Employment creation for farmers, artisans and workers
As part of our Customer Social Impact Survey, we asked producer groups to indicate if the number of people working in their organisation had changed over the past 12 months. We asked about their employees (individuals who have a permanent role within the organisation) and workers (casual or seasonal workers involved in the production of commodities during harvest and other occasional busy periods). Similar to 2022, the results showed that very few producers had seen a decrease. In fact, the vast majority had either seen an increase or maintained the same number of individuals working throughout different sections of their business (see graph below).
Based on our internal annual review data, the producer groups we finance support 412,628 farmers, artisans and workers (see graphs below and adjacent), an increase from last year due to changes in customer accounts and the type of business. From this year’s overall figure, 32% are women.
In terms of number of workers across both producer and buyer organisations, there was a 25% increase in 2023 compared to 2022; 9,519 workers, of which 4,500 are women (see graph above).
Training and mentoring
Our charity, Shared Interest Foundation, also supports the creation of employment opportunities in communities, working with in-country partners and groups to establish income-generating enterprises and support co-operatives to increase their business resilience and sustainability.
Through working with in-country partners, this year Shared Interest Foundation delivered 14 projects focussed on improving the livelihoods of farmers and artisans through:
- Enterprise Development
- Women and Youth Empowerment
- Building Climate Resilience
Key achievements for the 2022-2023 year include:
- Seven new enterprises were established providing a source of income to 705 farmers (69% women).
- 832 women received training in a variety of topics including agro-processing, soilless farming, climate smart agriculture (CSA), business skills and leadership.
- 243 young people received training, tools and farming inputs to establish sustainable cocoa and coffee farms.
- 143,269 trees planted including coffee seedlings, agroforestry trees and fruit trees supporting 1,423 coffee farmers.
