Responsible supply chains in action

We are supporting efforts to help farmers adopt sustainable agricultural management practices, improve land use, increase the quality and quantity of their crops, and promote safe and efficient working practices. In rural areas where education and literacy levels are low, information and training is improving farming methods and efficiencies in pesticide and fertilizer use, and increasing farmers’ incomes.

Cargill is also supportive of using the Supplier Ethical Data Exchange (SEDEX) system and will
champion efforts to drive this system across the value chain.

Responsible supply chains examples

 

• On-the-ground support. In Brazil through our partnership with The Nature Conservancy,

  Read The Nature Conservancy's report, "Responsible Soy in the Amazon." (pdf)

  we are providing on-the ground support to farmers in the Santarém region to comply with the Brazilian Forest Code. Training farmers in reforestation techniques is resulting in areas of farmland being restored and protected, while helping our local suppliers fulfill their legal obligations.
• Improving cocoa-production practices. The UTZ CERTIFIED cocoa program – founded by Cargill, along with Dutch development organization Solidaridad and others in the cocoa sector – has introduced independent certification to improve agricultural, environmental and social practices in cocoa production. Through Cargill’s Farmer Field Schools program small-scale farmers are benefiting from a 30% increase in their incomes from higher yields, as well as an improvement in the quality of their crop for which they receive a quality-related bonus payment from Cargill. Our training program will reached 25,000 farmers in 2010 and will result in more than 10,000 tons of cocoa beans being available for use in sustainably certified chocolate and cocoa products.
• Implementing sustainable farming practices. Cargill, in partnership with Unilever, has started a pilot project to implement more sustainable farming practices for winter oilseed rape. Rapeseed oil is an essential ingredient in spreads and dressings. The project in Germany, the world’s largest producer of the crop, aims to assess existing agricultural methods and the potential impact of introducing more sustainable practices for this crop. It is hoped this will deliver the conditions and criteria for a sustainable winter oilseed rape supply chain by 2012.