Vredeseilanden / VECO Annual Report 2012

VREDESEILANDEN vzw

© Jimmy Kets

ANNUAL REPORT 2012

VREDESEILANDEN VZW ANNUAL REPORT 2012

A better deal for farmers

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Content 2

Introduction ................................................................................................................

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1 Highlights 2012 ........................................................................................................

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2 Strategy of Vredeseilanden ........................................................................................

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3 Vredeseilanden in the South ......................................................................................

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4 Vredeseilanden in Belgium ........................................................................................

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5 Administrative report ................................................................................................

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6 The social balance of Vredeseilanden ..........................................................................

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7 Vredeseilanden’s environmental policy ..........................................................................

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8 Fund raising within Vredeseilanden ..............................................................................

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9 Financial annual report 2012 ......................................................................................

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Introduction

Senegal, 30 March 2008. A desperate crowd fills the streets of Dakar’s poor neighbourhoods. The black smoke of burning tyres can be seen from afar. Stones and other projectiles are launched at the policemen that have been called in. “We are hungry”, is written in red letters on the youngsters’ white t-shirts. Others convey the same message by waving about empty rice bags.

It started that afternoon, with a sit-in at the gates of the WalFadjri television station to protest against the rising cost of living. A small-scale action of barely forty people, organised by three consumers’ organisations. However, the presence of TV cameras immediately provides national coverage for this modest action and soon people arrive from all over the country to join the protest and occupy the streets.

And the protests in Dakar are not an isolated case. Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, ... In various countries the despair caused by rocketing food prices mixes with the existing discontent over government policies.

Senegal, November 2012. Jean-Pierre Dieng , the leader of a consumers’ organisation, looks back: “Everybody was surprised by those sudden price increases. In just a few months’ time the prices of several basic products shot through the roof. The price of rice doubled. That is a drama for an average family, which eats rice twice a day.”

Senegal is the sad example of a country that has made itself hopelessly dependent on the world market for feeding its population. It imports up to 70% of its rice. What would never happen, did happen. In 2008, bad harvests stirred panic in the world’s food markets. Speculators, looking for a quick profit, fanned the flames and prices made quantum leaps. Countries that usually export rice suspended their exports for fear of shortages. The consequences are harsh: too little rice arrives in Dakar and when it does it is unaffordable.

In 2008 it became painfully clear that it was a lethal mistake to have neglected their own agriculture for three decades. It is a rude awakening for the countries of West Africa and for Senegal in particular.

But they have learned their lesson. The countries in the region put over the helm and have the ambition to put their agriculture back on track – albeit not always successfully. Signs of these new dynamics are visible at all levels. Vredeseilanden has developed an ambitious programme together with other NGOs in West Africa. The aim is to guide the region towards self-sufficiency for rice. Read more about it on page 24.

That is what we do, now and in the future Vredeseilanden wants to be present where local dynamics emerge. We support farmers in founding cooperatives and farmers’ organisations and bring all the stakeholders in the agricultural chain together. That helps producers, processors, banks and intermediaries to learn from one another and to get to know each other’s needs. So that they all benefit.

In 2012 we assessed our programmes, focusing on the main question whether our current strategy is still relevant in meeting our objectives, i.e. to improve the farmers’ position in the market and to feed the ever growing world population while respecting our planet’s limits. All this in preparation of a new strategic framework for 2014-2020. The conclusion of the different exercises is that the strategy is still very meaningful, but that it needs to be refined. And that includes some changes for our regional offices in the South. Our aim is to set up a large-scale rice programme in the entire West African region. It will be run from a new regional office in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), which means that the number of people in Dakar and Cotonou will be reduced. In Vietnam we are looking into the possibilities of developing a regional rice programme for the Mekong region.

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With all our heart... thank you But above all we want to continue making a difference. And that is why we need you. Our loyal donors, our cyclists and runners and their sponsors, organisations, enterprises and individuals who attend the fundraising dinner at P.A.R.T.S , volunteers who sell key chains, people who buy key chains, the members of our Board and of the General Assembly with their huge commitment, our youth ambassadors, the companies and schools who make their catering more sustainable, the businesses that put sustainability on their agenda, our supporters, Eubelius and PWC who offered their pro bono professional support, the municipalities and provinces who continue to back us, the federal department for development cooperation, other NGOs with whom we cooperate, ...

In short, to everybody who has crossed Vredeseilanden’s path : THANK YOU. Marianne Vergeyle, director ad interim

ABOUT THIS REPORT This annual report was drafted by a working group with representatives from the departments involved, under the Executive Management’s supervision. Next year we hope to involve our stakeholders in determining the content of the annual report.

We published this annual report, which covers the calendar year 2012, in June 2013. As we did in the past few years we report both on Vredeseilanden’s activities in Belgium and on the activities of our partner organisations in the countries in the South where Vredeseilanden is active (list on page 17). Per chapter it is clearly indicated which region the information relates to and how we aim to improve or expand our reports in the years to come.

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SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING IN ACCORDANCE WITH GRI This annual report has been drafted in accordance with GRI, Global Reporting Initiative, criteria.

An increasing number of large companies and organisations worldwide commit to reporting in this sustainability framework and to describing their economic, social and environmental impact. www.globalreporting.org.

As an NGO Vredeseilanden was one of the pioneers in Belgium to apply the GRI standard to its annual report. Last year we jumped from the C level to the B level (self-declared). This year we have not included any new indicators, but we have tried to refine some (e.g. environment). We did not seek external validation for this report.

Since last year we also report according to the NGO sector’s special criteria. That means focusing specifically on the public’s growing demand for accountability and reporting in a transparent manner on how the public and private donations are spent. At the same time GRI’s basic philosophy is maintained and NGOs are also required to report on the positive and negative impacts of their activities at the economic, social and environmental levels.

During the selection of the GRI indicators we adhered to the following principles: (1) Is the indicator relevant for the average readers of this annual report? Those are mainly our donors and volunteers in Belgium, Belgian organisations in whose Board of Directors Vredeseilanden is represented and companies throughout the world that cooperate with us. (2) Is it feasible to report on the indicator? Some environmental indicators are not easy to register for our regional offices in the South. (3) Do the indicators deal with aspects of our operations that we want to further explore and refine over the next few years?

The complete overview of all indicators has been included at the back of this report, in accordance with the GRI logic (page 95).

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Highlights 2012

THIS WAS 2012…

2012 revolved mainly around our strategic planning. Every six years we assess our operation and strategy, we determine where we are and how we can adjust or reorganise. We started this process in the spring of 2012 and ended it in June 2013. Read more on page 11.

