Olam Agri, GIZ to Boost Staple Agriculture Supply Chains, Sustainable Food Production

The deal provides a framework that will facilitate collaboration between the two organisations across staple agriculture supply chains that include rice, cotton, and rubber in developing markets in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

The aim is to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers, provide them with access to key services and inclusive opportunities; and establish sustainability and traceability across agriculture supply chains, aligning with Olam Agri’s purpose to transform food and agriculture for a more sustainable and food-secure future.

For joint projects, GIZ and Olam Agri have identified six priority intervention areas: nutrition-sensitive regenerative agriculture; harvest and post-harvest loss reduction; access to finance for smallholders; economic inclusion and rights; management of crop residues and reuse; and ecosystem services, including protection and restoration of ecosystems and carbon initiatives.

Both partners will continue to identify topics relevant across value chains and regions to drive innovation and scaling, with possible cross-sectoral issues including climate and carbon credits, landscape-scale approaches, and digitisation.

“We’ve shared a strong and fruitful relationship with GIZ over the years during which we’ve made significant inroads in transforming smallholder farming in several supply chains across many geographies to be more productive, profitable, and sustainable.

“I am thrilled to be signing this MoU with such a valuable partner that is GIZ and commit to collaborate even further to scale up our sustainability programmes in developing and emerging agriculture economies,” the co-founder of Olam Agri, Mr Sunny Verghese, said.

Also commenting, the Managing Director of GIZ, Anna Sophie Herken, said, “The signing of this MoU with Olam Agri marks a pivotal step forward in our collaborative efforts towards sustainable food production.

“I am very happy and grateful that we can deepen and broaden our cooperation efforts simultaneously. We look forward to enhancing the scope and impact of our successful projects in climate-smart farming.”