Nestlé in society Creating Shared Value and meeting our commitments 2015

Nestlé in society:
Creating Shared Value
Nutrition, health
and wellness
Rural development
Water
Environmental
sustainability
Human rights
and compliance
Our
people
G4-EC7, Procurement practices G4-DMA, Supplier environmental assessment G4-DMA, G4-EN33, Supplier assessment for labor practices G4-DMA, G4-LA15,
G4-HR10, Local communities G4-DMA, G4-SO9, G4-SO10
Nescafé Plan in Brazil
Brazil is the world’s largest coffee producer, with 40% of global
production, and a major source for Nestlé. Brazil can today be
regarded as the most advanced country in the world for coffee
agriculture.
Nestlé launched its Nescafé Plan in Brazil in 2011, when we
hired our first coffee agronomist in the country. Two more
were recruited in 2013. We began by developing a Farmer
Connect network, as well as working with our partners Forzza
and Kubit to pioneer the development of 4C units for robusta
beans (also known as conilon in Brazil). Three units have so far
been established, with a potential 4C-compliant production of
up to 90 000 tonnes.
Supported by our R&D Centre in Tours, France, Nestlé has
also worked with Incaper (Capixaba Research Institute,
Technical and Rural Extension Service), to select the bestperforming
conilon clones that it has developed.
Through the Nescafé Plan, we have distributed 10 million
coffee plants – enough to cover around 2700 hectares – at a
subsidised cost to 500 Brazilian farmers, helping to improve
yields and boost farmers’ incomes. In addition, in 2015,
through SENAR, a training service for rural workers, and
Sebrae, an agency helping small businesses, Nestlé trained
more than 700 farmers on farm management, safe use and
storage of agrochemicals, and water use in agriculture. Further
training with other partners has reached thousands of farmers
over the last three years.
Farmer training and technical assistance
We are committed to providing training for farmers on the
techniques and guidelines contained within our NBFP. Through
our Farmer Connect programme, we provide technical
assistance and training to thousands of coffee farmers every
year, including training in various aspects of our Supplier Code.
During 2015, we trained 88 771 farmers and, by the end of
the year, the cumulative total of farmers and farm workers
trained since the Nescafé Plan was launched in 2010 reached
382 926. Our 388 Farmer Connect staff visited coffee farms
throughout 2015, offering our Farmer Connect farmers local
training, plant propagation and distribution, and technical
assistance to help them implement good practices in the field
aligned with the NBFP.
Number of coffee farmers receiving technical assistance
and training through Nescafé Plan Farmer Connect*
2015 88 771
2014 134 078
2013 124 568
*
Excluding the Nespresso AAA Sustainable Quality Program.
Double-counting can occur but there is no double-counting in the 2015 figure.
Developing a coffee-growing
co-operative in the Philippines
Trade supplies for the Nescafé Plan
As well as sourcing through Farmer Connect, in recent years
we have increased volumes of Responsibly Sourced (4C
verified) green coffee from trade channels. In 2015, we
sourced a total of 482 054 tonnes of Responsibly Sourced
green coffee this way, representing 56% of the Group’s green
coffee volume.
We have also partnered with these traders and exporters to
develop CSV initiatives for farmers participating in those value
chains, all in full alignment with the Nescafé Plan objectives
and the NBFP. These Nescafé Plan initiatives are implemented
by the traders, exporters and co-operatives with our validation
and monitoring.
The coffee-growing co-operative at Tagbina in the Philippines
was experiencing low yields, which we attributed to the
farmers having limited access to new technologies and modern
farming techniques. With co-funding from investment firm
DEG (with funds from the German Ministry for Economic
Cooperation and Development), and ASSIST, an Asian-based
development NGO, Nestlé set up a project to help the cooperative
improve its yields.
As part of the project, we conducted coffee production
technology seminars, ran ‘train the trainer’ sessions and
helped the co-operative achieve 4C verification status. In
addition, Nestlé established a buying station in Tagbina and
developed a mother-plant garden, nursery and commercial
demonstration farm, as well as supplying a mini-truck and a
coffee dryer for the co-operative’s green coffee buying
operations. Finally, the co-operative’s officers and board of
directors were trained in business management skills.
A baseline study was conducted and a follow-up study, to
measure the project’s impact, will be completed in early 2016.
Already, however, the co-operative is earning additional
income from the stem cuttings from the mother-plant garden
and is able to sell seedlings.
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