We found that this year various formal contracts were signed between farmers’ organisations and private enterprises, and a fair price was negotiated. An example is the agreement between the Brasimba brewery and a farmers’ organisation in the DR Congo for the purchase of rice as a raw material for beer. However, sometimes things do not work out, e.g. with UGAN in Senegal. Read more on pages 22 and 26.

Another trend is the visibly increasing openness of food companies and retailers on sustainable procurement. The growing demand for raw materials has also prompted companies to cooperate with small farmers’ organisations. A beautiful example is our cooperation with Mars in Indonesia for the acquisition of sustainable cocoa and with Walmart in Nicaragua for the purchase of plantains. In Belgium we worked with Colruyt to learn more about sustainable procurement and we did so by analysing one product: asparagus from Peru. Read more on page 43.

Together with partner organisations from Vietnam, Ecuador and Peru we tested two methods to better describe and measure the position of farmers in the agricultural chain and the relations between different actors, i.e. SenseMaker and LINK. Read more on page 32.

In Belgium more companies, government departments, schools and universities asked Vredeseilanden to guide them in making their catering more sustainable. Nevertheless, matching the demand and supply remains a challenge. In order to solve that we organised a speed dating event in November to allow caterers to meet suppliers of fair trade, sustainable, local and organic products. Read more on page 38.

We have also noticed a growing interest in sustainable and healthy products in the South – mainly in countries such as Ecuador, Peru, Indonesia and Vietnam. In the latter country, imported food has a bad reputation and the population is urging the authorities to do something about it. In order to promote local products to consumers farmers’ organisations in West Africa actively participated in fairs. For the first time a “Sesame Day” and a “Fonio Day” were organised, which proved to be an effective marketing stunt.

Apart from the adoption of sustainable agricultural techniques, that have become quite common in most regions, additional initiatives were introduced to reduce the environmental impact. In Vietnam, a suitable biodegradable packaging for vegetables was developed; in the DR Congo, initial steps were taken to recycle agricultural waste of coffee and rice and to convert it into fuel and in West Africa, improved stoves (fewer emissions) were introduced to precook rice. Read more on page 25.

In 2012, sustainability remained a constant in our work. We are proud to announce that for the second time we reached the finals of the ‘Best Belgian Sustainability Report’ awards, organised

by Business & Society and Kauri, in the category ‘other organisations’. The first prize was awarded to the Port of Antwerp. Eddy Bruyninckx, the port’s CEO, was Vredeseilanden’s director for one day in November, while Vredeseilanden’s director Luuk Zonneveld was the director of the Port of Antwerp for one day. A fascinating exchange, and in a way the first prize remained in the family. Read more on page 15.

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In October, we opened the doors of our renovated head office for ‘Vredeseilanden behind the scenes’. Visitors learned how Vredeseilanden spends its money, how we see the future of development cooperation, what impact we have, about the link between organic milk and Vredeseilanden, ... That same month saw the second edition of the fundraising dinner in collaboration with P.A.R.T.S., Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker’s dance academy. 150 guests enjoyed an exclusive vegetarian dinner and a unique dance performance.

The efficiency of Vredeseilanden’s internal activities was assessed by PWC, while BBest evaluated our EFQM quality performance. We obtained the ‘Committed to Excellence’ label. Read more on page 47.

Luuk Zonneveld and Lieve Vercauteren became the directors of the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries and BioForum, respectively. Vredeseilanden is sending its sons and daughters out into the world. The Board of Directors decided to reshuffle the Executive Management’s tasks and selected Luc Bonte to become the new General Manager.

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Strategy of Vredeseilanden

A BETTER DEAL FOR FARMERS A better life for farmer families. Giving farmers a place in the market that will offer them the chances that they deserve. That is Vredeseilanden’s aim.

We all want tasty and reliable food on our plates. We want to take care of Mother Nature and of the future generations.

Farmers in the South as well as in Europe hope that their work on the land will earn them a sustainable income.

Vredeseilanden proves that those aspirations can perfectly coexist. Our sustainable agriculture programmes show how good quality food can be produced and marketed with respect for nature and with a fair income for farmers.

And Vredeseilanden is not the only believer. Everybody now shares this point of view. The World Bank, the UN, scientists all over the world. The millions of farmer families worldwide can solve the food crisis and the hunger problem, and eradicate poverty (most of the poor people are farmers after all).

And last but not least, family farms pay much more respect to our planet’s ecological balance.

In this context Vredeseilanden wants to contribute to viable livelihoods and empowerment of organised family farmers.

• That is why Vredeseilanden consolidates their position in the agricultural chain, so that they take their future into their own hands and they are able to receive the price their product is worth.

• That is why Vredeseilanden approaches governments and companies to seek together how, through their policy, they can create win-win situations for farmer families.

• That is why Vredeseilanden encourages consumers to choose sustainable products, because everyone is part of the solution.

That is of course easier said than done, but how to start? That is what Vredeseilanden is now trying to find out. Together with our partners: farmers’ organisations, companies, universities, governments.

Our efforts are modest, but ambitious, because we have a long road ahead of us. Conducting market surveys, organising consultations, founding cooperatives, acquiring knowledge.

In the end, it is about so much more than freeing people from poverty. We are all involved. Solidarity is not just about helping people across the globe. Genuine solidarity requires a worldwide transition towards a sustainable economy, with a sustainable food production and consumption. That is why Vredeseilanden is promoting the daily consumption of sustainable products in Belgian schools, company restaurants, gyms, ...

Thanks to the commitment of thousands of volunteers and the choices made by engaged consumers, our actions speak louder than words.

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Developing sustainable agricultural supply chains One of the main objectives of Vredeseilanden is strengthening the farmers’ organisations to allow them to participate in the agricultural supply chain as full partners. For this reason we support farmers’ organisations so that they can develop into strong commercial organisations that connect to the other parties within the supply chain (wholesalers, processors, distributors, retailers and consumers). This way the market demand can be met.

These past few years consumers have been attaching increasingly more importance to high and uniform quality and safety standards, a constant supply, sustainability, traceability,... This is why markets are constantly adapting to satisfy this changing consumer demand. Farmers are, therefore, bound to adapt to this reality and Vredeseilanden offers them the necessary support to do so. In essence this means that the farmers need to unite and organise themselves because they cannot achieve this standing alone. It is the task of the farmers’ organisations to train their members to satisfy market demand and to gain the trust of the other parties within the supply chain.

Advocacy Advocacy is an integral part of our programme and one of the three strategies to achieve our mission.

