A PERFECT CIRCLE
We are increasingly
recognised for our
unique combination
banking expertise
and CSRknowledge
at every level of the
Food and Agribusiness
sector
Anke van Kempen:
Win-win
A project Rabobank set up for ECOM in Paraguay is an excel
lent example of how Rabobank can forge stronger relationships
with its clients, by helping them to improve the quality and
sustainability of their entire supply chain. ECOM Agroindustrial
Corp, global cotton and coffee trader and a major Rl cliënt,
asked Rabobank to support a cotton project in Paraguay. Cotton
production has fallen dramatically in Paraguay over the past two
decades. The fall in production has hit ECOM subsidiary AGUSA,
which owns six gins, the machines that separate the seeds from
raw cotton fibres. The aim of the 'Better cotton initiative' - involv-
ing 1,500 farmers - is to revitalise the cotton sector and increase
cotton farmers' income by improving productivity
and the quality of the cotton, making the cotton sector more
sustainable.
Rabobank Foundation agreed to provide a one-year EUR 150,000
grant to help farmers and farmer organisations. Rabo Develop-
ment partner bank Banco Regional is considering financing the
input from the suppliers involved in the project and looking at
whether it can finance the farmers directly. ECOM is funding
the project, while AGUSA is providing extension services to the
farmers and making sure they have access to high-quality inputs
(seeds, fertilisers, and so on). Meanwhile, UK retail giant Marks
Spencer, another Rl cliënt, is interested in buying the sustainable
cotton for clothing sold through its retail outlets.
Rabo Development's partner bank in Tanzania, NMB, is
already successfully working with a number of major Rl
clients in the country. The bank is also involved in improving
the supply chain to make it easier for Rl clients to sell their
products to farmers. "For instance," Hans Bogaard says,
"we're working with Yara, a fertiliser trader, by providing
the financing for its Tanzanian subsidiary to buy its organic
fertilisers, under a guarantee from Rabo London. NMB is then
financing the Agro dealers who buy the fertilisers to sell on
to the farmers. Finally, it's involved in a voucher system that
enables farmers to buy the fertilisers. So we're covering the
entire chain and adding a lot of value for Yara and the agri
sector as a whole."
One of the biggest challenges faced by companies like Yara
is getting their products to the end-users in countries like
Tanzania, and this can have all kinds of knock-on effects
that can have a deep impact on the sustainability of local
farming. "One of the biggest problems is that yields of most
commodities are way too low because the farmers cannot
The timing is also perfect. Because Rabobank is profiling itself
as a leading F&A bank with a strong focus on sustainability,
it makes perfect sense to involve clients and play a proactive
role in creating value for them and help them improve
their own sustainability. RF's many decades ofexperience
with small farmers and RD's partnerships with local banks in
developing economies offer Rl a unique selling point and a
great opportunity to get even closer to its F&A clients. Anke
van Kempen: "When we started the CSR dialogue with our
clients, we were looking at it from a risk perspective, in terms
of what they were doing and how they were behaving,
but now we see it much more as a real opportunity to
distinguish ourselves by offering clients something no other
bank can."
ISSUE 20
THE WORD
