report: finding an integrated market standard alterna/ve ...€¦ · report: finding an integrated...
TRANSCRIPT
REPORT:Findinganintegratedmarketstandardalterna/veforsmallholderfarmersinSouthAfricaWorkshopheldatSTIAS,Stellenboschon25and26February2016
- CompiledbyAnriManderson(SAFL)
Photo:AsmallholderfarmingtransporBnghisproducetomarketsinMopanidistrict,Limpopo
INTRODUCTION
On 25 and 26 February 2016, the Southern Africa Food LAB (SAFL) in collabora?on with SolidaridadSouthernAfrica,and theWorldWideFund forNature (WWF),hostedaworkshopat theStellenboschIns?tuteforAdvancedStudy(STIAS)inStellenbosch,todevelop:• asetofentrylevelstandardprinciples;and• anintegratedenvironmental,ethical,andsocialmarketstandardforsmallholderfarmers.
Themo?va?on for thisworkshop came fromSAFL’swork in the smallholder sector in the three yearsleadingup to the event. Through the Suppor?ng SmallholderAgriculture (SSA) programmeSAFLhaveworked with retailers and other interested organisa?ons to iden?fy relevant standards that wouldSouthernAfricaFoodLab|REPORT IntegratedSMHFStandardsworkshop Page� of�1 15
facilitateretailerswishingtointegratesmallholderfarmersintotheirvaluechains. Thisworkledtothedefini?on of a specific entry level localg.a.p. standard that was felt could beQer accommodatesmallholderfarmers.
ThisstandardsworkdrivenwithintheSSAprogrammehighlightedtheneedforan integratedstandardand produced some invaluable lessons on how to develop an integrated standard alterna?ve. Anintegratedstandardwouldpreventduplica?onofaudits, reducecer?fica?oncost,andsimplify record-keepingforsmallholderfarmers,whicharesomeofthemainstandardbarrierssmallholderfarmersface.
Consequently,on25and26February2016, theSSAprogrammedesignedacollabora?veworkshoptodevelop an integrated standard alterna?ve. The aQendees consisted of smallholder farmers, marketrepresenta?ves, standard seQers, trainers, assurers, and government representa?ves (see the table attheendofthedocumentforanoverviewofstakeholders).ThisdocumentoutlinesthemaindiscussionsandkeyoutputsoftheFebruary2016workshop.
AGENDA
TIME DAYONE DAYTWO
08:30 Registra?ons -
09:00 WelcomeandcontextseZng Welcomeandoverviewofdayone
09:30 Stakeholderintroduc?ons Presenta?onsfromsmallholderfarmers
10:00 Thedevelopmentoflocalg.a.p. Plenarydiscussions
10:30 Lessonsfromanevalua?onoflocalg.a.p.training&assessments
Drawingoutentrylevelstandardrequirements
11:00 Tea Tea
11:30 ValuablelessonsfromPGS Drawingoutentrylevelstandardrequirements
12:00 IntroducingAgriPlace Overviewoflocalg.a.p.levels
12:30 Re-introducingRuralHorizons Drawingoutsocialandenvironmentalentrylevelrequirements(fromWWF,GRASP,andSIZA)
13:00 Lunch Lunch
14:00 Plenarydiscussion:Whatshouldanentrylevelstandardlooklike?
Reportback
15:15 Tea Tea
15:30 Wrapupandoutlinefordaytwo Wrapup,checkout,andnextsteps
16:00 END END
SouthernAfricaFoodLab|REPORT IntegratedSMHFStandardsworkshop Page� of�2 15
DAYONE:SeSngthescene
Thefirstdaywasgearedtowardssharingsomeofthekeylessonssincethefirststandardsworkshopin2013,andtobringeveryoneuptospeedwithregardstostandarddevelopmentssincethen.
1)Welcome&context-seDngTheSAFLprogrammemanagerforSuppor?ngSmallholderAgriculture(SSA),whohadbeeninvolvedwiththestandardsworkfromthestart,KennethCarden,openedtheworkshopandsetthecontextdrawingontheSAFL’sFoodScenarioswork(hQp://www.thefutureoffood.co.za/)andkeyoutputsofthemarket-related innova?ons of the SSA. He shared certain of the key ques?ons par?cipants raised during theini?alstandardslearningjourney: • Whyarewetryingtoincorporatesmallholderintoretailsupplychains? • Howdoweaddressthequalityofsmallholderproduce? • Howdowedefinetheminimumstandardsforretail?
Fromthisini?allearningjourney,agroupformedtoconsiderfoodsafetystandardsforsmallholderfreshproducesupplytoretail.ThegroupmetduringtwoInnova?onLabsinJulyandOctoberof2013.Ini?allyit was proposed to develop a non-accredited checklist that would incorporate food safety,environmental,andsocialrequirements,butatthesecondworkshop itwasdecidedtouseanexis?ngstandardsframework, localg.a.p.,andtodevelopaneversimplerentry levelversionof it.SPARpilotedthisentry level localg.a.p.amongstsmallholderfarmers inOfcolacoinLimpopoprovince,andtheSAFLassessedthetrainingandassessmentprocesses.