As part of its advocacy work Vredeseilanden addresses authorities and companies, both in Europe and in the South, to explore together with them the opportunities they have to create chances for farmer families through their policies or activities. Vredeseilanden can impossibly achieve its advocacy objectives on its own. For that reason it works together with other organisations in all kinds of alliances and networks to carry out its advocacy activities.

The advocacy policy and topics are determined by the advocacy department. Vredeseilanden wants to base its advocacy work as much as possible on facts and experiences from its own work in the field (“evidence based advocacy”, as this is called in jargon). The advocacy department at the head office therefore has close contacts with the people in charge of advocacy in our regional offices in the South.

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STRATEGIC PLANNING In 2012 the focus was on strategic planning. Every six years we have a thorough reflection on our work and our strategy. We look at where we are and how we can improve. For practical reasons we follow the financing cycle of DGD, the federal department for development cooperation. This strategic planning process was coordinated by a working party with five colleagues from the head office, three colleagues from the South and two representatives of the Board. What follows describes the entire process.

January-February The entire process began with the assessment of our work in Senegal, Indonesia, East Africa, the Andes region and the head office. This was done by external consultants. The core question was whether the strategy we decided on in 2008 was still a valid one and whether the strategy has contributed to a better income and a stronger market position for the farmers in their respective regions.

February-March Aside from that, we analysed a number of ‘flagship projects’. These are projects for which the strategic working party felt that they hold the essence of what the future role and structure of Vredeseilanden could be. We analysed these projects to have a better understanding of the conditions for successful change in the agricultural supply chain.

April-May Regional forums were organised in every country. Representatives of all our stakeholders came together to look at how the context has changed in the previous years and how we need to respond to these changes within the six coming years. We could say the regional forums were a reality check of our assumptions, but at the same time they gave the input to adapt our concrete Vredeseilanden strategies and our general operations. We also held a regional forum in Belgium and aside from that we took time for in-depth interviews with volunteers and private donors.

June All of the information obtained from the assessments, the flagship projects and regional forums was processed in a workshop that led to the refinement of our strategy for the future. The main conclusion of that meeting: we need to focus our approach even more on the structural changes we want to achieve in each country. This can be, for example, to change the purchasing policy of companies, or make agricultural credit more accessible in a certain country, or upgrade the coffee sector of a region.

The past few years all of our energy has been poured into concrete supply chain development. This made sense since we started with a completely new approach in 2008 and everyone needed some time to find the best way to develop sustainable agricultural supply chains in the Vredeseilanden regions. In the future we want to put forward a clear agenda for structural changes as a guideline for our work. We see the concrete agricultural supply chains as pilot projects to achieve structural change.

October At the General Council we further finalized our new strategy with about 40 colleagues from the South and the North.

Early 2013 Based on this process, our colleagues started the workshops in early 2013 in the countries/regions where we work to translate the strategy into a concrete programme. This work should be finished by June 2013.

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OUR STAKEHOLDERS Within the framework of strategic planning we take time to consider who the most important stakeholder groups are to complete our mission in the years to come. For our South programme we do not expect many big shifts. For our work in Belgium it has already become clear that we will be working with fewer stakeholders in order to better focus our activities.

1. Partner organisations, their members and local communities The members of our partner organisations are the final beneficiaries of the Vredeseilanden activities.

In 2011 we gave support to 115 organisations in Africa, Latin America and Asia. This way, approxi mately 58,500 men and 93,000 women received direct support of Vredeseilanden.

Farmers’ organisations are our most important stakeholders in the South. We support them in their economic development as well as in their activities to adapt their country’s legislation. About 1/3 of our partner organisations are farmers’ organisations. This, however, is only half of the story. In order to achieve our objectives we also cooperate, directly or indirectly, with other organisations like companies, governments, credit institutions, civil society organisations like NGOs, consumer organisations... These are essential to provide services and/or to create a good policy climate in order to allow farmers’ organisations to achieve their goals.

We also try to motivate other organisations and governments to replicate successful experiences on a much larger scale so that multiple farmer families are also given the opportunity to lead a better life. We give special attention to innovation as well. In order to achieve this all, cooperation with other types of organisations is paramount.

In general we can break down our partner organisations into the following categories: • Farmers’ organisations • Consumer organisations • Information/study/research centres and networks • Credit institutions • Organisations that defend the interests of farmers’ organisations on a regional or national level Very often, minority groups are the weakest groups in society. Vredeseilanden does not choose its area of activities by ethnic criteria, but when minority groups are involved in the agricultural chain, we give extra attention to their empowerment. This is the case in for example Honduras (Lenca) and in DR Congo (WaMbuti pygmies).

With each one of our partner organisations we conclude a three year cooperation contract in which we specify their role in the programme, as it is described in the Chain Intervention Framework (CIF – see page 23). Aside from that we conclude a yearly funding contract with them, which is connected to an action plan for the respective year.

2. Donors In the financial chapter and in the annex d you will find an overview of all our foreign and domestic donors (see page 92). Without the donors Vredeseilanden would not exist. We can break them down into the following categories: • Governments • Companies • Organisations and NGOs • Donations of private persons • In-kind donors

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3. Companies Private enterprises are important partners in the accomplishment of the Vredeseilanden mission in the South as well as in Belgium. If we wish to reorganise the agricultural chains in order to give the farmers’ organisations a stronger voice in their cooperation with other players within the chain, we have to involve companies in our activities. We believe that companies are a driving force for society and we believe that they can contribute to sustainable development.

Throughout the years – and we will continue investing in this – we have often taken the initiative to gather companies, NGOs and other actors such as governments and scientific institutions around one table. This can be done through Kauri (of which we are a co-founder) for example, but is also often done in a direct relation. We talk with companies, experiment and exchange knowledge about our and their role in the agricultural chain and family farming in general, here and in the South.

According to Vredeseilanden companies have two leverage systems. On the one hand companies can research how they can buy sustainable raw materials and agricultural produce from family farms. On the other hand companies can invest in the development of sustainable family farming by, for example, providing credit within the chain, by concluding stable delivery contracts, by co-investing in farm cooperatives ...

Nevertheless, we are not naive. We know that some companies window dress in many ways for convenience sake. Neither are we blind to the ideologies that some actors uphold. However, we especially want to look forward and set up innovative projects, including with the leaders of the corporate world who apply the principles of socially responsible entrepreneurship in their core activities.

