The Pathways to Prosperity programme (2023–2029) is aiming to scale up sustainable and inclusive production and trade practices across 17 focus countries and priority sectors. To achieve the goal of supporting producers, men, women and (rural) youth, the programme connects empowered producers with market actors, service providers and governments. Through these connections, farmers gain access to improved knowledge and skills, as well as improved access to inputs, services, technology and markets. While local markets are increasingly more important, we view international value chains as the starting point for farmers to diversify systems and generate income in more resilient ways.
The programme currently operates in three countries—Bangladesh, India and Indonesia—across the value chains of cotton, leather, palm oil, oilseeds, tea and textiles. Central to the programme are the lives and livelihoods of millions of farmers in Asia, who seek to improve their practices and fortunes by adopting regenerative agricultural practices. With support from the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the programme also supports local food enterprises in incorporating inclusivity, traceability and sustainability in their operations and supply chains. In the leather and textiles sectors, the programme has helped brands and units adopt eco-friendly technologies and equipment, significantly reducing pollution and water use while enhancing workers’ safety.
The publication Pathways to Prosperity: Voices from the Ground, captures stories from the ground: stories of change among farmers, collectives, enterprises and industrial units. From small-scale cotton farmer Narendra Raut in Maharashtra, India, who has used the increased income from agriculture to pay for his daughters’ education, to Md Zafar in Dhaka, Bangladesh, who is building a viable business with eco-friendly paver blocks. Or, a female farmers’ group in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, who are using the principles of regenerative agriculture to ensure food security for their village while locally selling high-grade compost from empty palm fruit bunches.
After all, what better way to showcase impact than to hear from those who have experienced it?