Resilience is key for future-proof food systems. For Rikolto, the 3 main ingredients in this recipe for resilient food systems are: sustainable food production, inclusive markets and an enabling environment. We also pay special attention to regenerative agricultural practices, and the empowerment of women and young people is integrated in every aspect of our work.
In our Annual Report 2023, we showcase highlights and lessons learnt revolving around those three ingredients, from our three global programmes: our Sustainable Rice, Sustainable Cocoa and Coffee, and Good Food for Cities programmes.
Listen to our Executive Director Chris Claes, as he presents our Annual Report 2023 and reveals the story behind our cover image in the video below.
Continue reading to explore the summary of our 2023 achievements, or dive straight into our full 2023 Annual Report.
As global food consumption, markets and decision-making centres are concentrated in urban areas, cities play a fundamental role in sparking a shift towards more sustainable food systems. They are laboratories to test new ideas, models and collaborations. Our Good Food for Cities programme approaches urban food systems through a systems-thinking lens, fostering interconnections between actors and collective action mechanisms. We build inclusive business relationships through participatory food governance structures, where we help raise the voice of vulnerable stakeholders By understanding how different areas are connected to each other, we identify levers for systems change. This helps us to navigate difficult trade-offs, such as how to improve access to affordable healthy food, while motivating farmers and food chain workers to adopt more sustainable practices
Explore some of the highlights of our Good Food for Cities programme in 2023.
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Rice is a complex crop. It is a staple food for almost half of the world's population, and a key crop in the fight against food insecurity. It is sensitive to climate variability whilst also having a huge environmental footprint. And it is a politically sensitive crop: on the one hand, governments call for low prices for consumers, while on the other hand, a “good” price needs to be ensured for producers. In between lie the interests of all other actors. At Rikolto, we apply a systems approach to contribute to transforming the rice sector. We work towards decent incomes and working conditions for all actors in the rice sector, a reduced environmental impact of rice, and safe, healthy, quality rice for consumers. To do so, we look at rice farms as an integral part of their landscape. We promote dissemination of sustainable practices following the Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP) Standard for Rice Cultivation among all value chain actors. We also look beyond rice for value creation and promote diversification through crop rotation and intercropping. We facilitate the development of inclusive business relationships in domestic and regional markets to create more efficient value chains that ultimately benefit consumers. Finally, we facilitate collective action of a wide range of food system stakeholders to steer the development of an enabling environment where best initiatives spread and innovation flourishes.
Explore some of the highlights of our Sustainable Rice programme in 2023.
Living incomes for farmers are essential for truly resilient cocoa and coffee farming communities. This requires guaranteed minimum prices, climate-smart and sustainable agricultural practices, access to finance, income diversification strategies and a strong enabling environment. We have moved beyond a value chain approach to a food systems approach, looking not only at cocoa and coffee, but also at the farming systems in which they are grown. We partner with other non-governmental organisations, cooperatives, private companies, financial institutions, and government actors to reach sustainable local food systems that enable thriving cocoa and coffee communities.
Explore some of the highlights of our Sustainable Cocoa and Coffee programme in 2023.
We closely work with cooperatives, civil society organisations, private companies, commodity platforms, government institutions, business service providers, research institutes, knowledge networks and many other food system actors.
In 2023, Rikolto financially supported 193 organisations in 18 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, compared to 156 the previous year. 56% of these are farmers’ organisations, as in 2022. Apart from farmer organisations, we also closely work with – and sometimes financially support – local NGOs, commodity platforms, different national and sub-national government institutions, business service providers and/or research institutes.
Engaging in the right collaborations leads us to higher impact and allows us to work on a broader scale. In this playing field, intensive dialogues with a very diverse range of actors allow us to stay in tune with what's happening in the world today. Rikolto’s role in these partnerships is also diverse: from actively contributing evidence from our work on the ground to networks and learning alliances, over facilitating dialogue between different food system actors to bring their interests closer together, to promoting scaling of successful practices and influencing agendas in favour of sustainable and inclusive food systems.
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We can count on the support of a wide range of donors, from governments to multilateral organisations, foundations and companies.
We can also count on the support of a loyal base of private donors in Belgium, which we are continuing to build. In 2023, we raised a total of €1,092,731 of private funding for the Rikolto network, compared to €1,673,258 in 2022. We shifted our campaign efforts from one-shot-fundraising to a lead-capture strategy. This strategy results in a steady inflow of new contacts that can grow into loyal donors. We succeed in keeping our donations level relatively steady; however, the direct campaign and event incomes have decreased.
At Rikolto, innovation is driven by over 200 people worldwide of 20 different nationalities. 50% of our staff works in Africa.
There is a pretty good global balance between men and women (60%-40%), although this is mainly due to a prevalence of female staff in Southeast Asia and Europe. Most of our female colleagues are engaged in operational roles. Globally, we see that only one third of programme-related jobs are held by women. Also for women in leadership we aim to have a 50/50 distribution.
We have a mix of younger and more experienced staff with 3 out of 10 colleagues under age 35.
In general, our turnover is under control (13%) and is mainly related to the end of projects and the start of new ones.
This report covers the financial activities of three entities: the Belgian Public Interest Foundation Rikolto International s.o.n., Rikolto Belgium v.z.w., and Rikolto Consult. In total, the three entities spent € 19,793,090 in 2023 and received € 20,121,815, resulting in a positive year balance of € 328,725.
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