Year of publication 2022

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Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

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Pages 20 p.

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Author FAO

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Publisher FAO ;

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Product type Policy brief

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ISBN 978-92-5-136713-1

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Synopsis (short abstract) The objective of this technical paper is to consider how agricultural cooperatives in developing and transitional economies can help reduce adverse environmental, social and development impacts in global agricultural value chains (GVCs), including through risk-based due diligence. As an increasing number of governments begin to advance new or more stringent corporate sustainability and due diligence regulations, this paper assesses how agricultural cooperatives in developing contexts can adapt their training and extension services to help members, including smallholder farmers, meet the changing market needs on responsible agricultural production and sourcing. By implementing key recommendations from the OECD-FAO Guidance for Responsible Agricultural Supply Chains and it’s five-step framework for risk-based due diligence, cooperatives can demonstrate their compliance with government-backed standards on responsible business conduct (RBC) and increase their competitiveness as a responsible supplier in GVCs. For downstream companies, this brief highlights the risks, challenges and opportunities smallholder producers and their cooperatives may face to meet buyer food quality, safety and sustainable production requirements. Further, governments and other actors, such as non-governmental organizations, may find this paper useful in considering how agricultural trade and development policies can better support cooperatives in meeting downstream responsible sourcing requirements.

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Last updated 08/11/2024

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Cite this content as:

https://doi.org/10.4060/cc1232en

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Language English

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Also available in:

• Spanish

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