Experts take positive stock at “Del Campo al Plato” (CAP) symposium on integrating biodiversity into tropical fruit supply chains. Efficient criteria in food standards and practical methods for effective measures in agriculture are cited as success factors. The landscape approach across products is forward-looking. Raising consumer awareness and fairer pricing remain a challenge.
Radolfzell, 30.05.2023: For around four and a half years, experts from the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GIZ, the Global Nature Fund (GNF) and the Lake Constance Foundation developed and tested effective approaches for integrating biodiversity measures on plantations using the example of bananas and pineapples from Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic. At a symposium last week in Frankfurt, around eighty representatives from the industry took stock.
Efficient biodiversity criteria in existing sustainability standards in the food industry were identified as the most successful measure. Standards such as Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade and Sustainably Grown in conventional farming and Naturland and Demeter in organic farming now have comprehensive criteria that effectively address the protection of biodiversity. “With up to 90% certified goods for bananas and probably well over 50% for pineapples, we can justifiably speak of mainstreaming,” says Thomas Schaefer, head of nature conservation and coordinator of the project at GNF. The new Naturland standard, presented by Eva Kohlschmidt, shows just how extensive these criteria can be. In addition to a ban on deforestation since 2000, agroforestry has become mandatory in many tropical permanent crops.
The Biodiversity Check Agricola (BCA) is just as successful and concrete in its implementation, with more than 150 farms having completed it so far and now implementing a Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP). Around 45,000 hectares of land – roughly the amount needed to grow the bananas and pineapples consumed in Germany – are gradually being developed and cultivated in a more biodiversity-friendly way. “The BCA has proven to be a pragmatic and practical method for both large plantations and smallholder cooperatives,” explains Marion Hammerl, Senior Expert at the Lake Constance Foundation and initiator of the Del Campo al Plato project.
The landscape approach that Campo al Plato and other projects are now pursuing is also promising. Ralf Buß, project manager at GIZ in Ecuador, presented two initiatives with indigenous groups in Colombia and Ecuador, in which measures for biodiversity are integrated into traditional cultivation systems to combat degradation and biodiversity loss across all products, rather than working with individual plantations on a project-by-project basis. Biotope corridors in Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic, in whose implementation companies along the banana and pineapple value chain are investing, follow the same approach.
Regulatory approaches such as the EU Deforestation Regulation and the EU Supply Chain Act create a level playing field for all companies. This will improve the market opportunities for companies that are already implementing sustainability measures and have so far been at a competitive disadvantage, as the costs of the products are often higher. This was explained by Franziska Rau, GIZ’s advisor for freedom from deforestation. At the same time, they pose major implementation challenges for producers in countries of the global South. The distribution of compliance costs along the supply chain has not yet been sufficiently clarified. Martin Schüller, Development Policy, Climate & Environment Officer at Fairtrade, emphasized that these costs cannot be borne by the small farmers alone.
The interaction between supply and pricing in food retail and consumer demand for sustainable – biodiversity-friendly – products is also still unresolved. Surveys now confirm that customers are increasingly willing to contribute to the costs of sustainable production. In the conventional market segment in particular, this willingness is not yet sufficiently utilized by food retailers to enable adequate prices for producers that cover the costs and added value of a product that has been cultivated in a way that promotes biodiversity The situation is different in fair trade and organic farming, especially for association products, where producers can achieve adequate prices.
Overall, the initiators of the project draw a positive balance. The objectives of the project and the associated effects were achieved – despite the difficult environment. The Biodiversity Check Agrícola and the training for plantation managers are anchored in various organizations and will continue to be implemented. Companies can continue to participate financially in the implementation of the biotope corridors and contact the project partners.
Contact us
Global Nature Fund (GNF)
International Foundation for Environment and Nature
Dr. Thomas Schaefer
Head of Nature Conservation & Living Lakes
Fritz-Reichle-Ring 4
78315 Radolfzell
+49 7732 9995 89
schaefer@globalnature.org
www.globalnature.org