SHEA SUSTAINABILITY PROJECTS

Shea is an important raw material for Bunge Loders Croklaan, we have been working with shea for over 50 years. Shea is a wild crop, meaning the shea tree is very difficult to cultivate and is therefore generally only found in the wild. The geographical area in which the shea tree grows stretches for thousands of kilometers through numerous countries across West Africa. Millions of people in this part of the world, especially in rural areas, depend on shea for their livelihood. The collection of the shea nuts is done predominantly by women.

SUSTAINABLE SHEA SOURCING PRACTICES

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We are committed to being a leading company in terms of a sustainable, transparent and traceable shea supply chain. We follow our Sustainable Shea Sourcing Practices to implement the commitments and projects from our Shea Sustainability Program.

In line with this program we started the execution of several projects: 1. Construction of a warehouse in Ghana (2016) 2. Donation of shea rollers in Burkina Faso (2017, 2018)3. Support Sustainability Program in Benin 4. Donation of energy efficient stoves 5. Support SOS Child Villages

PROJECTS IN OUR SUSTAINABLE SHEA PROGRAM

WAREHOUSE PROJECT

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In 2014 Bunge Loders Croklaan committed to participate in a Global Shea Alliance warehouse project in Apebikum (district of Bolga – Upper East region of Ghana).

The purpose of the project was to construct and donate a warehouse to the local Apemko women to increase their means of existence. The warehouse allows the women to store kernels; by doing so, it is possible to sell larger quantities and earn more per kilo. Additionally, the warehouse can generate additional income by renting it out to store other crops off-season. The warehouse was donated to the women in 2016.

APEMKO WAREHOUSE CONSTRUCTION

DONATION OF SHEA ROLLERS

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In 2016 Bunge Loders Croklaan piloted a new shea roller tool to aid women in collecting the shea nuts in the field. This roller is an innovation which has its origins in New Zealand’s walnut sector. Bunge Loders Croklaan was the first major buyer to introduce the rollers. Several NGO’s have also started using the rollers.

After positively concluding the trial in 2016, Bunge Loders Croklaan has distributed an additional 100 rollers through its network directly to women across Burkina Faso in 2017. The communities spread the rollers per family courtyard (5 women avg.). The project thus serves approximately 500 women.

Update 2018: as a result of the successful distribution in 2016-2017, Bunge Loders Croklaan decided to distribute an additional 300 rollers to women groups in Burkina Faso, Ghana and Benin.

DISTRIBUTION

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• The rollers are given to the women who are part of our supply chain

• By providing the rollers we support them in their collection practices and this helps to build and invest in our mutual relationship

• We actively look for ways to prevent scorpion-, snake- and insect bites during collection periods and believe the rollers will contribute

• We believe the rollers will ease the collection process for the women

WOMEN EMPOWERMENT AND HEALTH & SAFETY

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After evaluation through several feedback loops, three preliminary points stand out:1. Safety:

• Less concern about scorpion-, snake- and insect bites• Therefore there is no need to collect during nightfall or

dawn, making collection moments more flexible

2. Physical:• The use of the roller makes the work less heavy, leading

to less physical strain• Older women can participate again, enabling them to

contribute to the family, which has a positive impact on their self-esteem

3. Time:• Less time spent on collection for an equal yield• The expectation is a better yield since the shea nuts

can be collected faster

INITIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT

SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAM BENIN

In 2017 Bunge Loders Croklaan partnered with Fludor, one of its main suppliers of shea butter in Benin, on a Sustainability Program.

The 3-year training program, supported by the Global Shea Alliance, benefits around 15 women groups in the communes of Djougou and Bassila.

TRAINING ON GOOD AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES

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The program aims to increase the income of the women through an increase of shea nut production and a bonus system for good quality nuts through:

• Training on Good Agricultural Practices, cooperative development and organizational strengthening

• Providing assistance for quality improvement, e.g. tarpaulins, bags, weighing scales

So far more than 3000 people have participated in the training.

