Rikolto Ghana (Rikolto International)

Describe the history, purpose and primary activities of the organisation (max 2000 characters): Rikolto (formerly VECO) has more than 55 years of experience in improving the livelihood of smallholder farmers in Indonesia through sustainable agriculture. Rikolto is an experienced market system facilitator, delivering sustainable and inclusive outcomes across rural-urban food chains. Rikolto works to guarantee that future generations retain access to affordable quality food, knowing that climate change, low prices and poverty are forcing farmers from the land. Rikolto believes that small-scale farmers, who produce 70% of food worldwide, must be appropriately included in food markets and, in doing so, improve their social and economic position, to achieve global change. In Indonesia, we work with 14 farmer organizations in 6 provinces, reaching 29,736 farmer families in the rice, coffee, cocoa sectors. We build bridges of trust and trade, between the food industry, governments, research institutions, banks and farmer organizations to change together the recipe of our food system. To meet this challenge, we focus on 3 strategic priorities: 1. Empower farmers’ groups to become solid business partners and to implement climate-friendly practices. 2. Connect farmers with innovators in the food industry to explore new ways of doing business. 3. Develop mechanisms to encourage trust & transparency throughout the food sector. We strive to find concrete solutions “in the field” and translate them in policies that bring changes at the sectoral level. To this end, we are involved in a wide range of networks & commodity platforms. Rikolto Ghana is a member of Rikolto International, a network organisation headquartered in Belgium, with an International Board of Directors. Rikolto International is overall managed by an International Management Team with balanced representation from each Regional Director, including the West Africa Director.