Smallholders Representation Working Group Update – February 2020

Strategy and Objectives Working Group

The risk subgroup, which sits under the umbrella of this working group, has studied the various definitions of polygons in the EU Deforestation Regulation through an extensive survey conducted for GPSNR PPT members.

The assurance model subgroup continues to work on the KPIs set during the last in-person meeting as they are to be finalised at the end of the year and presented during the next in-person and hybrid meetings in January 2023.

Smallholder Representation Working Group

After completing two rounds of pilot agroforestry workshops for smallholder members in Indonesia, and Cambodia, the working group is working on concluding how GPSNR should approach agroforestry capacity building in the long term. This work stream aims to integrate priorities of smallholders with developing long-term income diversification strategies through the Capacity Building Working Group.

They are also busy holding focus group discussions towards the smallholder policy equivalent and evaluating proposals received for the GPSNR-HCSA Smallholder Toolkit Field Trials.

Policy Toolbox Working Group

The group is working on finalizing the TORs for the Year 1 Reporting Review to be conducted in the first quarter of next year. They are also assessing if any changes to the reporting framework and its details (i.e. process, extensions, questions) are needed based on the Year 1 Reporting Review results.

Capacity Building Working Group

The group is currently evaluating proposals to appoint a software developer for the second phase of the GPSNR Knowledge Sharing Platform. They have kicked off the Disease Fighting Project with SNV-IRRI in Indonesia, after having recently completed the first milestone of the SNV-Proforest GAP coaching in the country. They continue to seek members’ funding for capacity building projects in Indonesia (second stream of disease fighting) and Cote d’Ivoire (training centres). To know more, you can find the project details here.

Shared Responsibility Working Group

  The group has completed 40% progress on the agreed deliverable for each pillar, and is continuing to work towards completion ahead of the meetings in January. The WG is also working to align with the Assurance Model Task Force to advance the Shared Responsibility agenda. 

The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting the entire natural rubber supply chain. It has triggered car and tire manufacturing companies to operate with a reduced workforce, or temporarily halt production plants altogether. Strict lockdown measures have caused a drastic fall in the sales of consumer tires across Europe. Global demand for natural rubber has dropped, the effects of which will be felt by the 6 million natural rubber smallholders in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Many smallholders live in poverty, depending on daily wages to feed their families. Their situations will only be exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis. Already, the Association of Producers and Processing Plants of the State of São Paulo (APABOR) has estimated that for Brazil alone, the subsistence of around 100,000 natural rubber farmers and their direct relatives is at risk.

While COVID-19 exposes the vulnerabilities of smallholders, it also reveals the potential they have to be agents of change and drivers of transformation. The pandemic has reminded us of the connections between human health, resilient landscapes, economic stability and livelihoods; the post COVID-19 world is more likely to devote greater attention to tackling environmental, social and economic impacts of its many supply chains. Smallholders, who produce 85% of the world’s natural rubber supply, are thus key to advancing GPSNR’s vision of a fair, equitable and environmentally sound rubber value chain.

One of GPSNR’s major outcomes for this year has been welcoming our new smallholder members. As of today, a total of 27 smallholder members (with additions from Myanmar) have joined GPSNR. The inclusion of smallholders into the fabric of the Platform provides them the opportunity to drive the agenda for sustainable natural rubber and, in the long-term, realize the social, economic and environmental benefits that sustainability brings. 

We encourage GPSNR members to communicate this outcome through the communication channels of their respective organizations. To this end, we launched a quarterly Members’ Communication Toolkit which outlines the suggested key message and provides ready-to-use content for communicating the message. GPSNR Members may access the Members’ Communication Toolkit for Q2 2020 in the GPSNR Forum.  

More is being done to fully include these smallholders in the Working Groups and Executive Committee. The Smallholders Representation Working Group continues with its efforts in designing a programme for onboarding smallholders prior to the General Assembly. In the meantime, some of our new smallholder members are already actively involved in Working Group discussions. Additionally, having recognized the urgency to address the impacts of COVID-19 on smallholders, the Equity sub-Working Group is developing a position paper on the issue.