REPORT: How responsible business boosts the agriculture sector

5 May 2021. How responsible business boosts the agriculture sector

Imagine an agricultural sector without child labour. A fair wage for farm workers and a fair income for farmers and food producers. Food grown with respect for the environment, and water pollution a distant memory. Reaching these goals is possible with the right business approach.

FAO (2020) The OECD-FAO Guidance for Responsible Agricultural Supply Chains: How it can help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, 24 pp. 

Responsible business conduct is a hot topic of global conversation, and FAO has been at the centre of this discourse in agriculture for several years. In 2016, FAO and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) launched the OECD-FAO Guidance for Responsible Agricultural Supply Chains, a global standard for addressing risk and development in the agricultural sector. A growing number of governments around the world have since been incorporating the OECD-FAO Guidance into their corporate sustainability policies, linking together investment, enterprise, agriculture and development.

The OECD-FAO Guidance recommends that businesses implement due diligence to address the most significant environmental and social risks associated with their agricultural supply chains. Due diligence is the process through which enterprises can identify, assess, mitigate, prevent and account for how they address the actual and potential adverse impacts of their activities as an integral part of business decision-making and risk management systems. In a rising number of countries, governments have introduced legislation that makes due diligence mandatory for companies. The due diligence process helps businesses identify issues and come up with solutions to the adverse impacts of their actions.

To create a more inclusive and sustainable agriculture sector for our future, governments, businesses and individuals need to take a look at the way they work. Due diligence processes can turn risks into development results, including greater food security, stronger labour rights and better environmental protection. To help companies perform due diligence systematically, the FAO-OECD Guidance proposes a model and five-step framework for companies to follow.

Learn more
Website: Responsible Business Conduct in Agriculture
Website: OECD-FAO Guidance for Responsible Agricultural Supply Chains
Website: World Banana Forum
Website: Building Responsible Value Chains for Tropical Fruits