Against this context, the market-related SSA innova?ons project manager, Anri Manderson, set theobjec?vesforthetwodays: 1) Provideanoverviewofstandardsworkcompletedtodate 2) Provideanoverviewofsometoolsthatcanbeusedtorolloutstandards 3) Developmentofasetofentrylevelstandardprinciples 4) Drawingoutenvironmentalandethicalentrylevelrequirements
2)Stakeholderintroduc/onsThe stakeholders accepted these objec?ves and then introduced themselves, their organisa?ons, andtheirworkwithsmallholdermarketaccess(seethetableincludedattheendofthisreportfordetailsonpar?cipants).
3)Standardresearchfindingstodatea.Thedevelopmentoflocalg.a.p.James Lonsdale did a presenta?ons on SPAR’s version of the entry level localg.a.p. standard. Heexplained that they chose to work with the food safety standard first, as it is a non-nego?ablerequirementforcommercialsupplychains.Theystartedworkingonthestandardin2012/3whensomeoftheircommercialfarmershadsmallholderoutgrowerswhorequiredasimplerfoodsafetystandard.
SPARmetwithChris?Venter,aproductdevelopmentexpertfromGLOBALG.A.P.workingspecificallywithlocalg.a.p.,anddevelopedtheentrylevelversionofthelocalg.a.p.standard.JamesandChris?explainedthatsmallholderfarmerscanonlyprogressfromlocalg.a.p.throughtoGLOBALG.A.P.,iftheyformpartof
SouthernAfricaFoodLab|REPORT IntegratedSMHFStandardsworkshop Page� of�3 15
aprogrammeownedbyacompanysuchasSPAR.OtherprogrammeownersincludeShoprite,Massmart,andPick’nPay.
ThevariouslevelsbuildinguptoGLOBALG.A.P.overanexpected?meframeoffiveyearsinclude:• Entrylevellocalg.a.p.(4controlpoints)• Founda?onlevellocalg.a.p.(7controlpoints)• Intermediatelevellocalg.a.p.(8controlpoints)• GLOBALG.A.P.cer?fica?on(16controlpoints)
Formore informa?ononthese levels,visit thewebsite:hQp://www.globalgap.org/uk_en/what-we-do/globalg.a.p.-cer?fica?on/localg.a.p./localg.a.p.-Programs-Available-for-Producers/.
Itisalsopossibletoincludevariousques?onsfromGRASPtolocalg.a.p..GRASPisasocial-orientatedriskassessmentdevelopedtobeaddedontoGLOBALG.A.P..Itwouldalsobepossibletodeveloplocalg.a.p.equivalentlevelsofGRASP.Formoreinforma?ononGRASP,visitthewebsite:hQp://www.globalgap.org/uk_en/what-we-do/globalg.a.p.-cer?fica?on/globalg.a.p.-00001/GRASP/.
localg.a.p.complianceofagroupcanalsobeassessed ifallowedbytheprogrammeowner. It iscalledop?on 2 cer?fica?on. Although SPAR currently covers the cost of training and assessments, anassessmenttypicallycostsapproximatelyZAR3,500.00.
IntermsoftheirRuralHubprogramme,SPARchoosestoworkwithsmallholderfarmerswhofarmonatleast5haandwhodonotyethaveaccesstoformalmarkets. SPAR’sprocessoftakingfarmerstoentrylevellocalg.a.p.consistsoftrainingandfollow-uptraining,registra?on,self-assessment,pre-assessment,andthenafinalassessmentbyathirdparty.Althoughupto20smallholderfarmershadbeenthroughanumber of trainings, by February 2016, SPAR had only one smallholder farmer who had successfullyreachedcompliancewithentrylevellocalg.a.p..Nevertheless,Chris?Venterreportedthatatotalof100smallholder farmerswere already registeredon various levels of localg.a.p., progressing towards theGLOBALG.A.P.standard.
b.Lessonsfromanevalua/onoflocalg.a.p.trainingandassessmentsSPARinvitedtheSAFLtoassessthetrainingprocessandassessmentthatoneofthegroupsinOfcolaco,Limpopowent through. The SAFL projectmanager, AnriManderson,made a presenta?on on the keyfindingsofthisassessment.ThefullreportisavailableontheSAFLwebsite ,butthemainfindingsofthe1
researchincludedthefollowing:• Clear communica?on of the project, an introduc?on between the par?cipa?ng stakeholders, andclarifica?onoftherolesandresponsibili?esarevitalatthestartofanylocalg.a.p.trainingprocess
• Notallsmallholderfarmerswillbeabletoreachcompliancewithentrylevellocalg.a.p.• Training material, processes, and extension support need to be developed with the smallholderfarmersinmind
• Accesstofinanceneedtobeofferedincombina?onwithlocalg.a.p.trainingprogrammes
Recommenda?onstoprogrammeownersincluded:• Clearly communicate the details of the project, stakeholders involved, and responsibili?es of eachstakeholdergroup,includingtheresponsibili?esofthepar?cipa?ngsmallholderfarmers
TheSAFLwebsiteiscurrentlybeingreorganised.FromApril2016thefullresearchreportwillbeavailableundertheSSAprogramme,on1
thepagefortheFoodSafety,Ethical,andEnvironmentalStandardsproject.
