Photo above: on the left, Heske Verburg, Managing Director of Solidaridad Europe, and on the right, Sander de Jong, Director of Fairfood.
On 1 August 2026, Fairfood will officially merge into Solidaridad, with all operations unifying entirely under the Solidaridad brand.
Two pioneers, one shared mission
Both organizations are pragmatic and innovative problem solvers of systemic challenges. They share a mission to improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers:
- Solidaridad brings nearly 60 years of deep-rooted experience working with small-scale farmers, robust governance and an international network fostering sustainable supply chains across more than 40 countries. 1,500 colleagues around the world are working relentlessly to enable farmers to earn a living income, shape their own future and produce in balance with nature.
- Fairfood joins the global network as an agile digital innovation non-profit with over 25 years of experience building farmer-first technology and solutions that empower agri-food businesses to improve their social and environmental practices, while giving farmers a voice in decisions that shape their income.
“By integrating Fairfood’s entrepreneurial culture and digital agility directly into Solidaridad’s global architecture, we are building a formidable engine for change,” says Heske Verburg, Managing Director of Solidaridad Europe. “Our successful cooperation under the RECLAIM Sustainability! programme proved what we can achieve together. This merger allows us to scale those proven digital interventions and leverage our combined networks to make transparent supply chains the industry standard and deliver on our shared mission.”
Open-source technology for global impact
A core value of this merger lies in the integration of technological capabilities. Solidaridad aims to adopt Fairfood’s sophisticated digital infrastructure, including the Trace, Collect, Connect and Navigate tools, retaining them as open-source solutions for the benefit of the entire agri-food industry.
Moving forward, we will focus on capturing immediate synergies between Fairfood’s software suite and Solidaridad’s digital solutions. The aim is to build a single, robust and highly user-friendly digital ecosystem that provides unparalleled data verification, traceability and impact monitoring for farmers, corporate partners and donors alike.
“Supply chain sustainability requires data that serves the farmer just as much as it serves the corporate buyer,” notes Sander de Jong, Director of Fairfood. “Joining forces with Solidaridad ensures that the open-source technology we’ve pioneered will continue to protect the rights of small-scale farmers, contributing to a living income.”
Seamless regional continuity and growth
To ensure continuity for small-scale farmers on the ground, the transition of the project portfolio has been carefully managed. Running projects will seamlessly transition to Solidaridad, delivered in close collaboration with Solidaridad’s regional expertise and local networks. Any future initiatives born from this combination will be woven directly into Solidaridad’s strategy.
A robust financial foundation
The merger positions Solidaridad for significant financial and strategic growth. By blending complementary corporate and donor networks, Solidaridad unlocks fresh opportunities across the private and public sectors. Backed by Fairfood’s incoming portfolio and financial reserves, the incoming staff and activities are anchored by robust funding, setting the stage for an innovative next chapter in system transformation.