Solidaridad North America is the face of the Solidaridad Network throughout the region. We develop relationships with North American partners to facilitate the creation of socially responsible, environmentally sound, and economically viable commodity supply chains globally.
North America
Region North America
North America is a major market for agricultural commodities. Companies, foundations, and institutions across the continent are increasing their commitments to support sustainable agriculture and promote resilient economies. Solidaridad North America partners with such organizations to further sustainability goals in developing regions around the world.
Developments
Climate change, increasing water scarcity, demanding customers and shareholders all signal the need for production and consumption systems that safeguard the environment, ensure the well-being of communities, and respect the bottom-lines of companies.
Governments, businesses, and consumers are becoming increasingly conscious of the need to create food systems that increase production in a sustainable manner, while addressing poverty and food insecurity. North American consumer goods companies facing challenges in their supply chains are working towards ethical and sustainable sourcing of commodities.
Food safety, traceability, waste reduction, and the integration of digital technologies to improve food production are also rapidly gaining attention. Yet recent political developments in the USA make this a challenging time and Solidaridad is redoubling its efforts to further development of sustainable systems from farmer to consumer.
Challenges
International consumer goods companies are making commitments to sustainable sourcing and producer support. However, making the commitments is often easier than implementing the steps necessary to achieve them.
Solidaridad North America, in close collaboration with the entire Solidaridad Network, helps companies achieve these goals by providing on-the-ground expertise and by developing innovative solutions to supply chain challenges. Together with philanthropic foundations and civil society organizations, Solidaridad North America identifies opportunities to increase the sustainability of commodity supply chains and mobilizes resources to achieve sector-wide change.
Achievements
Since its establishment in 2012, Solidaridad North America has developed partnerships with philanthropic foundations and companies to implement innovative supply chain programmes for commodities such as cocoa, coffee, cotton, livestock, palm oil, soy, and sugarcane in countries as diverse as China, Brazil, Indonesia, Ghana, Mexico, El Salvador, and India.
These initiatives have focused on protecting degraded ecosystems, while simultaneously improving the livelihoods of small producers, through capacity building for improved production practices, and facilitating access to finance and markets. A special emphasis on women and youth is integrated across all commodity programs.
Solidaridad has well-established relationships with foundations such as the Mastercard Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Walmart Foundation, and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and corporate partners such as PepsiCo.
Programmes Regional commodities
Solidaridad North America’s activities focus on building partnerships with North American stakeholders, mobilizing resources and raising awareness about the Network’s global programmes.
- Livestock, Soy
Protecting forests
With the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation’s support Solidaridad developed a comprehensive strategy for sustainable agriculture approaches to reducing deforestation and avoiding extensive agricultural expansion in the Gran Chaco biome of South America. This work, undertaken by Solidaridad South America with support from Solidaridad North America, helped to shape a comprehensive multi-stakeholder approach: the Collaboration on Forests and Agriculture.
- Cocoa
Empowering young farmers
Solidaridad North America led the development of a partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, implemented by Solidaridad West Africa, as part of the Foundation’s Youth Forward Initiative. The $15 million, five-year, MASO programme focuses on youth empowerment in the cocoa sector of Ghana. Solidaridad North America also serves on the steering committee of the Youth Forward Initiative.
- Palm oil
Increasing yields and incomes
Funding from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, secured by Solidaridad North America, is supporting Solidaridad South and South East Asia’s programme on palm oil production in Indonesia that will increase yields and incomes of smallholder farmers, while avoiding both deforestation and associated greenhouse gas emissions.
- Cotton
Supporting female farmers
The Walmart Foundation’s Global Women’s Economic Empowerment Initiative supported a programme that complemented the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) training to address the needs of female farmers in China. Together with improving cotton production practices, the programme, implemented by Solidaridad China, focused on strengthening the leadership and entrepreneurship skills of women cotton farmers.