SouthernAfricaFoodLab|REPORT IntegratedSMHFStandardsworkshop Page� of�4 15
• Workwith farmerswho already have access to finance and some basic farm infrastructure such asfencingandirriga?on(typicallycapitalistsmallholderfarmers),orsupplysmallholderfarmerswithsaidfinanceandinfrastructure(typicallymarket-orientatedsmallholderfarmers)
• Pay the final localg.a.p. assessments or work with third party assessors to reduce the cost ofassessmentstowardsGLOBALG.A.P.
• Co-developcontext-appropriatestandardrequirementsforsmallholderfarmers• Hold training organisa?ons accountable to provide appropriate training materials (including recordkeepingtemplates)andtodesignappropriatetrainingprocesses
• Providecon?nuedextensionsupportfromthefirsttrainingtothefinalassessment
Somebasicrecommenda?onsfororganisa?onstrainingsmallholderfarmersinlocalg.a.p.included:• Trainingmaterialneedsto:- Becontext-specific- Includebasicrecordkeepingtemplates- Uselesstechnicaltermstocommunicatestandardrequirements- Possiblybetranslatedintolocalvernacular
• Trainingshouldbebrokendownintoanumberofsessionsoveraperiodof?mesothatfarmershave?me to come to termswith new learnings, implement them, and be assessed at the next trainingsession
• Trainingneedstobefollowedbycon?nuousextensionsupport,preferablybysomeonewhohasbeensufficientlytrainedinlocalg.a.p.andwhocanspeakthelocalvernacular
4)ToolstorolloutstandardsTheprogressmadeonstandardsworktodate,wasfollowedbythreepresenta?onsoftoolsthatcanbeusedtointroducenewstandardrequirementstosmallholderfarmersandpreparethemforassessments.
a.LessonsfromPGSKonradHauppleisch,ManagerandLeadTrainerattheIFOAMAcademy,gaveapresenta?ononOrganic3.0 (hQp://www.ifoam.bio/en/organic-policy-guarantee/organic-30-next-phase-organic-development)and within that context explained how PGS could be useful for developing a smallholder entry levelstandard.
Photos from leN to right: Konrad presenBng Organic 3.0 and explaining the constraining nature of addiBonalstandards;thestakeholderslisteningtoKonrad’spresentaBon
Konrad’smainmessagesincludedthatthegroupshould:
SouthernAfricaFoodLab|REPORT IntegratedSMHFStandardsworkshop Page� of�5 15
• not develop yet another new standard and add to the myriad of standards already constrainingmarketaccessforsmallholderfarmers,butinsteadfocusonintegra?on
• developanintegratedstandardalterna?vethattrulyincreasedmarketaccessforsmallholderfarmers,andnotanotherstandardthatfurtherconstrainedtheiraccess
He thus also focused on the importance of incremental development and explained that cer?fica?ondoesnothave tobe theendgoal if the farmerhasa rela?onshipwithhis/hercustomers,but thatanentrylevelstandardcanbeusedtointroducegoodagriculturalprac?cestosmallholderfarmers.
Focusing on the IFOAM sustainability flower, he also explained the importance of true cost pricing offood. He explained that conformity systems not only start from the assump?on that people are notcomplying and should thus not be trusted without a cer?ficate, but make it difficult for farmers tocomply.Insteadhepromotedasystemthatstartsfromtrustandthatsupportsfarmerstoimprovetheirprac?cesincrementally.
Figure:TheIFOAMPrinciplesforBestPracBcesinAgriculture&ValueChains(i.e.thesustainabilityflower)
SouthernAfricaFoodLab|REPORT IntegratedSMHFStandardsworkshop Page� of�6 15
Duringtheques?onsessionarerKonrad’spresenta?on,Chris?Venterexplainedthat localg.a.p.allowsfor consulta?veassessments, if theprogrammeowner requests it.Apar?cipantwanted toknowhowriskismi?gatedthroughPGSsystemsandKonradexplainedthatthroughcompletetransparencytrustisearnedandbecauseof thestrongsocial systemofpeer review, risk ismi?gated.Healsosaid that thePGSframeworkcanbeusedforstandardsotherthanorganicandthatotherfoodstandardshavestartedto borrow the methodology to teach new standards to smallholder farmers. He also named Brazil,Namibia,Uganda,Kenya,andSouthAfrica(MtubtubaandJohannesburg)asplacesweresupermarketshavestartedtoacceptPGSasacrediblemonitoringsystem.TheseretailersnaturallybecomepartofthePGSsystemsastheconsumeroftheproduct.
