By Ishaya Ibrahim
Solidaridad, the international non-governmental organisation that promotes productivity through responsible use of the environment, has said it would continue to support smallholders and enterprising farmers in developing countries toward increased productivity.
“We work to create prosperity throughout agricultural, mining and textile supply chains. We focus on the production value chains where our interventions have the greatest impact: coffee, tea, cocoa, fruits & vegetables, textiles, cotton, soy, maize, palm oil, sugarcane, gold, dairy, aquaculture and livestock,” the senior climate specialist at Solidaridad, Dr Sam Ogallah, said in an address to mark the 50th anniversary of the organisation.
He said the INGO focuses on efforts that bring sustainability and solutions to production.
“Our decade-long expertise in the field has taught us that a broader approach is needed and it must be done by putting the needs of the primary producers at the heart of the strategy. The interests of the farmers and workers must be prioritized,” he said.
He said at Solidaridad, the strategy is that by working together, new things are learnt and progress is made quicker, resulting in high impact results.
“The premise of the structure is that it promotes capacity building: strengthening Solidaridad teams in the region, enabling them to take control of supervisory tasks and to manage programming themselves.
“The regional Solidaridad teams cooperate with their own partners on the planning, implementation, communication and evaluation of programmes, and on reporting their results,” Ogallah said.
Solidaridad is an international NGO with partners all over the world.
It was established in 1969 by Catholic Bishops in the Netherlands to assist at the time, Latin America overcome its economic troubles and advocate social justice for the poor.
Solidaridad has expanded its support programmes to include; promoting a better economic situation for poor producers in developing countries through higher consumer awareness of the issues and ensuring that producers in developing countries get fair prices for their efforts. .
“Solidaridad founded the Max Havelaar Foundation in 1988, hereby launching the first fair trade label for sustainable coffee. Its successful launch in the Netherlands has helped to spark the global fair trade movement,” Ogallah recall.
He said Solidaridad operates worldwide and has the ambition to continue its work as a solution-oriented civil society organisation that supports global sustainable and inclusive development.
“And as we look forward, we strive to consider the lessons learnt from our 50 year-long experience as well as the essential factors needed to ensure that our society keeps moving forth in its transition towards a sustainable economy,” he said.
