ICAC Best Practices WorkShop Held in Australia
June 8, 2011 The Secretariat of the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC), in cooperation with GlobalWorks Foundation, organized a workshop on Best Practices to Ensure Responsible Sourcing in the Cotton Value Chain. The workshop was held from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM on May 11 at the Embassy of Australia, 1601 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington DC 20036. The purpose of the workshop was to showcase responsible practices by reputable performers in the private sector.
An excellent panel of four persons representing cotton planting seed producers and cotton ginners/merchants participated in the panel and provided insights into the philosophies and practices of their companies.
David Rosenberg, Group Sustainability Advisor, Ecom Agroindustrial Corporation, noted that Ecom is an origin-based commodity merchant with a goal of sourcing as close to farmers as possible. In more than a century of activity involving cotton and other commodities, Ecom has learned that helping small holders to raise productivity and improve quality so as to improve incomes are the keys to improving labor practices.
Mike Gumina, VP-Production & Global Safety, Health & Environment, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. noted that Pioneer held core values, including safety and health, environmental protection, ethical standards and respect for people and that these values served as the basis for evaluation of production practices.
Jon Hixson, Director of Federal Government Relations, Cargill Agricultural Supply Chain, said that half of Cargill’s employees worldwide are located in developing countries. He said that while different countries have different customs and values, there are overarching Cargill core values that prevail everywhere, including respect for the rule of law, environmental protection, respect for people and community involvement.
Maureen Mazurek, Director, Sustainable Ag Corporate Responsibility People & Planet, Monsanto, said that after a thoughtful 18-month stakeholder dialogue and informed by two important declarations, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)and the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (DFPRW), Monsanto adopted a Human Rights Policy.
Monitoring Compliance:
In response to a question about monitoring compliance with social standards, panelists described auditing procedures, including random sampling of fields during harvest periods. It was emphasized that auditors must actually visit fields to conduct first-hand observations of activity rather than relying on interviews in villages.
It was noted that cultural changes are necessary in many rural areas to bring labor practices in line with international conventions, and it was agreed that growers must realize an economic benefit from improved production practices.
Children’s Work vs. Child Labor:
Child labor is defined by International Labor Organization (ILO) conventions as work that is hazardous, unduly arduous, or that interferes with education. Panelists noted that children commonly work in agriculture around the world, and that in many rural areas of developing countries there are no schools to attend. The legal working age varies from country to country and sometimes from state to state within countries. Workshop participants from India and Pakistan recounted their own positive experiences working as children in village agriculture, and they noted that manual work contributes to skill development, thus advancing education.
While acknowledging that children’s work is often necessary and sometimes beneficial, panelists affirmed that human rights are universal rights and that economic exploitation of children is wrong. Panelists noted that their companies have in place specific programs to curtail exploitation of children in their value chains.
Panelists noted that there is a whole sphere of metrics beyond labor standards, including energy use, water quality, wages, working conditions, and environmental impacts of production practices.
Transparency:
In response to a question about transparency, panelists reported that the audit reports of compliance with social standards by each company are publicly available. It was noted that certification programs could provide traceability, but that scaling across an industry with 250 million participants is a challenge.
Mainstream programs such as BCI and CmiA may be an answer to the issue of scalability. Given the complexity of the cotton value chain from farmers to retail, a pull-through system that allows retailers to pay the costs of certification by charging price premiums will be inherently difficult to implement, but BCI is showing progress towards overcoming the challenge of implementing a workable system
Role of Governments:
Panelist agreed that positive impacts from cotton production and trade are more likely to be achieved in an environment of responsible production practices. Panelists reiterated that governments could support growth in the cotton value chain by ensuring land rights and contract enforcement, by investing in research and extension, and by enforcing social and environmental standards consistent with international norms.
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