ArertheworkshopKonradsentaddi?onalkeypointstobeincludedinthisreport:
1)Ablendofthefollowingwillincreasemarketaccessforsmallholderfarmers:• Truealterna?vesupplyandvaluechannels:Chainisreplacedherebythewordchannel,asachaincanonlybepulled,yankedorraQled,andattheendofachainonenormallyfindsalockorashackle.Achaincanalsoonlybepulledinonedirec?on-whichmeansitwillalwaysmovethevaluetowardsthestrongestormorepowerful.
• Aclearcommitmenttosustainability,payingmorethanlipservicetothehealthoftheplanet,people,thesoil,theatmosphere,andthelivingbeingsthatfeedus.
• Asystemthattrulyplacesthefarmerinthecentre.• AsystemthatdoesnotassumethatretailrequirementsarewriQeninstoneandhavetobeobeyed.• Asystemthatdoesnotautoma?callyassumethat“marketforces”areall-powerfulanddomina?ngthesupply “chain” -market forces arepeople,withopinions, beliefs, fears andphobias, and theymakedecisionbasedoninforma?onfedtothembyvestedinterests.Marketforcescanchangeatawhim,andshouldnotdominatethethinkingbeyondthe“forcesofproduc?on”.
2)Theorganicsectorismorethanwilling-underthebannerof“Organic3.0”toengageinconversa?onwithALLstakeholdersinthefoodsystemsinorderfindnewsolu?onstothisplanet’schallenges-buttheorganic sectorcannotbeexpected to lose itselfand itsprinciples in theprocess.Realmodernorganicagricultureisaproduc?onsystemthatsustainsthehealthofsoils,ecosystemsandpeople. Itreliesonecologicalprocessratherthaninputswithadverseeffects.Itcombinestradi?on,innova?onandscienceto benefit all. The organic sector has to be taken seriously as a stakeholder and role playerwith realsolu?ons - solu?ons that are recognisedby the FAO,UNCTAD, theAU, andUNEP, tonamebut a few.Organic con?nues to grow at a rate notmatched by conven?onal agriculture, despite the dismissiveaZtudeofmany.SouthAfricainpar?cularisintheclearminorityintheworldwhenitcomestotakingorganicseriously. TheorganicsectorHASsolu?onsdevelopedoverdecadeswithadeepunderstandingof standards, guarantee systems, conformity assessments and the challenges faced by farmers - theorganicsectorcanbringthattothetable,butneedstoberecognisedandrespectedatthesame?me.
b.AgriPlaceAgriPlace is a dutch online ini?a?ve that aims to simplify standard compliance for farmers. Formoreinforma?on about the product, watch this video: hQps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KzhuHNF1oo.TheEnglishwebsiteisavailablehere:hQps://www.agriplace.com/en/.
Gert-JanLiefferinkandNicoBroersenco-presentedto introducethegrouptothistool,providingsomebackgroundtowhyandhow itwasdevelopedandthentakingthegroupthrougha logged insession,demonstra?ngtheuseofthetool.
SouthernAfricaFoodLab|REPORT IntegratedSMHFStandardsworkshop Page� of�7 15
AgriPlacecancombinethevariousstandardsafarmerwishtocomplywithintooneeasydatagatheringandcapturingprocess.Thestepsinclude:1. Choosethestandard2. Collecttherequiredsuppor?ngdocumenta?onanduploadittothewebsite3. AgriPlace thenautofills thecorresponding standardques?onnaires, indica?ngwhichques?ons s?ll
needtobeanswered4. Theremainingques?onsarethencompleted5. AgriPlaceprovidesanoverviewofyourresults6. Anonlinesubmissiontoyourauditoriscreatedandcanbeshared7. Prepara?onfortheauditandcer?fica?onprocess
AgriPlace also provides a smartphone applica?on onwhich data can be addedwhilst offline. Data isuploadedandsyncronised to the farmersprofilewhen internetconnec?on isavailableagain.The toolcan also easily be translated into any language, provided that the standards are available in thoselanguages.Farmersownthedataandchoosewhotheywould like toshare itwith.The informa?on issharedonasecureserver.
Farmersneedtoapplyforasubscrip?on,whichwillcurrentlycostapproximatelyR3000perfarm.Ideallythetoolcanbemadeavailabletosmallholderfarmersforareducedfeeorthefeecanbecoveredbyalocalg.a.p.programmeownerifitistobeusedforsmallholderfarmerswishingtocomplywiththeentrylevelstandardandbuilduptoGLOBALG.A.P..
c.RuralHorizonsKarinKleinbooi fromSolidaridadgaveapresenta?ononRuralHorizons,whichhasbeendevelopedbySolidaridadwiththesupportofmanypartnersthatrangefrommul?na?onalcompaniestosmallholderscoopera?ves.SheexplainedthatRuralHorizonscan:• Enable farmers to organise, manage, and control the con?nual improvement of their produc?onsystem,and
• Shareinforma?ontoengagesupplychainactors.
