Food & Agriculture
With an estimated value of US$5.7 trillion of retail trade worldwide and US$1.1 trillion value of import, export and primary processing the food and agriculture sector is vast and important for the world economy. In many countries food processing is a leading industry in terms of value added and jobs generated. Countless millions of people work on an estimated 450 million farms in agriculture worldwide.
With research and support of civil society networks SOMO focuses within this sector on the influence of international trade and distribution on production processes and conditions, mainly in developing countries. This way SOMO aims to contribute to a more sustainable food and agriculture sector in order to reduce poverty.
SOMO works on important issues and trends in this sector such as the often adverse social economic circumstances for small farmers and workers (labour rights violations and unsustainable incomes for producers), environment degradation (loss of biodiversity, agrochemical use, erosion) and increasing concentration of influence and power of a selected number of large scale food companies.
Follow this link for a more elaborate list of trends and issues in this sector >
The following sub-sectors and themes have (had) our special attention:
Food & Agriculture News
Precarious work in certified tea production for Unilever
31-10-2011
Workers picking tea for Unilever in India and Kenya are subject to precarious working conditions and labor rights violations, even though this tea carries the Rainforest Alliance certificate. This is an important finding from the report ‘Certified Unilever Tea. Small cup, big difference?’ that SOMO and ICN are releasing today.
European Commission’s proposal for financial markets lacks teeth
20-10-2011
New rules proposed today by the European Commission will shed light on betting on food commodities by financial traders, but will not do enough to prevent speculation from fuelling high and volatile food prices. The warning comes from environment and development groups in a joint reaction to the new draft Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) and accompanying regulation.
Building a coalition against food speculation
21-07-2011
On 5 July, the European Parliament voted on a bill to introduce a first law to regulate trade in speculative financial products. Senior researcher Myriam Vander Stichele at SOMO can take a break before the next fight on European rules against food speculation.
NGOs welcome EP vote
05-07-2011
Members of the European Parliament voted today on the European Markets Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR), the first ever legislative proposal put forward by the European Commission to regulate ‘Over-The-Counter’ (OTC) derivatives markets. NGOs welcome the agreed text as a first step to tackle excessive speculation in agriculture commodities.
Fruit from Ahold leaves a bitter aftertaste
06-01-2011
Starvation wages, extremely long working days without a permanent contract and no trade union to stand up for you. This is the bitter aftertaste left by many of the fruit and vegetables in Dutch supermarkets such as Albert Heijn (Ahold). That’s the conclusion of ‘Bitter Fruit’, a report published by SOMO today. Although the largest supermarket chain in the Netherlands says that it works to ensure responsible production, many – usually seasonal - workers in the fruit and vegetable sector in developing countries still struggle under poor working conditions. Better regulations and monitoring, as well as pressure on suppliers and governments in production countries, are therefore sorely needed.
Seminar to curb food speculation
22-09-2010
Banks, hedge funds and pension funds are betting on food prices in the financial markets, causing drastic price swings in staple foods such as wheat, maize and cocoa. Heavy lobbying from the financial world is undermining strict regulation to curb this financial speculation on food. On 20 September SOMO co-organised a training and strategy seminar in Brussels for capacity building of NGOs to curb speculation in food. Also on 21 September, SOMO spoke at the hearing of the European Commission on commodity and energy derivatives. More civil society organisations willing to engage in this debate are welcome to join.
Financial agricultural markets deserve more attention in financial reforms
22-04-2010
On the eve of the meeting of the G-20 Ministers of Finance in Washington on 23 April, SOMO is publishing Financing Food. Financialisation and Financial Actors in Agriculture Commodity Markets. The study focuses on how derivative markets and financial speculation in agricultural commodities work. SOMO demonstrates how the futures market for agricultural products, in particular, has changed and is being disrupted by new speculators, growing index funds and commodities funds. This can have an influence on food prices, which can rise as a result, making food too expensive for the poor in developing countries.
Shareholders give Unilever a dressing down
14-05-2009
At the Unilever shareholders’ meeting today, the Dutch trade union FNV, the international trade union for food workers IUF and other interested parties, such as VBDO, raised the issue of the working conditions of workers in Pakistan, India and Kenya.
Coalition for coffee, tea and cocoa launches new website
17-03-2009
The Tropical Commodity Coalition (TCC) launches a new website today to ask attention for its activities. TCC wants to improve social, economic and environmental conditions at the beginning of the coffee, tea and cocoa supply chain.
Falling tea prices affect working conditions
12-06-2008
Working conditions of tea pickers worldwide are under pressure due to low prices and high production costs. This is one of the conclusions of the new SOMO report “Sustainability Issues in the Tea Sector” presented today.
Network meeting for a sustainable Tea Industry
14-09-2007
During a workshop in Darjeeling (India) the key economic, social and environmental issues that need attention in the global tea trade were discussed by more than 50 civil society organizations, academics, trade unions, industry representatives (plantations and small-growers).
SOMO report: The profit behind your plate
22-12-2006
Food industry of developing countries suffers from retail and food multinationals
Small farmers lose in supermarket expansion
27-06-2006
SOMO research concludes that free trade in fruit and vegetables has a negative impact on small farmers and producers in developing countries.
Report: Sustainabilitea
01-05-2006
The SOMO report on the global tea market report provides an overview of the tea market with special reference to the Dutch market and examines labour, social, ecological and economic issues in the tea sector