- Sugarcane
Improving worker health
The Kellogg Company supported Solidaridad in developing training materials to address the causes of Chronic Kidney Disease from non-Traditional causes (CKDnT), an epidemic affecting sugarcane cutters in Central America. This is part of a much larger initiative, funded by the Dutch Postcode Lottery, to attack the root causes of the disease. PepsiCo and Solidaridad’s partnership in India is promoting better farming techniques and water-saving practices that are improving the productivity and livelihoods of sugarcane farmers.
Partners Multi-stakeholder initiatives
Solidaridad actively engages businesses, foundations, governments, and civil society organizations in North America to develop and implement collaborative, innovative solutions for sustainable smallholder agriculture in developing countries.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Netherlands
The Nature Conservancy
Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation
Walmart Foundation
The David & Lucile Packard Foundation
PepsiCo
Mastercard Foundation
Track record North America through the years
Solidaridad North America supports programmes implemented by our colleagues in Solidaridad’s regional centres in Africa, Latin America and Asia.
2019
This was a year of transition and reflection. We progressed on building meaningful partnerships, and brought together stakeholders to address pressing issues in supply chain sustainability. With the onboarding of a new managing director, our lean team assessed the current internal and external landscape and rebuilt its strategy for 2020 and beyond. This included an analysis of the unique position we have to pursue opportunities for impact globally.
2018
The year 2018 saw Solidaridad begin to emerge from anonymity in North America. We were featured on national television, received a significant award, hosted a major conference and participated in numerous events, activities and publications throughout the year. In a region with more than a million non-governmental organizations, it has been a successful year for us.
2017
The year 2017 was an eventful one for Solidaridad North America. The team continued to manage existing partnerships and develop new ones with leading brands and civil society organizations. Solidaridad focussed significantly on improving external communication and enhancing brand recognition through different channels. In addition, the North American team developed several important proposals in collaboration with other regional centres in the Solidaridad Network.
2016
Small but effective – that is Solidaridad North America in a nutshell. With a lean team, Solidaridad is punching above its weight in terms of proposals developed and relationships managed. In 2016, Solidaridad developed proposals in collaboration with all regional centres in the Network, strengthened its connections across North America and managed relationships with both current and prospective supporters and partners.
2015
Solidaridad North America continues to develop significant partnerships with companies, foundations and government agencies, engaging in an ever-widening range of activities. The highlight of the year was the consummation of a partnership with the MasterCard Foundation to implement a five-year, $15 million youth empowerment programme in the cocoa sector of Ghana, starting in 2016.
2014
Solidaridad has grown into its role as an adviser to North American consumer goods companies and private foundations on issues including sectoral trends, multi-stakeholder initiatives, opportunities and risks within supply chains, and we continue to form partnerships to achieve sustainability targets.
2013
Together with establishing its presence in North America, Solidaridad establishes a partnership with Walmart Foundation to support female cotton farmers in China. Solidaridad also builds relationships with several networks and civil society organizations, including the Tropical Forest Alliance 2020.
2012
The North America office is established as a legal entity in the United States, enabling Solidaridad to engage strategically with key market players and institutions across the region. Focused on partnership building, the office will support network-wide activities designed to promote sustainable land use and strengthen commodity supply chains.
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Managing Director for Solidaridad North America, Rebecca Kaduru, reflects on the social and political movement underway for Black Lives Matter and the fight against racism, and considers the part that Solidaridad and other development organisations can play to create meaningful change.
Build back better: sustainable, fair and resilient
Solidaridad has published a statement together with Fairtrade The Netherlands calling upon the Dutch government, companies, financial institutions, and civil society to seize the economic recovery as a chance to provide fair compensation to producers in developing countries.
A milestone year
Solidaridad reached 700,000 smallholder farmers in 2019 – more than ever before. It was also the year in which we celebrated our 50th anniversary and several other important milestones in our drive for more equitable supply chains and a greener planet.
