News & Insights

The seed of the Sur-Siendo Cooperative was planted by several people, among them a 28-year-old young man, Diego Viturco. Learn about its history and how it has been contributing to hundreds of families having a healthy and economically accessible food alternative in southern Quito.

Covid-19 has challenged our food systems, disrupted them, and magnified issues that existed all along. Yet, after the initial shock of the crisis, food actors are adapting their way of working. And with it, food systems are bouncing back. Find out more about Rikolto's Covid support to our Food Heroes.

Logistical issues and widespread café closures – as a result of Covid-19 – have taken their toll on Latin America's coffee sector. How can partners and stakeholders work together to overcome obstacles? This question was at the heart of a series of Virtual Coffee Dialogues.

Promoting innovation by multiple actors along the chain is a key principle of Inclusive Business. Are innovation processes carried out collaboratively? Who gains from the results? We look at two examples of inclusive innovation in our rice programmes, one from Burkina Faso and one from Indonesia, to answer these questions.

In the south of the Ecuadorian capital, Quito, a neighbourhood initiative is giving life to a participatory process in which both consumers and producers have strengthened links that go beyond the purchase and sale of agro-ecological products.

Coffee cooperatives in D.R. Congo have been making efforts to access certified coffee markets by complying with the standards of multiple certification organisations. What is the impact of certification on the incomes and lives of the coffee farmers and their households? PhD-student Wannes Slosse shares his findings so far.

Since October 2018, Rikolto has been implementing the "Qualiriz: Selling quality rice for a better income" project in the Centre-East region of Burkina Faso, aimed at bringing sufficient quantities of quality rice to local markets. Rising demands come with their own set of challenges.

In the Cocoa Barometer 2020, a broad coalition of civil society organisations assess the sustainability performance of the cocoa sector. "In-depth system change is urgently needed."

A diversified agroforestry system saved a cocoa-producing farm from being wiped out by Hurricanes Iota and Eta in Nicaragua when trees of different species protected the cocoa plants from winds of up to 260 kilometres per hour.

"Well? Is it working?" In the end, that’s the question we want to see answered for our chain projects with Colruyt Group. This questions might sound obvious, but the answer isn't all that easy.

Knowledge, technology, credit and market information are crucial for farmers to be able to do their job properly. Read about the solutions we uncovered in our supply chain collaborations with Colruyt Group to ensure smallholder farmers in developing countries can access these services as well.

The "apple of his eye" for Wilber Escobar are his 700 cocoa plants from "a fine and aromatic cocoa strain" that he grows on the Santa Emilia farm in Ahuachapán, El Salvador.

How do you set a correct price for producers? How are risks shared if a deal goes wrong? And what role does certification play in this? Read the answers that Rikolto and Colruyt Group uncovered in their value chain projects.

Establishing inclusive trade relations is human work, as we concluded in the previous article of this series. Getting along well is great, but what matters in the end is business.

Mid-September, a container with 15.9 ton of Indonesian specialty coffee arrived in the port of Antwerp. Thanks to an ingenious business model, this coffee also contributes to the restoration of the Indonesian rain forest on the island of Sumatra.

Among the cocoa trees, there is a hidden treasure that producers are just beginning to discover... It's the vegetables, fruits, herbs and condiments that are grown on cocoa farms that contribute to cocoa farmers' food and nutrition security.

Robin Food, a project by Rikolto, Community Development Riso Vlaams-Brabant and enVie, is set to expand into Europe to transform food surplus into healthy food products to safeguard vulnerable families.

"We need better cooperation!" This is the most generic policy advice in the history of human organisation. Even when it comes to re-engineering supply chains, this advice is always relevant. Only: how do you do that in practice?

Meet the Generation Food entrepreneurs: They are young, ambitious and the driving force behind food system change. On 27-28 August, they took part in the Generation Food Hackathon in Arusha to develop their business ideas.

It is that time of year again… Every year, in September, the African Green Revolution Forum takes place. With this year’s topic being “feed the cities, grow the continent”, our colleagues will - virtually - share their insights on Arusha’s food system and what other cities can learn from it.

A conversation with Rikolto’s Inclusive Business Coordinator, Josephine Ecklu.

Our first steps in building trustworthy relationships between farmers and food companies date back 15 years, to the start of our collaboration with the Belgian retailer Colruyt. In the coming weeks, we will be looking back at the history of what - certainly at the time - started as an unusual partnership.

Science gives us a better understanding of where, when, and to what degree climate change will have an impact. But the day to day reality, knowledge, and socio-economic position of the farmers might provide us with information about what the possibilities and obstacles are for the widespread adaptation of resilient practices.

MASLAGO has remained active and adjustments have been made within the group to meet the needs of the population during the Covid-19 crisis.

In 2012, Triyono sold vegetables and chickens for his income. Now, he is the Chairman of the Barokah Cooperative, an award-winning coffee farmers' organization with 320 members in Kerinci, Jambi Province, Indonesia.

Nicaraguan cocoa cooperative La Campesina has not stopped selling its cocoa. However, due to the Covid crisis, many farmers do not leave their homes to supply themselves with the basic food basket and miscellaneous products. Learn how agroforestry systems are an alternative when food security is threatened.

Santiago and the cocoa producers have not stopped their agricultural work despite the Covid-19. What has changed is the way knowledge is transferred and technical assistance is provided.

The phrase "beautiful on the inside" describes a key part of Rikolto's mission, namely production and access to healthy and quality food for all. But what could tomatoes "beautiful on the outside" possibly mean?

Currently, we are over halfway through our five-year 2017-2021 programme funded by DGD, the Directorate General for Development of the Belgian Ministry for Foreign Affairs. In 2019, Rikolto engaged in the mid-term review of our programme across 13 countries. Access the mid-term review reports here.

Peru, Honduras, Nicaragua, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic are some of the countries that showcased cocoa best practices in response to the pandemic during the Online Cocoa & Chocolate Summit 2020. The event was organized by Conexión Chocolate and MOCCA (USDA, TechnoServe, LWR and Rikolto).