News & Insights

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).

In October 2019, Ecuador was paralysed by public protests. In March 2020, as the first covid-19 cases started appearing, the country's food system was tested again. Food insecurity peaked. In a context of food insecurity, how do we re-imagine our food systems?

The super fair-trade chocolate 'Way to Go!' developed by Lidl Belgium, Rikolto, Fairtrade Belgium and Kuapa Kokoo, will be sold in 2,000 stores in Germany, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands as of this year.

"In every crisis lies opportunity" perfectly sums up the case of the organic and fair-trade cocoa industry in Honduras: Chocolats Halba has seen a 30% increase in demand for its product since the quarantine in Switzerland started.

Jorge Flores, coordinator of youth projects in Nicaragua, shares his personal experience on how you can empower other young people while working on your own empowerment.

Over the next three years, Colruyt Group and Rikolto in Ivory Coast will collaborate with Fairtrade Belgium, the chocolate processor Puratos and UGent to make Colruyt Group's private label chocolate more sustainable.

Rikolto, together with FAO, RUAF, ICLEI and UN Environment, organised this webinar focused on how three different cities, New York, Kampala, and Quito, responded to prevent the food insecurity generated by Covid-19 and invited them to share the lessons learnt.

Kampala has been booming as an innovation and start-up business hub. Now, the COVID-19 crisis and its confinement measures are forcing businesses to adapt their models. Let's have a closer look at one example of an innovative company in the food industry: Bringo Fresh.

Kort’om Leuven is a new distribution platform - co-founded by Rikolto - that brings local farmers, supermarkets, restaurants and consumers together in a cooperative with the aim of setting up a fair, local food system in and around Leuven.

How are cities maintaining access to safe and nutritious food for vulnerable populations in times of Covid-19? Join our webinar on the 15th of May, co-organised by FAO, UNEP, ICLEI, RUAF and Rikolto.

Updated! The COVID-19 pandemic, besides a global health crisis, is also a challenge for food and nutrition security. One thing is clear: People should not have to choose between their health or their food. Beans are both very much loved and highly nutritious - how can they be a viable solution for food security?

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought our daily lives and economies to a halt. Our colleagues and Rikolto’s partners will also need to realign their daily work. Yet this should also be a time of reflection. And for Rikoltians, this means reflecting upon what this crisis means for our current food systems and what conclusions we can draw that will help shape them in the future.