According to the ODI's blog, there should now be a shift from asking why should we harness core business for development to how. The how is what the NBMST seeks to answer and put into practice through its four pilot value chain project.
The recognition that business has a core role to play in development has been gaining significant traction recently, amongst a diverse set of stakeholders - including businesses, donors and NGOs. The ODI recently published a background note which explored the ways in which multinationals can bring about development gains through distribution networks and supply chains.
Rainforest Alliance and Mars have teamed up to redouble efforts 'to help thousands of farmers meet holistic social and environmental standards so that their farmers can meet Rainforest Alliance certification'. The ultimate aim is to get the popular Galaxy bar to bear the famous Rainforest Alliance Certified frog by 2010 and Mars aims to have all of its cocoa sustainably sourced by 2020. This move bears similarities to Cadburys Dairy Milk's move to Fairtrade certified cocoa.
The BBC has revealed that the UK's leading chocolate bar - Cadbury's Dairy Milk - is set to turn fairtrade this summer demonstrating a possible mainstreaming of fairtrade and the potential for a huge growth in sales of fairtrade products from this chocolate bar alone.
It is claimed that this will triple the amount of fairtrade cocoa sourced from Ghana. Farmers will receive a guaranteed minimum price for cocoa.
An article by Adam Leach, the CEO of the International Business Leadership Forum, argues that sustainable development needs to remain a core part of business' strategy, despite the temptation to side-line them in these pressing financial times.
This article, published in the Guardian in late February, 2009, by Harriet Lamb argues that smallholder farming could help 'save the food crisis and tackle poverty'. She argues that 'Organised groups of smallholders can also play a catalytic role in stimulating wider progress – on the environment and on social issues.And smallholders hold the key to increasing food production. Small farms produce the bulk of many developing countries' food: up to 80% of Zambia's, for example.
SAB Miller recently released its Enterprise Development Report, outlining its commitment to create sustainable economic opportunities for small entrepreneurs through its supply chain. It has pledged to increase the number of smallholders it sources its raw product from to 15,000 by 2010. This will be achieved by expanding its current projects in Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, expanding into new countries in Africa and Latin America and introducing new crops.
An article by Ethical Corporation argues that through multinationals adopting 'inclusive business models' - integrating the poor into their value chains as suppliers, distributors and
retailers in ways that are profitable for their business - they can play a powerful role in driving economic development. It uses examples of SAB Miller's increased use of smallholder farmers in Zambia, Uganda and Tanzania and Unilever's job creation in South Africa to demonstrate the powerful role business can play in driving development.
This report, published in Jan 2009, by the World Economic Forum, looks at ways in which the potential at the 'base of pyramid' can be unleashed. It looks at how almost 3.7 million people are excluded from formal markets and offer significant growth opportunities for businesses. The report presents examples of successful inclusive business ventures put together from a year long survey. It demonstrates how 'inclusive business can profitably engage or serve this large population group of consumers, producers and entrepreneurs'.
This article argues that EUREPGAP regulations for flower growing is excluding many smallholders from participating in value chains that offer a route to modern markets and significant development potential. It argues that COLEACP (Committee for Liaison bettern Europe, Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific) provides an alternative bottom-up initative to EUREPGAP. It is valuable in that it takes into account the specificities of flower production in developing countries and holds the exporter responsible for helping farmers comply with standards.
The BBC recently reported that Cocoa prices have hit a high in London - £1,820 per tonne - the highest price paid for cocoa since 1985. All this in the context of a downturn. The article mentions fears about falling production in parts of Africa, which could drive the price even higher.
How can small-holders be included in routes to market that capitalise on this boom?
