Smallholders Representation Working Group Update – January 2020

Assurance Model Task Force: As we approach the General Assembly in 2024 where the Assurance Model will be put up for voting, the taskforce is meeting regularly to discuss comments and incorporate comments from the second public consultation which is currently ongoing. This consultation focusses on feedback on Assessment Checklist, Assurance Protocol and Remediation Protocol, and will be accepting comments till 27 September 2024.  You can access the documents here and provide feedback here. 

Smallholders Representation and Capacity Building (SCB) Working Group: To operationalise projects with the funds collected from the Shared Investment Mechanism, the working group is setting up a project management subgroup to help in reviewing and monitoring projects under the SIM. The TOR is available here, and interested members should email cheewei@gpsrn.org by 11 October 2024. 

Additionally, Smallholders from all GPSNR member countries have nominated representatives for two positions following internal discussions within their countries: the Shared Investment Panel and the Project Management Subgroup. The final international voting is anticipated to conclude by the end of September 2024.

Shared Responsibility Working Group: The nominations for voting seats for the Shared Investment Panel are now open. Five voting seats will be allocated to manufacturers, while four voting seats will be reserved for non-manufacturers. To ensure equitable representation, each eligible member category will nominate one member to take up a voting seat.  All GPSNR member categories are currenting discussing this internally and will choose a nominee by October 2024. Please reach out to your EC representative for more details if you are not already in the discussions. 

Please note that nominees should ideally not submit capacity-building proposals this year, as they would need to recuse themselves from voting. If a category is unable to reach an agreement on a nominee, all seats will be opened for self-nominations from any member, regardless of category. In this case, the Executive Committee will vote to decide the final allocation of seats, which may result in multiple seats being held by members of the same category. 

As the mid-year mark approaches, our Working Groups continue to make progress in their respective areas of focus. In spite of the setbacks brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, group calls and discussions remain as scheduled, with every intention to have deliverables ready for approval or presentation at the General Assembly 2020.

Final text for the proposed policy components and baseline reporting requirements, developed by the Policy Toolbox Working Group, have been proposed. The documents are being circulated for approval within the Working Group before being submitted to the Executive Committee. A pilot testing phase for the reporting requirements will be launched shortly after. More details on this will be released soon.

Along with the finalization of the Terms of References for the two pilot proposals, the Traceability and Transparency Working Group is also developing a budget and timeline for these pilot proposals, to be submitted to the Executive Committee for approval.   

While there have been efforts between Working Groups revolving around calibration and aligning, the importance of alignment with all Working Groups is increasingly being recognized as important. Moving forward, the Strategy and Objectives Working Group will undertake a more coordinating role. This will see a Platform-wide effort to directly engage and align with the other Working Groups  to better bring forward their strategies into the Theory of Change, understand their project plans and how to interact, and bring together input from all the Working Groups to support the development of Platform Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

Within the Strategy and Objectives Working Group itself, work on filling out the Theory of Change continues. The Working Group is also liaising closely with consultant James Griffiths on his study on social risks following the presentation of a first draft to the Working Group for review.