4. Governments and politicians Governments are responsible for the frameworks in which family farming can be developed: rural infrastructure, agricultural research and education as well as legislation. Legislation to protect, for example, farmland from speculation and (foreign) big investors, to limit monopolies of wholesalers and distributors etc. Good legislation can, however, also stimulate the development of farmers’ organisations, or motivate banks to offer agricultural credits.

From our head office in Leuven we focus on lobbying towards governments on both local, national and regional levels in the South and Flemish, Belgian federal and European bodies. You can find more on this on page 49.

5. Academics and researchers Knowledge institutions such as universities, colleges and research institutions do not only focus on research, knowledge building and dissemination, but also play an important role in (co-)innovation.

By participating in networks with companies, governments and NGOs the knowledge institutions can have a better sense of the needs of society. Furthermore, such cooperation allows for a swifter application of new knowledge.

6. Belgian society Volunteers 2011 was the year of volunteering and the perfect opportunity to give an extra reward to our core volunteers. Each year in January we take to the streets with about 12,000 volunteers to draw attention to and ask support for farmer families in the South. Next to that, there are many volunteers who, also in 2011, dedicated their time throughout the whole year to Vredeseilanden (translators, host families, volunteers who talk about Vredeseilanden in schools etc.). You can find the figures on page 57.

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Vredeseilanden-supporters Vredeseilanden has thousands of supporters who have a subscription to our newsletter or our Facebook pages and thus stay informed about the Vredeseilanden activities. 5,400 people received a monthly electronic newsletter in their mailbox. We have over 2000 followers on Facebook and more than 500 on Twitter. Last year 76,000 people visited our website. Our private donators obviously also form an important part of our grassroots: 8,644 people received a tax certificate. Besides that, there are people who participate in various sports events and support Vredeseilanden this way.

Youngsters Secondary schools and youth associations are not only engaged in the campaign, they also achieved more sustainability within their organisation. By participating in different actions they made their commitment concrete (see page 48).

Two teachers visited Belgian primary schools to tell about the life and the problems of farmer families.

Belgian partner organisations and their grass roots Vredeseilanden is active in numerous collaborations and networks of organisations that also defend the interests of farmers’ families and/or advocate more sustainable family farming and sustainable product consumption.

Among others we are one of the initiators and members of the ‘Transitienetwerk Middenveld’ and The New Food Frontier, a network of 50 thinkers and doers from agricultural, horticultural and food companies, research groups, universities, government agencies, interest groups,... www.thenewfoodfrontier.be. Furthermore, we are a member of the Climate Coalition.

Furthermore, Vredeseilanden is a member of the executive board of the following organisations: • NGO-federation (previously Coprogram): Vredeseilanden is a member of the Executive Board, the Finance working group, the HRM working group, the Global education working group and the Administrative simplification working group • 11.11.11: Vredeseilanden is a member of the Executive Board and other consultation structures • Kauri: Vredeseilanden is a member of the General Assembly • Alterfin: Vredeseilanden is chairman of the Executive Board and is a member of the credit committee • Mo*: Vredeseilanden is a member of the Executive Board • BioForum: Vredeseilanden is a member of the Executive Board • Acord: Vredeseilanden is a member of the Executive Board • FairTradeTowns: Vredeseilanden is a member of the steering committee • Max Havelaar: Vredeseilanden is a member of the Executive Board • Youkali: Vredeseilanden is a member of the Executive Board • Coalition against Hunger: Vredeseilanden is a member of the steering committee • Foodteams: Vredeseilanden is a member of the Executive Board and is interim chairman • Banaba International North-South Cooperation of the Leuven University College: Vredeseilanden is a member of the steering committee • Aware Consumption Network: Vredeseilanden is a member of the Executive Board • Entrepreneurs for Entrepreneurs: Vredeseilanden is member of the General Assembly • New B: Vredeseilanden is member of the General Assembly • Colibri Foundation for Education: Vredeseilanden is member of the Executive Board and is interim chairman • Association for Ethical Fundraising: Vredeseilanden is member of the General Assembly

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Vredeseilanden was one of the ‘founding fathers’ of KAURI, a network that shares knowledge and experiences on sustainability between companies and NGOs. In November 2012, Kauri celebrated its fifteenth anniversary. On that occasion the network organised a ‘job swap day’ between NGO and business executives. That way both parties were able to look at sustainability challenges from a different point of view and better understand each other’s position on the topic. On 21 November 2012, the swap between the executives from Vredeseilanden and the Port of Antwerp took place. Eddy Bruyninckx became manager of Vredeseilanden for one day and Luuk Zonneveld looked after the port of Antwerp.

Belgian consumers A consumer who buys sustainable products has an enormous impact on the policy and the practices of both farmers and companies in the food sector. Sustainable purchasing habits go beyond the conviction that products from sustainable family farming are the best option. Consumers want to purchase as functionally as possible. They prefer to buy as much as possible in one place. That is why sustainable agricultural chains face two challenges: facilitate sustainable purchases for the consumer and eliminate the barriers that obstruct this. That is why we are in the steering committee of the Fair Trade Towns (FairTradeGemeenten).

Commercial caterers and their customers In our current Belgian society people eat out more and more. The out of home market for food represents 39% of the food market. Within this out of home market, the social catering that is provided in closed communities (such as company canteens, school meals, meals in retirement homes and hospitals) stands for 35%, meaning that this sector cannot be neglected. Together with commercial kitchen chefs we try to offer their customers the most sustainable meals possible. You can find more on this on page 38.

Journalists Vredeseilanden wants to be a reliable reference for journalists when it concerns topics that relate to sustainable agriculture and food.

7. Vredeseilanden staff Naturally the Vredeseilanden staff is an important stakeholder as well. We provide our ex-staff members the opportunity to be a part of our General Assembly. See page 51.

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Vredeseilanden in the South

INTRODUCTION 2012 was the penultimate year of our six-year programme, which started in 2008. This year we have not conducted any impact measurement as we did in the previous two years. We will only do so at the end of 2013, when our programme comes to an end. That is why we will limit this chapter to an overview of our partner organisations and some concrete examples of our actions. We have deliberately chosen not only to highlight our successes but to talk about the failures as well.

Furthermore, we give a detailed description of how we monitor our programmes. Finally, we share two methods that aim to capture the relations between farmers’ organisations and other actors in the chain.

