Smallholder women farmers in Ethiopia spread coffee beans out to dry on a platform. © GIZ/Silas Koch

Changing global agricultural supply chains in a responsible and sustainable manner

Sector Project Sustainable Agricultural Supply Chains

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  • Client

    German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)

  • Co-financier

    German Initiative on Sustainable Cocoa (GISCO)

  • Country
  • Runtime

    2024 to 2027

  • Involved

    Representatives of global agricultural supply chains from the private sector, civil society, policy-making and academia

  • Products and expertise

    Rural development

Context

Agricultural supply chains shape the lives of billions of people and have an impact on the environment, biodiversity and climate around the world. Global agricultural supply chains are crucial in facilitating a just transition to the international economy, given that consumption and production cross borders. Supply chains secure the income of hundreds of millions of producers, smallholders and workers worldwide. Therefore, decision-makers have to design policies that allow agricultural supply chains to effectively contribute to the United Nations 2030 Agenda.

Objective

The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is improving the structural policy framework for green global agricultural supply chains that promote development. The Ministry contributes to ensuring that stakeholders along global agricultural supply chains act in a manner that is responsible and transformative.

A smallholder woman farmer in Côte d'Ivoire spreads cocoa beans out to dry on a platform.© GIZ / Gael Gellé

Approach

The project advises and supports BMZ in putting issues related to the sustainable transformation of agricultural supply chains in Germany, Europe, and a global level on the political agenda. It promotes partnerships between policy-makers, businesses and civil society that expand responsible action. The project pools knowledge and experience on ways to implement sustainability and makes this information available to a large network of international stakeholders through dialogue and exchange formats. It focuses on the following topics and raw materials:

  • Living income and wages
  • Due diligence requirements and regulations based on them, such as the EU Deforestation-Free Supply Chains Regulation (EUDR) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD)
  • Digitalisation and traceability
  • Gender equality
  • Cacao, coffee and palm oil

The project receives funding from the German Initiative on Sustainable Cocoa and is part of the Sustainable Agricultural Supply Chains Initiative (SASI).

Last update: March 2025

Additional information