Are you looking to build a sustainable and resilient supply chain?
Hire us to achieve your sustainability goals.
For over 40 years, Rikolto has been working on sustainable agriculture and food. Throughout the years, we’ve built global networks consisting of farmer organisations and diverse actors in the food system. Rikolto is a network organisation with teams in 17 countries.
We can offer full support, from the moment you are looking to set up a sustainable chain up until the aftercare when your product is already in stores. We can help you with an exploratory research and address practical and logistical preparations, agreements with chain actors, as well as the realisation and follow-up of ongoing chain operations (such as communication, optimisation, …).
For innovative chains that we develop together, we go the extra mile and jointly look for funding for the start-up and testing phases.
We start with an intake conversation. As a customer, you can clarify your expectations. We will discuss which sustainability strategy and/or products are most appropriate and whether or not it is advisable to work with certification.
In an initial research phase, we do a desk research into the feasibility and potential of the chain, by checking in with our network and colleagues in the field. We check the interest of various chain actors and specifically farmer organisations. We check the sustainability of current production and whether there are any “hot issues" in terms of environmental or social factors in the region (due diligence check). We apply the sustainability tool we have developed to look into environmental factors.
We will discuss the role of the different chain players, to come to an agreement that is interesting for each of the chain players. At this stage, we also recommend to visit the product’s region of origin together, so all chain players get to know the project and the possible challenges. This procedure may seem like a big investment, but in our experience, these visits are essential for the stakeholder motivation and hence, the success of the chain project. It is also at this stage that the business plan will be strengthened, KPIs will be defined and logistical options will be finetuned.
After signing the informal collaboration agreement, we proceed to the implementation of the chain.
Our support does not end once your product is in stores. We continue to support and monitor various aspects of the chain to ensure quality and to optimise the chain. Additionally, we offer communication support.
How do you build trustworthy relationships between farmers and food companies? Rikolto facilitates the use of the LINK methodology (developed by CIAT) to bring all value chain actors together.
Discover examples of inclusive value chain collaborations that Rikolto has brokered:
Don’t hesitate to mail me. We’ll be glad to give you additional information.