In 2012, Vredeseilanden provided support to farmer families in agricultural chains of the following products: Ecuador Peru Nicaragua Honduras Senegal Gambia Benin Togo Burkina Faso Niger Uganda Tanzania Congo Indonesia Vietnam

coffee, bananas, vegetables coffee, quinoa, asparagus vegetables, beans, sugar, bananas vegetables, cashew nuts bananas, fonio, sesame, rice sesame rice, cassava maize niébé, rice rice peanuts, maize cassava, onions, goats, sunflower rice, chicken, maize, potatoes cocoa, peanuts, organic rice, coffee healthy vegetables, fresh tea, rice

OVERVIEW OF PARTNER ORGANISATIONS The following list contains an overview of all our partner organisations who received financing in 2012 and outlines their role in the overall programme. The bulk of those organisations – mainly farmers’ organisations – execute interventions that allow them to reach their members directly. That in turn allows us to indicate precisely how many men and women are benefiting.

Nevertheless, this is only half the story. It is an inherent part of our strategy to encourage other organisations and governments to replicate successful experiences at a much larger scale, so that multiple farmer families also get the opportunity to lead a better life. For partner organisations that are involved in that policy work it is much more difficult to calculate how many people benefit from their actions, which is why we chose not to mention any numbers. The same applies to organisations who try to raise consumers’ awareness.

In 2012, Vredeseilanden supported 133 organisations in 15 countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia. Some 72,300 men and 99,000 women received Vredeseilanden’s support.

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Country Ecuador Ecuador Ecuador Peru Peru Peru Ecuador

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Ecuador Peru Peru Peru Nicaragua

Region Zamora Chinchipe Manabí Suscal San Román Junin La Libertad, Ascope 11 organisations around the country national national national national Nueva Segovia

Theme collaboration banana chips + policy coffee + policy vegetables quinoa coffee asparagus policy on Fair Trade policy on certification + promotion of local products policy on coffee policy on certification systems promotion of local products beans

Nicaragua

Nueva Segovia

sugar

Nicaragua

Chinandega

bananas

Nicaragua Nicaragua Nicaragua Nicaragua

Central America national national national

solidary economy policy on legislation about bio policy on beans promotion of local healthy food (at schools and poor districts)

Honduras

Choluteca and Valle

cashew nuts

Honduras Honduras Honduras Honduras Indonesia

Intibucá national national national Flores

vegetables policy on cashew nuts policy on vegetables promotion of local and healthy food (e.g. at schools) cocoa

Indonesia

Sulawesi

cocoa

Indonesia

Sulawesi

coffee

Indonesia

Flores

coffee

Indonesia

Central Java

healthy rice

Indonesia Indonesia Indonesia Indonesia Indonesia

healthy rice peanuts policy on food stocks policy on rice promotion of local rice

Vietnam

Flores West Timor Flores and West Timor national Solo, Denpasar and Jakarta city Phu Tho

Vietnam

Lang Son

safe vegetables

Vietnam Vietnam Vietnam

Phu Tho Phu Tho national

tea rice policy on safe vegetables

safe vegetables

Partner organisations Federación Regional de Asociaciones de Pequeños Cafetaleros del Sur (FAPECAFES) Federación de Asociaciones artesanales de Producción Cafetalera Ecológica de Manabí (FECAFEM) Chuya Mikuna Cooperativa Agro Industrial Cabana (Coopain) Cooperativa Agraria Cafetalera Satipo La Red de Organizaciones Productivas Agropecuarias (REOPA) Coordinadora Ecuatoriana de Comercio Justo (CECJ) Corporación Ecuatoriana de agricultores biológicos (PROBIO) Junta Nacional de Café (JNC) Asociación Nacional de Productores Ecológicos de Perú (ANPE Perú) Asociación Peruana de Consumidores y Usuarios (ASPEC) La Empresa Cooperativa de Servicios Agropecuarios Nicarao R.L. (NICARAOCOOP), Union de Cooperativas Agropecuarias de El Sauce (UCASA) Unión National de Agricultores y Ganaderos de Nicaragua – Nueva Segovia, Cooperativa de Productores de Caña de Ciudad Antigua y el Jícaro (COOPROCA) Central de Cooperativas Multisectoriales de Mujeres Sororidad de Chinandega R.L. (CECOSORORIDAD, R.L.) and Union de Cooperativas Plataneras de Chinandega R.L. (UCOPLACH R.L) Programa Regional Centroamericano de Economia Solidaria (PECOSOL) Movimiento de Productores Agroecológicas y Orgánicos de Nicaragua (MAONIC) Unión National de Agricultores y Ganaderos de Nicaragua (UNAG) National Loga de Defensa del Consomidor de Nicaragua (LIDECONIC), Red Nacional de Defensa de los Consumidores (RNDC) Fundacion para el Desarrollo Empresarial Rural (FUNDER), Empresa de Transformación y Servicios Agroindustrial de Marañoneros Orgánicos de El Triunfo (ETRASAMOT), Cooperativa Regional de Productores y Agro-industrializadores del Marañón del Sur, Limitada (CREPAIMASUL) Asociation de familias agropecurias artesanales Intibucanas Lencas (ASOFAIL) Conglomerado de Marañón Federación Hondureña de Productores Hortofruticola (FEHPROH) Red de Comercialización Comunitaria Alternativa (Red Comal) Yayasan Ayu Tani (YAT), Jeringan Petani Wulang Gitang (JANTAN), Cacao Farmer Association Nangpenda (SIKAP) Yayasan Wahana Sukses Pertanian Terpandang (WASIAT), Pusat Koperasi Tani Kakao AMANAH, Farmer Cooperative Masagena Yayasan Jaya Lestari Desa (JALESA), Asosiasi Petani Kopi Toraja (APKT), Yayasan Duta Pelayan Masyarakat (YDPM), Yayasan Komunitas Indonesia (YAKOMI), Perhimpunan Petani Kopi Toraja (PPKT) Delegasi Sosial (Delsos), Lembaga Advokasi Masyarakat (LAPMAS), Society community Watuata (PERMATA), Komunitas Cinta Indonesia (KCI), Asosiasi Petani Kopi Manggarai (ASNIKOM) Lembaga Studi Kemasyarakatan dan Bina Bakat (LSK-BB), Asosiasi Petani Padi Organik Boyolali (APPOLI), Organic Farmers Organisation Boyolali (APOB), Solo Raya Consortium (JAKER PO, GITA PERTIWI, LSKBB) Yayasan Mitra Tani Mandiri Ngada (YMTM-Ngada), Assosiasi Petani Organik Mbay (ATOM) Yayasan Mitra Tani Mandiri (YMTM), Yayasan An Feot Ana (YAFA), Farmer Association BITUNA Peopleís Coalition for Food Soverignty – Koalisi Rakyat untuk Kedaulatan Pangan (KRKP) Aliansi Petani Indonesia (API) Bali Consortium (BOA,IDEP,PPLH), Yayasan Lembaga Konsumen Indonesia (YLKI), Perkumpulan Indonesia Berseru (PIB), Yayasan Tamiang Bali (TAMIANG), Yayasan KAKAK Tan Duc Safe Vegetable Cooperative, Viet Tri City Women's Union, Plant Protection Department of Phu Tho Province, Phuthostas Na Chuong Safe Vegetable Cooperative, Plant Protection Department of Lang Son Province, Langsonstas, Cooperative Alliance of the Province Luong Son Tea Cooperative, Phu Ha Tea Factory, Yen Lap district Women's Union Extension Station of the District, District Women's Union Centre for Agrarian Systems Research and Development (CASRAD), Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development (IPSARD)

