East & Central Africa
The majority of people living in East & Central Africa are small scale farmers or miners. Coffee, tea, cotton, fruits and sugarcane are all crops that thrive in the tropical, fertile soils. The main challenges for the small scale producers are getting access to markets and credit for investments. These difficulties are linked to weak producer organizations.
Strengthening producer organizations
The Regional Expertise Centre (REC) Eastern & Central Africa was officially established in Nairobi in 2008. It focuses on capacity building and organizational development of producer organizations. The REC provides information and support to producers interested in certification of their products, among many other things. Certification increases the value of products, and provides producers with a stronger market position.
Issues such as gender, improving market access and access to credits are also main objectives. Next to working with producer organizations, REC East Africa cooperates with other stakeholders in the supply chains to promote and stimulate sustainable development in the whole region.
Vacancies
We currently have no vacancies.
Cases
We offer
REC Eastern & Central Africa works on sustainable supply chains in close collaboration with Solidaridad´s worldwide network of expertise centres and local partners. Together we deliver the following services:
To producers
- Training farmers in farming techniques that have less negative impact on people and the environment and lead to better and higher yields.
- Supporting producer organizations through capacity building and organizational strengthening.
- Assisting producer organizations to get access to means of production, finance and markets.
- Supporting agricultural producer organizations and industrial producer companies to qualify for social and environmental certification standards.
To companies
- Supporting companies to implement corporate social responsibility (CSR) related to sourcing in developing countries.
- Developing sustainable business concepts in order to broaden the marketplace for sustainable products from developing countries.
- Supporting sustainable business initiatives with marketing and communication to inform business partners and consumers.
Other
- Developing certification standards for sustainable production and fair trade (such as Fair Trade and UTZ CERTIFIED).
- Supporting civil society organizations that empower women, farmers or employees, as well as organizations that protect nature and bio diversity.
- Seeking dialogue with stakeholders and the public using our knowledge, experience and views on sustainable economic development and corporate social responsibility.