It isnotacer?fica?ontool,butatooltoorganisetheprocessofcon?nual improvement,whichattheendoftheimprovementprocess,canleadtocer?fica?on.Thousandsofproducersofsugarcane,cocoa,coQon,fruit,soy,palm,andlivestockarealreadypar?cipa?ng.SolidaridadiscurrentlydevelopingRuralHorizonstoolkitsforsmallholdersinthefruitindustryandcommercialgrowersinthesugarcaneindustryinSouthAfrica.ItisalsoplannedforvegetablesmallholdergrowersinSouthAfrica.
Avideoonthetoolisavailablehere:hQps://vimeo.com/78282669andthewebsitecanbevisitedhere:hQps://en.ruralhorizon.org/.
SouthernAfricaFoodLab|REPORT IntegratedSMHFStandardsworkshop Page� of�8 15
.
Thetoolcanaccommodateentry level localg.a.p.principlesandhelpfarmer improveupwardsthroughthelevelstowardsGLOBALG.A.P..RuralHorizonstoolkitsassistin:1. Understandingthechallenges2. Iden?fyingthepathsmallholderfarmerscanfollowtoaddressthesechallenges3. Planningadjustmentsforcon?nualimprovement4. Providingsupportmaterial5. Monitoringtheprocess
Informa?on generatedby the self assessment is anonymous, but canbe sharedwith awide rangeofvalue chain partners with permission from farmers. Farmers are also able to benchmark themselvesagainst groups and/or aggregated informa?on. The tool supports a learning process and starts thedevelopmentprocessfromwherethefarmercurrentlyis.
Ideallythecostofregistra?onoffarmersonthedataplapormandofrollingoutRuralHorizonscouldbeintegrated intomembership fees. In the case of SIZA in the fruit industry in SouthAfrica, these costscouldforexamplebeincorporatedintothemembershipfees.
5)WrapupofdayoneThedaywasclosedwithaques?ontostakeholdersabouthowtheywouldliketospendthe?meofthelastdayoftheworkshop. Itwasagreedthatasthesmallholderfarmerswere intheroom,theywouldsharetheirrespec?vestoriesandagainstthesedifferentcontexts,thegroupwouldthendrawoutentrylevelsocialandenvironmentalstandardrequirements.
DAYTWO:Rollingupoursleeves
WithanoverviewofstandardsresearchcompletedbySAFLtodateandsometoolstointroduceanewintegratedentrylevelstandardtosmallholderfarmers,thegroupturnedtheiraQen?ontodevelopingaset of entry level standard requirements, and pulled out some entry level social and environmentalrequirementsthatcouldimproveentrylevellocalg.a.p.tobecomemoreholis?c.
1)Smallholderpresenta/onsThedayopenedwithpresenta?onsfromthreesmallholderfarmersandrepresenta?ves:AdamMabunda(Mopani Farmers Associa?on), BreQ Sander (Sugarbush Valley Coopera?ve), and Mthetho Mkungo(Siyavuna).Theygavebriefoverviewsoftheirrespec?vesmallholderorganisa?onsincludingthenumberoffarmers,theorganisa?onalstructure,thetypicallandsizefarmed,cropsproduced,mainmarketsandarrangements,andtheirmarketaccesschallenges.
Thetablebelowcontainsasummaryoftheinforma?onsharedbythesefarmers.
SouthernAfricaFoodLab|REPORT IntegratedSMHFStandardsworkshop Page� of�9 15
2)EntrylevelstandardrequirementsThe largerstakeholdergroupthenbrokeup intosmallergroupstodiscusstheessen?alprinciplesthatneed to be incorporated into any entry level standard, whether focusing on food safety, social, orenvironmentalissues.Thesmallergroupsreportedbackandthefollowingprincipleswereagreedto:1. Entrylevelstandardsshouldintegratefoodsafety,environmentalandsocialconsidera?onsonbasis
ofminimumrequirements.2. Anentrylevelstandardneedtobecost-effec?veandensuretraceability.3. Entry level standards should be designed to accommodate shared reali?es or group structures,
includingexis?ngorganisa?onalandlegalstructures.4. Entry level standards should be par?cipatory, taking a boQom-up approach to the integra?on of
markets.Peerreviewshouldthusformanintegralpartofentrylevelstandards.5. Entry level standards should allow for incremental development, including, but not limited to
appropriate training materials and process, and the establishment of farmer-to-farmer learningnetworks.
Ques\ons MopaniFarmersAssocia\on(MFA)
SugarbushValleyCoopera\ve Siyavuna
Numberoffarmers Startedwith2500members,buthavelostsome.
600(mostlyfemale)farmersbetween35and79yearsofage.
Organisa\onalstructure
FarmersAssocia?on-organisedintovillageassocia?ons,whichcombinetoformeightareaassocia?ons,whichcombinetoformtheMFA.