OVER 3000 PEOPLE PARTICIPATED IN THE TRAINING

ENERGY EFFICIENT STOVES

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The stoves can be used to parboil the shea nuts and for general cooking at home.

The artisanal stoves were produced locally by Nafa Naana, a social enterprise based in Burkina Faso. Its origins go back to 2009, the year in which the French NGO ‘Entrepreneurs du Monde’ decided to launch a project called «Save for a Stove » in Burkina Faso, aiming at distributing clean cook stoves through microfinance institutions.

Two years later the enterprise sold over 6,300 cook stoves. The success of this project led Entrepreneurs du Monde to expand on it by creating a social business with its own identity and staff: Nafa Naana.

DONATION OF ENERGY EFFICIENT STOVES

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• 100 stoves were donated to women groups in Burkina Faso in June 2018.

• At the hand-over the women were trained by Nafa Naana on best-use practices of the stoves

TRAINING

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• The donation of the stoves is in line with our commitment to minimize environmental impact along our supply chain

• The artisanal stoves improve fuel efficiency as a result of improved insulation, heat transfer and airflow. As a result, less wood is needed to use the stove

• Potential fuel savings are expected to be more than 40% compared to the traditional three-stone-fire method

• The women will benefit because they will spend less time cooking and collecting wood

POTENTIAL FUEL SAVINGS > 40%

GHANA AGRICULTURAL AND NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PROJECT (AGNRM)

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The Feed the Future Ghana Agriculture and Natural Resource Management Project (AgNRM) is founded by USAID. Bunge Loders Croklaan (BLC) and the Global Shea Alliance (GSA) are stakeholders in this project.

The goal of the AgNRM project is to alleviate poverty through sustainable increases in wealth and nutrition from natural and non-traditional agriculture products by addressing environmental, agricultural, governance and natural resource management challenges.

BLC committed to 3-year support, focusing on: 1) Shea parkland conservation program 2) Training on cooperative & business development

The targeted area is the so-called Community Resource Management Area (CREMA) of Builsa Yenning, around the town of Fumbisi in northern Ghana. This is a shea producing area, where BLC has procured shea nuts in previous seasons.

Update 2018: USAID has stopped funding the project, causing the project to be closed down in December 2018. Our remaining contribution will be used for shea re-planting.

AGNRM PROJECT

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As part of AgNRM’s environmental stewardship activities, BLC will finance 2000 shea seedlings per year to improve parkland management and conservation.

Implementing partners of the project are:• Winrock International• Technoserve• Nature Conservation Research Centre• Center for Conflict Transformation and Peace Studies

PARKLAND CONSERVATION THROUGH REPLANTING

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• The project aims to train minimum 600 project members

• The training focuses on Cooperative & Business Development and Quality & Production

• Training material is provided by the Global Shea Alliance

• Read the progress report for FY 2017

COOPERATIVE AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT TRAINING

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• We support the work of SOS Children Villages in Bobo Dioulasso (Burkina Faso)

• The work of SOS Burkina Faso involves a SOS Social Centre, SOS families and support primary and secondary education.

• The main goal of the SOS Social Centre is to ensure children have access to essential material, educational, health and social services.

• The SOS families in Burkina Faso provide a family for vulnerable children that can no longer live with their parents.

ACCESS TO EDUCATION: SUPPORT SOS CHILDREN VILLAGES BURKINA FASO

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We are committed to transfer knowledge of value-adding processes to West-Africa

Local shea nut crushing Approx. 93% of all the procured shea nuts is crushed by local partners in different countries in West-Africa.

Shea butter is currently exported for further processing.

New fractionation plant in Tema (Ghana)In 2019 we will further process the shea butter locally and export the shea olein and stearin.

The expected commissioning date is in 2019.

ADDING VALUE TO WEST-AFRICA

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LET’S GROW TOGETHER