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Here’s to sustainability, cheers Diageo!
It may be Dry January for some but it’s good to see Diageo’s ongoing commitment to creating a sustainable agricultural supply chain. Its recently reinvigorated strategy builds on its existing pledge to source 80% of African raw materials locally by 2020.
Its ambition is that at least 100,000 farmers in eight countries will benefit from direct local sourcing, which will see the drinks giant increase expenditure in the local sourcing of key raw materials, such as sorghum, barley and maize in Africa.
In 2019, the strategy will cover Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Ghana, Cameroon, South Africa and Uganda.
The revamped strategy will provide a collaborative framework to increase farm yields sustainably and secure markets for African smallholder farmers. Working with partners such as Syngenta, Bayer, Yara, World Food Program and regional banks, Diageo will expand efforts to deliver data-driven interventions in key areas such as seeds, agronomy, insurance, access to credit, soil nutrition and market access.
The focus of the new strategy will be on creating commercially, socially and environmentally sustainable farming communities that can thrive whilst delivering supplies to Diageo’s growing business in Africa.
In markets such as Kenya and Nigeria, smallholder farmers are already benefitting from a comprehensive package that includes improved seeds, access to credit, insurance and mechanization, and Diageo will work with partners to expand such benefits across all eight African markets.
“We are a proud partner of farmers in Africa, helping to create sustainable local businesses through our local raw material sourcing programme. The wellbeing and vibrancy of the communities and our local suppliers we work with is our upmost priority. With 79% of raw materials sourced locally in Africa we are almost at our 80% target but remain restless to do more and this refreshed strategy will take us further along this journey,” commented David Cutter, chief sustainability officer.
The Global Good Awards 2019 are now open!
There are 13 categories to choose from including Environmental Behaviour Change, Sustainable Supply Chain and Good Employer of the Year. And remember entry fees are only charged when you submit your entry. There are no fees to pay for starting an application.