Primarycoopera?vesthatcanaccessuptoR350000fromgovernment,lookingtoformsecondarycoopera?vetoaccesssupportfrompartnersthroughregionalprogrammes.Essen?allythreegroupsofcoopera?ves,determinedbylandsize.
Farmerassocia?onsin10ruralcommuni?esthatformsocial-orientatedcoopera?vesandthatformpartofonePGS.
Siyavunatrainsfarmersinagro-ecologicalmethods,andgivethemaccesstomarkets.
Sizeoffarms/plots 1to23ha. a) Peri-urban0.1to2haplotswithmunicipalwaterconnec?onsontheWestRand
b) b)1to15hectareplotswithboreholes
c) 15to100hafarms
250-300msquared.
Crops Mostlyvegetables. a) Vegetablesforfeedingschemefoodparcels
b) Nichevegetableproductsc) Livestock,beans,maize
45typesofvegetablesand8typesoffruit.
Mainmarkets&arrangements
MFAmarke?ngteamwillvisitlocalagro-processors,SPARs,Meyami,andPicknPaystoaskwhattheyneed.Thefarmersalsoselltostreetvendorsandbakkietraders.
a) Governmentcontractstosupplyfeedingschemes
b) Soldatnicheurbanmarkets,smallretailers
c) DeliveriestoNFPMs
Siyavunawilltakeanyproducefarmersdeliverandpaythefarmer60%ofthepricepaidbythecustomer.TheseproductsaresoldthroughtheKumnandibrand,whichpromoteslocal,freshproduce.Produceissoldtofleamarkets,convenienceshops,andrestaurants.
Marketaccesschallenges
- PTOissuesthatpreventformalstandardcer?fica?on
- Recordkeepingchallenges- Elderlyfarmerswhowantto
con?nuedoingthingsasbefore
Problemswithfarmerschasingpopularcropsandconsequentwastage.
AlthoughfarmersbelongtoaPGS,itisdifficulttotrackproducefromtheconsumerbacktothefarmertoiden?fywhereanissueoriginated.
SouthernAfricaFoodLab|REPORT IntegratedSMHFStandardsworkshop Page� of�10 15
Theseprinciplesshouldfeedintotheobjec?vesofanentrylevelstandard,whichshouldtheninformthemethods/prac?ceoffarmingandthemeasurestomonitorsaidprac?ces.
3)Overviewoflocalg.a.p.requirementsandlevelsChris?Venterthenpresentedthelocalg.a.p.principlesandintroducedthegrouptothe11ques?onsofGRASP.Kennethdrewout the social considera?ons in theentry level localg.a.p. andaddedcategoriesfromGRASP for considera?onof anentry level social standard, or social considera?ons that couldbeaddedtolocalg.a.p.entrylevel.Theseincludedconsidera?onsforchildrenwhenworkingonfarms,?merecordingsandworkinghours/breaks.
Shelly Fuller also shared the environmental categories used by WWF when monitoring theenvironmentalimpactofhumanac?vi?es.Theseincludedwasteandpollu?onmanagement,water,soil,biodiversity,andenergy.
Basedon theentry levelprinciples,and thesocialandenvironmental categoriesdrawnoutbyChris?,Kenneth,andShelley,thegroupcameupwiththefollowingconsidera?onsforenvironmentalandsocialentrylevelstandards:
4)DrawingoutenvironmentalentrylevelrequirementsAnentrylevelenvironmentalstandard,orenvironmentalconsidera?onstobeaddedtoentrylocalg.a.p.should monitor the awareness of smallholder farmers of environmental considera?ons and notnecessarily the actual implementa?on (yet). The knowledge of the value of good environmentalapproaches should be tested. Some other important considera?ons for entry level environmentalstandardsare:• PGSsystemsofpeerreviewandassurance• Normsandrecommenda?onsforgoodprac?ceandimprovementshouldbeincludedinanassessment• Recordkeepingtemplates/checklists• Riskawarenessandmanagement,includingpriori?sa?on
Photos:Agroupofstakeholdersdrawingouttheenvironmentalstandardrequirements
In terms of the categories used by WWF, the following could stand as entry level environmentalrequirements:
WasteandpolluBonmanagement• Compliancewithminimumkeylegisla?onforhandlingofchemical,water,andsolidwastesSouthernAfricaFoodLab|REPORT IntegratedSMHFStandardsworkshop Page� of�11 15
• Promo?onofreducing,re-using,recycling(i.e.the3Rs)• Chemicals:Promo?onofnaturalpestcontrol&useofregisteredchemicalswithappropriatestorage
Water• Waterregistra?on,licensing,andauthorisa?on(groupcer?fica?onwouldbeaccepted)• Knowledgeofwaterrights• Waterquality(FoodHealth&Safety-FHS)(borehole,municipality,rain-fed)• MonitoringandrecordkeepingofrainfallpaQernsandwateruse• Promo?onofreducing,re-using,recycling(i.e.the3Rs)• Knowledgeofgreywater• Managementofecologicalareasincludingwetlandsandrivers,andthecrea?onofbuffers