Target group (M) Target group (F) 172 60 499 158 24 123 148 355 529 147 88 28

5.437

667

210

90

192

223

800

360

170 800

104 360

781

302

2.763

547

674

190

1.705

647

2.895

664

589 2.054

55 1.802

64

199

75

237

87 79

179 97

19

Country Vietnam

Region national

Theme collaboration promotion of safe vegetables

DR Congo

South Kivu

rice

DR Congo

South Kivu

sustainable forestry

DR Congo

North Kivu

food security programme which focuses on chicken, potatoes, maize

DR Congo DR Congo DR Congo DR Congo Senegal Senegal Senegal Senegal Senegal Senegal Gambia Benin Benin Benin Benin

North Kivu North Kivu North Kivu national Tambacounda national Sédhiou Velingara Fatick national national Collines national national Zou and Couffo

rice coffee policy development of national farmer organisation bananas policy on bananas fonio rice sesame policy on sesame sesame rice policy on rice promotion of local rice cassava

Togo Togo Togo Burkina Burkina Burkina Burkina Niger Tanzania

Savanes national national national Boulgou and Gouma national national national Mkuranga

maize policy on maize promotion of local maize rice niébé policy on rice policy on niébé rice cassava

Tanzania Tanzania

Simanjiro Chunya

onions and goats sunflowers

Uganda

Iganga, Kumi, Tororo, Busia Bugiri, Pallisa national national

peanuts and maize peanuts policy consumor programme

regional regional

policy on rice policy on regional markets

Uganda Uganda Uganda West Africa East Africa TOTAL

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Partner organisations Vietnam Standards and Consumer Association (VINASTAS), Plant Protection Department of Phu Tho Province Coopérative Agricole de la plaine de la Ruzizi (COOPA), Coopérative des Solidarités pour la Production des Denrées Agricoles (COOSOPRODA) Comité AntiBwaki (CAB), Union Paysanne pour le Développement Intégré (UPDI), Service d'Accompagnement et de Renforcement des Capacités d'Autopromotion de la femme (SARCAF), Ligue des Organisations des femmes Paysannes au Congo (LOFEPACO), Association des Producteurs de Vuhimba (APAV), CACUDEKI, Programme de Réhabilitation et de Protection des Pygmées (PREPPYG), Reseau Congolais des Forestiers (RCF) Coopérative Centrale du Kivu (COOCENKI), Syndicat pour la Défense des Intérêts Paysans (SYDIP), Association des Producteurs de Vuhimba (APAV), Ligue des Organisations des femmes Paysannes au Congo (LOFEPACO), Programme de Réhabilitation et de Protection des Pygmées (PREPPYG), CEAPRONUT, Association des Paysans pour le Développement Rural (APADER) CACUDEKI, PREPPYG, SYDIP, COOCENKI COOCENKI, SYDIP La Fédération des Organisations Paysannes au Congo (FOPAC) Conféderation Nationale des Producteurs Agricoles du Congo (CONAPAC) Association des Producteurs de la Vallée du Fleuve Gambie (APROVAG) Union National de la filière de banane au Sénégal (UNAFIBS) Union des producteurs et productrices de fonio dans la région de Sédhiou (URPROFOS) Fédération des Producteurs de Riz du bassin de l’Anambé (FEBROBA) Fédération des Unions des Groupements Associés du Niombato (UGAN) Fédération des Producteurs et Productrices de Sésame (FENPROSE) National Women Farmers in Agriculture (NAWFA) Union des Riziculteurs du Centre (UNIRIZ-C) Conseil de Concertation des Riziculteurs du Bénin (CCR-B) Ligue de Défense des Consommateurs du Bénin (LDCB) Union Communale, Départementale et Régionale des Producteurs de Manioc (UCPM, UDPM, URPM), Coopératives de Transformatrices de Manioc (CTM), Fédération des Unions des Producteurs (FUPRO), Centre d’Information de Recherche et d’Action pour la Promotion des Initiatives Paysannes (CIRAPIP), Groupe d’Action pour la Solidarité et d’Initiatives de Développement (GRASID), Réseau des Paysans Féminins pour le Développement (REPFED) Union Régionale des Organisations des Producteurs de Céréales – Savanes (UROPC-S) Coordination Togolaise des Organisations Paysannes et des Producteurs Agricoles (CTOP) Organisation d’Appui à la Démocratie et au Développement Local (OADEL) Union Nationale des Producteurs du Riz du Burkina (UNPRB) Union Provinciale des Professionnelles Agricoles (UPPA) Comité Interprofessionel du Riz au Burkina (CIRB) Fédération des Professionnelles Agricoles du Burkina (FEPAB), La Confédération Paysanne du Faso (CPF) Plateforme Paysanne du Niger (PFPN) Mkuranga District Council, Mviwata Mkuranga Regional Network, Moshi University College of Cooperatives and Business Studies, Commercial Farmer Organisations Simanjiro District Council, Inyuat E Moipo, Mviwata Manyara Network Chunya District Council, Moshi University College of Cooperatives and Business Studies, Mviwata Mbeya Regional Network, Commercial Farmer Organisations Kumi District Farmers Association, Iganga District Farmers Association, Tororo District Farmers Association, Busia District Farmers Association, Uganda Cooperative Alliance Bugiri District Farmers Association, Pallisa District Farmers Association Uganda Cooperative Alliance, Uganda National Farmerís Federation (UNFFE) Kumi District Farmers Association, Iganga District Farmers Association, Tororo District Farmers Association, Busia District Farmers Associatio, East African Farmers Federation (EAFF) Réseau des Organisations Paysannes et de Producteurs en Afrique de l’Ouest (ROPPA) East African Farmers Federation (EAFF)

Target group (M) Target group (F)

291

154

10.274

1.245

5.070

11.375

835

419

129 3.552 1.263

730 1.884 2.521

0 3.989

48.000 4.150

9.600

6.600

3.370

5.630

6.721 614

2.108 1.054

339 439

596 536

1.231 781

817 639

1.713

1.856

1.260

1.313

72.306

99.221

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CASE 1: THE FIGHT FOR RICE IN EASTERN CONGO For centuries, kingdoms and nations have organised themselves to keep external enemies out.

