For consumer goods giant Unilever, building resilience in its supply chain means investing in the people who make it possible: the smallholder farmers who grow a third of the world’s food. From palm oil in Indonesia to tea in India and cocoa in Côte d’Ivoire, millions of farming families form the backbone of its business. Yet many of them still struggle with limited access to finance, training and markets—systemic challenges that keep incomes low and farming unsustainable.

Unilever is betting that strengthening farmer livelihoods is the best way to secure its own long-term supply of critical ingredients. The company has pledged to bring 250,000 smallholders in its supply chain into livelihood programmes by 2026. Today, tailored support spans 13 crops across seven countries, with a mix of regenerative agriculture, certification schemes and market access initiatives.

Take India, where Unilever’s Trustea certification programme is equipping small tea growers with training in climate-resilient cultivation and access to digital tools for better farm management. Certification not only lifts yields but also opens up new markets, positioning farmers for higher and more stable incomes. Since 2013, between 7,000 and 10,000 tea farmers have been certified annually.

In Indonesia, the company is reshaping the coconut sugar economy. Farmers in West Java and Lampung are adopting high-yield dwarf coconut varieties, making sap collection quicker and safer, while also cutting costs. Training schools reinforce best practices—from pest management to water conservation—and Unilever is helping families diversify income streams and enter new markets. By 2030, the programme expects to reach more than 10,000 farmers.

Coffee growers in Karnataka and Kerala are also part of the transformation. With climate volatility threatening yields, Unilever’s programme trains farmers in regenerative practices like natural fertiliser use, intercropping, and water management. Women are being trained as field facilitators, helping embed knowledge in communities while also shifting gender dynamics in farm leadership. By 2027, the initiative aims to cover 50,000 coffee farmers.

Partnerships are central to these efforts. In Madagascar, the company’s long-running Vanilla for Change initiative, in collaboration with Symrise, Save the Children and local organisations, blends agricultural support with broader social investment—improving education, healthcare and income diversification for vanilla-growing families.

For Unilever, the payoff is twofold: more secure access to raw materials and stronger farming communities that can weather market and climate shocks. “This is about cultivating more than crops,” the company says. “It’s about safeguarding livelihoods, protecting natural resources and ensuring sustainable growth across the value chain.”

As multinationals face growing scrutiny over supply-chain sustainability, Unilever’s bet on smallholder resilience may offer a blueprint: long-term supply security built not on contracts, but on shared prosperity.