Sustainability and Value Added in Agricultural Supply Chains (AgriChains)
About the project
The global programme ‘AgriChains’ strengthens the sustainability of selected agricultural supply chains – such as bananas, cocoa, coffee, cotton, palm oil, rubber, and soy – in close cooperation with civil society, global companies, and international organisations.
AgriChains contributes to global environmental protection, human rights, and good labour and socio-economic development through more sustainable agricultural supply chains and added value. Part of the programme’s activities are focusing specifically on the transition towards deforestation-free supply chains to protect forests, ecosystems, and biodiversity. With its partners, the programme is working on verification and forest monitoring systems for deforestation-free supply chains.
In addition, AgriChains supports national governments and the organised private sector in its partner countries in the introduction and implementation of the EUDR, the German Supply Chain Act (LkSG), and the preparation for the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) with its global policy advisory approach FIT for FAIR and the consultation of the EU Delegations in Southeast Asia (EUDR Engagement).
AgriChains implements project activities in 24 countries.
The AgriChains programme has been commissioned by the BMZ and co-funded by the EU, SECO, and private sector partners.
Countries of Implementation of EUDR-relevant activities
- Brazil
- Colombia
- Côte d'Ivoire
- Ecuador
- Ethiopia
- Ghana
- Indonesia
- Kenya
- Laos
- Malaysia
- Philippines
- Rwanda
- Thailand
- Vietnam
Overarching Aim
Sustainable cultivation practices are implemented at the point of production to protect forests and biodiversity and are tailored to adapt to climate change with specific measures. Improvements in production, processing, and access to international markets increase income, secure smallholder livelihoods, and create good jobs. Corporate responsibility and due diligence for the benefit of people and nature are demanded and promoted by the programme and implemented together with the companies. International exchange, networks, and learning enable the approaches and impacts to be scaled up worldwide.
Activities of the Project
· AgriChains transfers knowledge of the impact of the new regulation over to supply chains in its partner countries, raises awareness about corporate due diligence and deforestation-free supply chains and developing compliance approaches jointly with its partners. For instance, it is working in Brazil on deforestation-free soy supply chains and in Colombia, Ethiopia, and Indonesia on deforestation-free coffee supply chains by implementing traceability systems, forest monitoring, and forest protection as well as protecting biodiversity and ecosystems.
· FIT for FAIR will focus on conducting gap analysis of EUDR/LkSG/CSDDD and relevant national legislative frameworks in partner countries. Based on this analysis, policy recommendations to facilitate compliance with EU and German due diligence legislation will be formulated and conveyed to decisionmakers in the countries of implementation.
· On behalf of BMZ, AgriChains supports projects to fulfil corporate due diligence obligations in global supply chains through the Due Diligence Fund (DDF). Companies in the agri-food sector, together with public-benefit partners, applied for funding. The focus was on the impacts in the production countries. There is currently no further call for proposals. A total of 13 promising projects were selected from two rounds for funding by the Due Diligence Fund (DDF) and are being implemented by one or more private-sector actors in cooperation with one or several public-benefits partners.
· As part of the EU’s ‘EUDR Engagement’ combined financing programme, GV AgriChains is supporting the EU delegations in Indonesia, Malaysia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam in improving the stakeholders’ understanding of the EUDR.
AgriChains is furthermore implementing parts of the SCI project.
Partners
