Agricultural Investments
Our Philosophy
We are investing into countries and areas where people are not only poor, but many are hungry. We will be bringing food production on a large scale. We will also be helping to increase food security through the training and support of small-scale farmers.
Creating sustainable solutions
 We believe that poverty alleviation lies in sustainable solutions that are led by local communities.
Our goal is to empower people to make their own future a bright one. We look to improve small-scale farm yields by supporting these farmers with high quality inputs of seed and fertilizer, ongoing technical training and, through helping the farmer find a market for their surplus production.
This is not a one-off exercise.
We see this as an ongoing process over the planting season and over multiple years.
A hand up, not a hand out
We believe that enabling private enterprise is the key to offering people an economic ladder to improve their family’s position through honest effort.
Our goal is to support and to enable the creation of small and medium sized enterprises in the areas in which we operate.
High Corporate Standards
All of the companies we invest into will need to abide by our Social Responsibility Policy and these are captured in our ‘Operations Standards’ for agricultural businesses. These standards will cover labour practices, environmental impact and business practices.
With our stakeholders, including customers, suppliers and contractors, we are aiming to meet the UN target outlined in the Millennium Development Goals in the communities in which we work.
Supporting Developmental Needs
 We believe that we should be aware of local developmental needs and to seek to alleviate these needs in a pro-active way. Whilst the local economy in the areas in which we are operating may be improving through long term development, there are often immediate issues that need addressing.
This varies from community to community. We use a participatory process that starts with measuring the poverty status of the community from their perspective and brings them together to plan their way forward.
Operational Standards for Agricultural Businesses
This set of Standards has been developed by SilverStreet to detail the minimum operational standards required in any direct investment and are based on the FairTrade standards. They incorporate SilverStreet’s Socially Responsible Investment Principles.
Governance:
Each business is legally constituted, has a management board whose meetings are minuted, has an administration, operates bank accounts, meets annual reporting requirements of the country.
Trading practices:
The business does not pay bribes or is involved in other forms of corruption.
Employment policy/conditions:
All established workers must have a legally binding written contract of employment.
The business does not discriminate against existing or new workers (permanent or contract) on the basis of race, colour, sex, sexual orientation, disability, marital status, age, religion, political opinion, language, property, nationality, ethnicity or social origin.
The business does not use child labour unless it does not interfere with school attendance and homework, is not demanding or hazardous and is guided by a family member i.e. helping family.
The business has consultation processes in place with workers (permanent or contract) so that management can get feedback to improve plans, practices and procedures and so that workers feel valued and part of the organisation.
The business will not retain any part of the workers’ salary, benefits, property or documents in order to force them to remain in employment. The business will also refrain from any physical or psychological measure to force workers to remain in employment against their will. Spouses are free to work elsewhere. All workers are be free to leave at any time, giving a due notice period as per his or her contract.
The business recognises the right of all workers to establish and to join workers’ organisations of their own choosing and to collectively negotiate their working conditions. The business does not discriminate against those workers who exercise this right and allows reasonable time and space for meetings. Participation of workers in meetings is voluntary.
Conditions of employment such as working hours, overtime, leave, maternity leave, social security provisions, sick leave, non-monetary benefits are at least equal to national law or an agreement signed between the workers' organization and the organisation, whichever is more favourable to the employee.
Contract workers are only used for seasonal peaks or special tasks.
 Any housing provided will ensure health, provide privacy and security and be at a reasonable cost.
Access to potable water and clean, well maintained sanitary facilities, in proportion to the number of residents should be available in close proximity.
Remuneration:
The business aims to pay well compared to local context.
Salaries or rates for quota or piecework should exceed regulation, regional or official minimum rates for similar occupations, whichever is the higher.
Payment is made regularly and in a timely manner, in legal tender, and is properly documented by pay slips bearing all necessary information.
Training and Education:
The business has a value of lifelong learning and training of workers (permanent or contract).
Environmental Impact:
The business protects the natural environment and applies measures to; use good techniques, use biological methods, avoid hazardous chemicals, preserve species, avoid water contamination, restore areas of land no longer used, protect conservation areas and neighbouring areas.
The business recycles waste where possible and disposes of other waste sensibly.
The business minimises use of energy, especially that from non-renewable resources.
Health and safety:
 The business has policies and practices in place to prevent accidents and injury to health in the course of work, by minimising, so far as is reasonably practicable, the causes of hazards inherent in the working environment.
The business has a Health and Safety (H & S) policy and assesses risks, keeps records of issues and training given and seeks to continually improve health and safety.
The business protects certain types of people e.g. youths, pregnant women from undertaking tasks that would endanger their health.
The business has adequate emergency first aid facilities, equipment and trained staff.
All workers have access to potable water and clean, well maintained sanitary facilities, separate for men and women, in proportion to the number of workers with good hand washing facilities.
Workers engaged in any potentially hazardous work will be adequately trained in working hours and provided with free, good quality, adequate personal protective clothing.
Our Support for the United Nations Millennium Development Goals
The UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown and the UN issued a Call to Action to Businesses in May 2008 to be involved in UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Sixty-two multinational businesses signed up to the initiative. In September 2008, governments, foundations, businesses and civil society groups reaffirmed their commitment to meeting the Millennium Development Goals at an event at United Nations Headquarters.
The MDGs set targets for 8 key Development needs/areas:
1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. Achieve universal primary education
3. Promote gender equality and empower women
4. Reduce child mortality
5. Improve maternal health
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Develop a global partnership for development
Because of the nature of our investments, farmlands, and the areas of target investment, Central Africa, we are uniquely able to contribute to the eight Development areas. In particular the first, third and seventh areas are ones that can benefit from our core operations.
Supporting the UN Millennium Development Goals: How will it work in practice?
Here are examples of just some Development actions that could be undertaken depending on context. We have shown them against the eight UN development goals:
1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
 • Train and provide technical assistance to small-scale farmers in the area to improve their crop yields and the area’s food security
• Help ensure the delivery of key inputs such as seed and fertiliser on time to small-scale farmers.
• Help small-scale farmers receive credit to finance their farms over a season
• Help in the marketing and distribution of surplus output from small-scale farmers
• For key suppliers, seek to use local ones.
• Establish a youth work experience/apprenticeship scheme.
2. Achieve universal primary education
• Avoid child labour in direct employment or in suppliers.
• Facilitate education of employees’ children.
• Encourage involvement by employees in schools.
• Encourage external development bodies to improve the local school infrastructure and support their work by highlighting key development requirements.
3. Promote gender equality and empower women
 • Gender diversity in employee/ work experience intakes.
• Encourage and support women employees to take up positions of influence externally e.g. Government Task Forces.
• Support women small-scale farmers (often in the majority)
4. Reduce child mortality and
5. Improve maternal health and
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
 • In area of operations, sponsor vaccination and malaria prevention programmes.
• In area of operations, provide clean water and sanitation.
• In area of operations, sponsor health checks/ education especially for women and children.
• Provide education for staff.
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
• Assess and manage direct environmental impact. Align with national targets.
• Reduce environmental impact over time.
• Understand and achieve reduction in environmental impact of suppliers over time.
• In area of operations, sponsor environmental sustainability and education programmes.
8. Develop a global partnership for development
• Work on development actions with NGOs and Government as partners
• Work with small-scale farmers as partners
• Support local businesses
• Don’t pay bribes or other forms of corruption.
• Don’t use suppliers who do.
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