Soil• Anawarenessofsoilconserva?on,erosion,run-off(includingrecommenda?onsongoodprinciples)• Anawarenessofcompos?ng,mulching,croprota?on,anduseoflegumes• Tes?ngofsoiliffreelyavailableoraffordable,withthepurposeofinformingappropriatesoilinputs• Promo?onofno?llorlow?ll
Biodiversity• Musthaveabasicfarmmapincludingecologicalareas,naturalresources,explana?onoflanduseandexpansionplans(thiscanberelevantforindividualorcommunityfarmedland)
• InvasiveAlienPlants(IAP)/bushencroachment• Fire• Grazing
Energy• Anawarenessofenergyconsumers:fer?liser;irriga?on(waterscheduling)fromriver/borehole/othersource;agro-processing;supplychain(coldstorage)
• Recordsofactualmonthlyenergyuse• Promo?onofrenewablesourcesincludingmanualpumping
5)DrawingoutsocialentrylevelrequirementsTheGRASPpointsshouldbeusedtoinformanentryleveladdontolocalg.a.p.Similartotheentrylevelenvironmental standard, the social entry level standard should also monitor the awareness ofsmallholderfarmersofsomesocialconsidera?onsandnotnecessarilytheactualimplementa?on(yet).Smallholderfarmersshouldalsobeallowedtoexplainhowtheyimplementcertainrequirements,eventhoughthesemynot(yet)berecorded.
Smallholderfarmersshouldbeawareofatleastthefollowing:• Allminimumrequiredsocialandlabourprac?ces(theymustalsobeabletoexplainlabourstructures)Thefollowingshouldbeimplemented:• Basichygienerequirements• Firstaidmaterialandtrainingappropriatefortaskonthefarm• Atransparentcommunica?onsystemwithworkers-complaints/grievanceprocedures• Verbalworkagreementswithworkers• Proofthatthereisnodiscrimina?onagainstworkers(consideringgenderandimmigra?onissues)• Payslipsthatincludethenumberofhoursworked
SouthernAfricaFoodLab|REPORT IntegratedSMHFStandardsworkshop Page� of�12 15
• Awayofmonitoringworkersbetweentheagesof15and18years.Theymaynotbeforcedtoworkandtheirhoursneedtobecarefullymonitored.
Photos:Agroupofstakeholdersdrawingoutthesocialstandardrequirements
TheserequirementsshouldbelinkedtoaQualityMonitoringSystem(QMS)thatinturnshouldbelinkedtoagroupgovernancestructure.AtentryleveltheQMSneedstobethoroughlyexplainedandrecordsshouldbekeptasthefarmerprogressesthroughthelevelstowardsmorestringentsocialrequirements.
6)Check-outThe two dayswere drawn to a close by stakeholders sharingwhat they foundmeaningful during theworkshop,andwhattheirnextstepswouldbe.Thetablebelowcontainsthesecomments,astheyofferasummaryofthekeyshirsbroughtaboutbytheworkshop.Thestakeholders’names,affilia?ons,emailaddresses,meaningfulexperiences,andnextstepsarecontainedinthetablebelow.
NAME ORGANISATION&ROLE
EMAILADDRESS MEANINGFULEXPERIENCE NEXTSTEPS
AdamMabunda MFA-farmer [email protected] Diversegroupofstakeholderswithobjec?vetohelpsmallholderfarmersinaverydedicatedway-peoplepresentedwithpassion.
TomakeotherMFAfarmersawareofwhatIhavelearnedhere.
AdrianBailey EXETER [email protected] Gratefulforsharingsomuchduringtheweek.ReminderofPGSsystemsandpossibilitytohavelegalins?tu?onsinformit.
Takingengagementwithfarmersanddifferentcoopera?vestoworkinColumbiawithdairyfarmers.
AnriManderson SAFL-projectmanager
[email protected] Facilitator.
ArminRoggendorf AfriTrade [email protected] Hadtoleavebeforecheck-out.
AudreyWainwright
PGS-SA-BONMPGSmanager audrey@bryanstonorganicmar
ket.co.za
Hearingfromthefarmers,energy,tension,collabora?on.
SharinglessonsaboutBONMPGSwiththoseinterestedinit.
BoudewijnGoossens
Solidaridad-Director
Notrecorded. Notrecorded.
SouthernAfricaFoodLab|REPORT IntegratedSMHFStandardsworkshop Page� of�13 15
BreQSander Avrivival-farmerandentrepreneur
[email protected] Marketsareactuallyalsolookingtoengagewithsmallholderfarmers.
Startengagingwithretail.
Chris?Venter
GlobalGap-localg.a.p.
[email protected] Howdiversethestakeholderswere,butallwiththepurposeofsuppor?ngsmallholderfarmers.