Unfortunately, borders, fortresses and institutions have not always been able to erase the competitiveness and rivalry between countries. The DR Congo is no exception to that rule. The country’s eastern region has seen some fierce conflicts that have made their way to the international media. Over the past few years a new ‘war’ has erupted and this time the bone of contention is ... rice!

Following a thorough analysis Vredeseilanden chose rice as a priority agricultural chain in the DR Congo, besides coffee. The list of actors in the rice chain is long and runs from the rice farmer’s field to the minister’s plate. And everywhere the rice travels the harsh circumstances affect the quality and the rice farmer’s profit.

The straw that broke the camel’s back is the increased presence of rice from Pakistan, better known as “riz ya muzungu” (white people’s rice) or “UN rice”, in the markets of Butembo, Beni and Goma.

Independent experts have clearly demonstrated that this imported rice has disrupted the local market. Everywhere you look you find blue bags that contain white rice. Locals refer to it as the ‘rice general’ (rice from Pakistan) who will soon defeat the ‘rice colonel’ (local rice), because the first is cheaper and contains fewer stones and less sand. Nevertheless, local farmers are gearing up for the battle ... A fight that they intend to win!

Vredeseilanden brought together five farmers’ organisations, two NGOs, traders, owners of rice peeling machines, hotel owners, local banks, representatives of the local government and traditional chiefs in order to defuse the conflict. That saw the birth of the ‘multi-stakeholder platform’ on rice.

The idea behind the platform is that the members will meet regularly to discuss certain problems and opportunities in the rice chain. Ultimately everybody will benefit, including the members of the farmers’ organisations.

Furthermore, the networks within the platform can lead to new commercial relations. During their last meeting with Crepac (a local supermarket in Butembo that offers quality products) the farmers’ organisations negotiated the delivery of 45 tons of rice. Crepac wanted to buy the rice at 0.9 dollars per kilo, while the farmers’ organisations demanded 1.2 dollars. That price was the result of a meticulous calculation of their production costs. Since they refused to go below that price, they decided to store the rice for a little while longer and wait for prices to go up.

However, the price did not rise in the following months. Even worse, it fell below the 0.9 dollars that Crepac had offered. The farmers suffered an acute lack of funds. School fees and hospital bills had to be paid. No financial institution was prepared to offer them credit and Crepac was no longer interested in paying the 0.9 dollars. The farmers had no other choice but to sell at a very low price.

Still, this crisis taught them some new insights: the importance of constantly monitoring price evolutions, of trying to cut production costs and most importantly: of looking for better markets. It appeared that Crepac was an intermediary for Brasimba, a brewery that is constantly looking for rice for the production of beer. LOFEPACO, the umbrella women’s organisation in Eastern Congo, is currently negotiating the delivery of 150 tons of rice. Or how every cloud has a silver lining ...

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CASE 2: INDONESIAN ORGANIC RICE WITH ORGANIC CERTIFICATION Happiness on Java: at the end of 2012, the rice farmers were finally awarded the certificate for organic production by IMO (Institute of Market Ecology, a Swiss agency that is allowed to grant organic certifications). A pivotal moment for the farmers of APPOLI. Mr. Susatyo, the farmers’ organisation excited president, states: “We are proud that we have finally obtained the organic certificate for our rice”.

In Central Java Boyolali is the heart of rice production. It is there that we find APPOLI, one of Vredeseilanden’s most important partners. At the end of 2012, 3,559 farmers (2,895 men and 664 women) belonged to this organisation.

Vredeseilanden assisted the members of APPOLI in developing a quality control system (ICS, Internal Control System). It is important for each farmer to apply the same standards, because if one farmer does not meet the requirements, then the entire harvest is rejected. Joining forces in growing organic crops and controlling the production process was essential in becoming a strong player in the organic rice market.

And it worked. Today 1,027 of APPOLI’s members are applying the system. Because they use sustainable farming techniques the production of organic rice is expanding. The new farming techniques have a positive impact on the environment, e.g. improved soil quality and healthier water springs through efficient irrigation systems.

The efforts made by the farmers of APPOLI paid off in 2011, when they were awarded the certificate

by Biocert, the national agency that assesses the organic fields. That allowed the farmers to approach the local market with organic rice carrying the Biocert label.

© Jimmy Kets

It is now complemented by IMO’s organic certificate. These two organic certificates allow APPOLI to enter the international market for organic rice. And the story is far from finished. Other farmers are increasingly interested: “In 2013, we aim to register 2 or 3 more farmers’ groups for organic certification”, Mr. Susatyo adds.

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CASE 3: RICE IN WEST AFRICA, BOOMING BUSINESS Twenty years ago, people in West Africa only ate rice on Sundays. Today rice is the region’s main grain crop and the consumption is estimated to double over the next twenty years. And that offers a huge potential to the 3 million farmer families who cultivate rice. If they derive a reasonable income from their rice production they will not only have the opportunity to abandon poverty, but also to feed their country. 40% of the rice is currently imported, mainly from Asia, and that is costing the region a fortune.

That is why the governments in the region have tried to expand rice production and improve its processing over the past few years. However, they do not yet cooperate with the larger companies to attract investments in the sector’s growth.

And this is where Vredeseilanden comes in, in a consortium with other NGOs (Oxfam, SNV and Agricord) and with the West African farmers’ organisation ROPPA. If they want to compete with Asian rice the quality of their own rice will have to be boosted and the distribution of local rice to the cities will have to be improved. Farmers’ organisations and companies will have to establish relations of trust so that a constant and high-quality supply is guaranteed for the companies, in return for fair prices and a stable market for the farmers.

Similar forms of cooperation are relatively uncharted territory, both for companies and for farmers’ organisations. The latter have mainly negative experiences with companies, i.e. they are afraid that companies will buy the land and that farmers will be shoved aside. The companies on the other hand are very pragmatic: if they see an opportunity to import cheaper rice they will continue to do so.

In short, Vredeseilanden and our partners have got our work cut out for us. In 2011 and 2012, we performed plenty of preparatory work to outline this new West African rice programme together with all the actors. The first highlight was the presentation of this rice programme during a meeting of the heads of the Ministries of Agriculture of the West African countries, united in the West African Union (ECOWAS) on March 21 and 22, 2013. The response was very positive: we will receive political support from the different countries and from ECOWAS itself.

