht, the Netherlands

solidaridad Eastern and central africaNairobi, Kenya

solidaridad chinaBeijing, China

solidaridad south and south-East asiaNew Delhi, India

solidaridad southern africaJohannesburg, South Africa

solidaridad west africaAccra, Ghana

solidaridad andesLima, Peru

solidaridad south americaCiudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina

Coordination Bram Verkerke – Editing: Michael Gould – Design: Daan van Beek – Graphics on pages 6-12: Axioma – Print: Pascal, Utrecht – Photographs: Solidaridad, unless otherwise indicated – Cover photo: Kadir van Lohuizen

This annual report is available online in PDF format from www.solidaridadnetwork.org Solidaridad Network is registered as a foundation at the Chamber of Commerce in Utrecht, number 51756811.This annual report can be ordered (free of charge) at the Solidaridad Network secretariat in Utrecht, the Netherlands.

International secretariat’t Goylaan 15, 3525 AA Utrecht, the Netherlandstel: + 31 30 275 94 50fax: + 31 30 272 01 94e-mail: [email protected]

Mr. Enan Abblé grew up in south-east Côte d’Ivoire, where he attended school and learned to read and write. In 1981 Enan moved to the south-west of the country and planted 3.5 hectares with cocoa trees. As a farmer he attended many training courses in good agricultural practices. The knowledge and skills he thus gained raised his productivity to 700 kg/ha – three times higher than his neighbour.

Enan takes fighting pests seriously. He prunes to avoid black pod disease and uses leaves as markers on trees that need to be treated against pests. In this way he saves money on spraying and does less harm to the environment. Enan feeds the soil to keep it fertile, he plants high yielding cocoa trees and is an active member of the board of the local cooperative.

Enan is a successful cocoa farmer. However, his income is still below the poverty line. And the prospects for the future are worrying. Climate change not only affects cocoa production – it also threatens his food production. Drought destroyed the crops in the vegetable garden on which his small family depends for daily food. So, there’s still a long way to go to get to a sustainable future. That’s why Enan’s children don’t want to become cocoa farmers.

Solidaridad’s global cocoa programme supports farmers like Enan and creates sustainable economic change in the cocoa and chocolate supply chains. We do this with farmers and their organisations, traders, chocolate companies, retailers, governments and donors. Together, we can secure the future of cocoa farming. We do similar work in 11 other global commodity sectors. You too can join our cause. Please go to www.solidaridadnetwork.org.

Solidaridad Network’t Goylaan 153525 AA UtrechtThe NetherlandsIBAN: NL45 RABO 0129 9111 51BIC/SWIFT: RABONL2U

Change that matterswww.solidaridadnetwork.org

Photo: Kadir van Lohuizen

the solidaridad network 2013 annual report

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