WorkingwithWWFtodrawenvironmentalprinciplesintolocalg.a.p.
ColleenChennellsIndependentconsultant
[email protected] Hadtoleavebeforecheck-out.
DineoNdlanziREOS-facilitator
[email protected] Facilitator.
DuncanStewart Lima [email protected] OnlyaQendedfirstday.
Gert-JanLieffering AgriPlace-x-farmerandprogrammedeveloper
OnlyaQendedfirstday.
IngeKotze WWF [email protected] Personalconnec?ons,theprocess,andthefacilitator.
Suppor?ngChris?Ventertobringenvironmentalprinciplesintolocalg.a.p.,usingtheentrylevelprinciples.
JacomiendeKlerk CitrusAcademy-training
Howstandardsinthemselvescreateawareness,themomentyouaskaques?on.
TodevelopbeQertrainingandresourcematerialstakingtheentrylevelprinciplesintoconsidera?on.
JamesLonsdale SPAR-freshproduceprocurement
[email protected] Beingchallengedonsomeprescribedideas,butendingupwithcommongoals.
SitdownwithChris?Ventertobuildethicalandenvironmentalpointsintolocalg.a.p.,butfirstneedtogetfarmersthroughregularlocalg.a.p..
KarinKleinbooi
Solidaridad-projectmanager
[email protected] Marketsalsoneedtobelinkedtofarmers.
Pullstandardsworkontosmallholdermarketplaporm.
KennethCarden SAFL-programmemanager
[email protected] Theenergyintheroom. TakingthenextstepswithSPARandtheSAFL.
KonradHauppleisch
Hadtoleavebeforecheck-out.
MarthaneSwart
SandraKruger&Associates
[email protected] Shewantsfarmerstorealisethatwhattheyaredoingisincredibleandthatthestandardsonlyaddtothat-itcouldbeusedtohelpthemdealwithclimatechange.
HappytobepartofSolidaridad’splapormandwanttocollaboratewithothersworkinginLimpopo.
MkhululiSilandela WWF-SA [email protected] Hadtoleavebeforecheck-out.
SouthernAfricaFoodLab|REPORT IntegratedSMHFStandardsworkshop Page� of�14 15
MthethoMkhungo Siyavuna-farmer,mentor,andentrepreneur
[email protected] Beingabletosharemyfarmersstory,andhavingSPARs?ckwiththeprocessun?ltheend,con?nuingtoanswerourques?ons.Theresilienceofsmallholderfarmers,makingitworkforthemthroughinformalmarkets.
Sharingthenewstandardsinforma?onwiththesmallholderfarmersbackhome.
NicoBroersen AgriPlace [email protected] OnlyaQendedfirstday.
NicoleGobethDiMar?no
Solidaridad-Brazil
Listeningtostories,especiallyfromsmallholderfarmers,andthepoten?alforcross-countrylearning.
IwilltakesomelessonsbacktothefarmersinBrazil.
NigelAlexander SAIGlobal-localg.a.p.training
[email protected] OnlyaQendedfirstday.
RichardBarry Polymorph-sorwaredeveloper
[email protected] OnlyaQendedfirstday.
SandraKruger
SandraKruger&Associates
[email protected] Comingfromabackgroundinstandards,it’sbeenusefultotryanddevelopabasicintegratedentrylevelstandard-tocutalltheaddi?onalrequirementsandarriveatwhatismostimportant.
Tolothowthisentrylevelbuildsandhowwecon?nuetodevelopit,sofarmerscanaccessawholerangeofdifferentmarkets.
SheilaEdwin Treasury-projectmanager
[email protected] Leastlikelypersontobeinthisworkshop,butverygratefultobehere,butI’vegainedmuchneededinsightintothesmallholderagriculturalsector,whichseemstobeincrediblycomplex.
IwillbeabletotellthedonorsthattheFoodLabisapplyingthefundswell.
ShellyFuller WWF-SA [email protected] People’sopennessabouttheirprojects,theirwillingnesstosharechallenges,andtocollaborate.
Tostayclosetotheprocesstotestwhatwehavedevelopedandrefineittosomethingthatworks.
ThulisileKhoza NAMC [email protected] Thevoiceofthefarmers,becausetooorenwesitdownandwemakeplanswithout,butforthem.
Thepromo?onofanintegratedstandardthatisrelevantforsmallholderfarmers.
VictorMmbengwa NAMC [email protected] Thefactthatadiverserangeofstakeholdershadacommonpurposeandthatsmallholderfarmerspar?cipated.
IwouldliketotakewhatI’velearnedintomyresearchgoingforward.M&Ewillalsobeimportanttopreventduplicatedefforts.
VonganiRikhotso WWF [email protected] Thecollabora?onofadiverserangeofstakeholders,bringingdifferentmindframesandskillsets.
Listeningtofarmersmore.
SouthernAfricaFoodLab|REPORT IntegratedSMHFStandardsworkshop Page� of�15 15