“The Collaborative aims toreach 120,000 farmers undersustainable land mgmt practices”

Recently the Regenerative Production Landscape Collaborative (RPL Collaborative) launched Madhya Pradesh’s first Public-Private-Community Partnership (Compact) to improve regenerative agricultural practices and source sustainably. The partnership is led by Inditex, H&M Group, IKEA, Neutral, PepsiCo India, Samunnati Finance, Jayanti Spices, INI Farms and S.V. Agri. The multi-stakeholder Compact also includes key-decision makers such as civil society organisations (CSOs) namely SRIJAN, Action for Social Advancement, Aga Khan Rural Support Programme, and farmer producer organisations. Anita Chester, Partner Designate, Laudes India LLP shares her views with AgroSpectrum on Public-Private-Community Partnership (Multi-stakeholder Compact) in India and its role in improving regenerative agricultural practices and source sustainably

What is the Regenerative Production Landscape Collaborative (RPL Collaborative) ‘Compact’ and how will it benefit farmers and the agri industry?
The RPL Collaborative is an innovative jurisdictional model aimed at fostering agricultural ecosystems that conserve and enhance natural resources, and build community resilience while enabling businesses to source responsibly. Originally founded by IDH – The Sustainable Trade Initiative, WWF India and Laudes Foundation, the partnership has attracted diverse stakeholders. In the most recent update, RPL Collaborative announced the launch of its first Compact in Chhindwara district, Madhya Pradesh. Sustainable land management that has a single commodity focus or relies solely on certifications fails to address issues such as soil degradation, GHG emissions and producer livelihoods at scale. There is, therefore, a need for a multi-stakeholder collaboration that is place- based, locally contextual and puts the voice of the producer front and centre. To achieve this, the collaborative will support locally driven, multi-stakeholder governance structures that drive market transformation – bringing together government institutions that enable sustainable and green growth, companies that commit to sourcing responsibly and meet their sustainability goals, community and producer organisations for more inclusive decision-making, and impact investors and funders who seek scalable solutions that deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

What was the need for a multi- stakeholder compact in PPP?
Engaging public and private stakeholders helps build a strong multi-stakeholder governance for the programme. Joining hands with like-minded partners from the government, private sectors, CSOs, farmer organisations, communities and other enablers contributes to building a shared, long-term vision and approach to scale regenerative and restorative production practices. The collaborative will jointly discuss and agree on targets towards unlocking environmental and social impact in the region. This approach provides producers a seat at the table while encouraging businesses to transition
away from top-down certification-based sourcing practices and enable the public sector to frame contextual policies. Laudes Foundation has played a catalytic role in providing the funding and in bringing together this multi-stakeholder vision and collaboration, to radically transform business models and agricultural practice.

What will be the role of the private sector in the RPL Collaborative?
The private sector will play a key role in the collaborative by way of providing demand signals, committed offtake and co-investment. They will join the governance of the programme and help define the strategic direction for the Collaborative along with other involved stakeholders. Future- proofing production systems requires businesses to reimagine their sourcing practices and adopt business models that consider structural issues such as a lack of incentives for protecting natural resources and less power for producers and stakeholders further down the supply chain to negotiate prices. The private sector will engage with NGO partners, Farmer Producer Companies and other supply chain partners to work with the last mile producers leading to improved farmer livelihood and regenerative agriculture practices. Also, the assurance of demand by the private sector has the ability to unlock credit for farmers.

How does the RPL Collaborative contribute in developing the agri supply chain in India?

The aim of the Collaborative is to develop aregenerative agriculture value-chain for multiple crops in the region by encouraging producers to use organic and regenerative principles and improve market access for sustainable products (from the region) by connecting them with global and national companies. This includes facilitating access to finance for producers and the value chain by linking them with financial institutions.The Collaborative will also support projects that generate ecosystem benefits such as reduction in emissions, improvement in soil health, better water management practices and biodiversity-friendly agriculture that can be further adopted and scaled by the private and public sector.

How will you promote regenerative agriculture and sustainable sourcing?

The Collaborative is committed to taking a truly inclusive approach to empowering producers as key decision makers within the programme. To promote sustainable sourcing, it will work with private sector players from the food and apparel sector to help them connect with farmers while constantly looking at opportunities to market regenerative produce from this region.

What are your future plans in India?
By 2025, the goal is to cover nine districts in Madhya Pradesh through a combination of in-field interventions, value chain development, institutions and governance building, and concerted public-private engagement to address the smallholder resilience in the landscape holistically. While the first Compact is being formed in the ecologically sensitive tiger belt of Satpura-Maikal landscape in Chhindwara district, Madhya Pradesh which will reach 20,000 farmers, the second Compact will cover eight districts in western Madhya Pradesh, including parts of the Narmada Basin to reach
100,000 farmers. Overall, the Collaborative aims to reach 120,000 farmers with 200,000 hectares of cropland under sustainable land management practices and 300,000 hectares under landscape governance.

Dipti Barve
dipti.barve@mmactiv.com

Recently the Regenerative Production Landscape Collaborative (RPL