Actually this is a continuation of existing rice projects from the different NGOs and from the farmers’ organisations. Vredeseilanden is an operational partner in Benin, Senegal, Niger and Burkina Faso.

Additionally, we assist the regional farmers’ organisation ROPPA in their political work in the rice sector. Over the next few years import duties for rice will have to be levied in order to allow the local rice sector to overcome its teething problems. It will be difficult to strike the balance as in the following years several countries will still (partly) rely on imports.

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CASE 4: TOWARDS ECO-FRIENDLY PACKAGING FOR HEALTHY VEGETABLES IN VIETNAM In Vietnam’s bustling market squares you will have to look hard to find vegetables that are 100% good for your health. Due to the erroneous and excessive use of pesticides, quite often of poor quality, many vegetables are simply not fit for human consumption. Since a few years Vredeseilanden has supported farmers’ groups that cultivate safe vegetables and together with a consumers’ organisation we aim to increase their visibility in the market, with a label, posters on stalls, …

Packaging could also be used to distinguish between ‘regular’ vegetables and safe vegetables.

Wherever you go in Vietnam the ground is covered with small plastic bags that are extremely cheap (1 kilo will cost about 1.4 Euros). A market stall can use several kilos of plastic bags per day and during TET (the Lunar New Year) it can use as much as 10 kg per day. All that plastic ends up in the environment since most people in Vietnam simply throw the bags out on the streets and there is no adequate waste collection system.

© VECO Vietnam

And thus started the search for a more eco-friendly packaging method for the vegetables … It turned out that such packaging, which can keep vegetables fresh in North Vietnam’s hot and humid climate at an affordable price for small producers, did not yet exist. Funds for the development of the packaging were not included in the programme, so this is where Vredeseilanden’s innovation fund came in (see page 76). It was the start of one year of looking for the right engineers to develop the eco-packaging and of running various tests on markets and among consumers. The final cost-benefit analysis is being completed and then we can proceed with the large-scale production and distribution.

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CASE 5: A SOUND CONTRACT IS NOT A GUARANTEE FOR SUCCESS In July 2012, the African Natural Ingredient (ANI) company signed a contract with UGAN, an organisation of sesame producers in Senegal. The deal involved 70 tons of white sesame. This is an important agreement, since ANI purchases some 6,000 tons of sesame in West Africa every year. In other words, ANI might become an interesting market in the future. Based on their first commercial deal, signed one year earlier, both parties agreed that the sesame farmers would be paid 350 CFA/kg (compared to 300 CFA in 2011).

The sowing and growing season went well: enough rain, excellent seeds. The farmers were expecting large yields. UGAN had even experimented with the cultivation of sesame for seed production outside the season. The prospects for the harvest and the year to come were brilliant.

Vredeseilanden raised additional credits for UGAN, which would allow them to buy large quantities of sesame from the farmers and deliver them to ANI. Given the wonderful prospects an annex was added to the contract, stating that UGAN would deliver 150 tons to ANI. Alterfin decided to allocate a 50 million CFA credit and the contract was signed in November 2012.

Harvesting begins in January and one month later UGAN delivers ... only 9 tons of sesame. That failure is partly due to UGAN’s deficient internal organisation, but also to several external factors.

Alterfin’s credit was transferred relatively late and when it had finally arrived in UGAN’s bank account, the board was not proactive enough and did not collect the sesame from the farmers as soon as harvesting began. Additionally, they neglected to point out to their members how important it was to respect the contract: the farmers needed to deliver at least the quantity that had been agreed upon to UGAN in order for them to honour their commitment to the buyer (ANI). Since UGAN failed to collect the sesame immediately after the harvest the farmers had already sold most of it to buyers who had come to the villages. Only very little was left for UGAN. Moreover, last year saw an exceptionally high demand for African sesame in the world market due to disappointing harvests in Asia (India, China …). Various private companies came to Senegal to look for extra sesame and to buy the farmers’ sesame through local intermediaries. Given the extraordinarily high demand (this had never happened in previous years) prices rocketed. Some traders offered up to 475 CFA, even 500 CFA per kg, which is of course much more than the 350 CFA that UGAN had negotiated with ANI. Their contract did not contain any clause that allowed them to renegotiate the price … And the farmers sold their sesame to the highest bidder.

In other words, 2012 was a very good year for the producers because they were able to sell their sesame at a good price. UGAN on the other hand will have to learn from this experience, especially when it comes to acting faster and more proactively.

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CASE 6: NEW PROCESSING PLANT OPENS ITS DOORS FOR CANE SUGAR PRODUCERS IN NICARAGUA The lush green pine forests, with their typical smell, in the mountains of San Pedro de Susucayán, in Northern Nicaragua. This is where the dream of a group of cane sugar producers came true. They founded their own organisation, which was later named Cooperativa de Multiservicios de Productores Cañeros de Ciudad Antigua R.L. (COOPROCA – Co-operative of Multifunctional Sugar Cane Producers of Ciudad Antigua). As she is inspecting the equipment at their new processing plant, Maritza Landero, the co-operative’s vice president, explains “We have experienced at first hand what you can accomplish through teamwork, the willingness to improve and the joining of commitment and resources”.

From the start of their project, the members of the co-operative had the intention of building a centrally located processing plant where all the producers could come to process their sugar cane. At first that plan seemed overly ambitious and unfeasible, especially since they did not have access to the services provided by the government of Nicaragua for the development of companies, such as training, technical support and financing. It is clear that not enough attention was paid to the cultivation of sugar cane, although this production area is the second largest in the country.

In the past, farmers relied on manual labour and they did not cooperate. It was not until 2006 that the co-operative was supported by the National Union of Agricultural and Cattle Farmers of Nueva Segovia (UNAG-NS). The Union had noticed how motivated the members were and they saw their potential to revive the local economy and thus improve the quality of the producers’ lives. From that moment onwards Vredeseilanden also offered help by organising training sessions and by developing COOPROCA’s members commercial flair.

April 6, 2009 saw the first tangible result when the farmers’ organisation finally became a legal incorporation and was thus converted into a registered co-operative. Gradually other critical achievements followed: the introduction of new varieties of sugar cane, which increased the yield, the adoption of an agroecological cultivation method and the creation of a sales and marketing team.

Nevertheless, the most significant achievement was the construction of a processing plant, equipped to process the sugar cane in a hygienic manner.

On September 19, 2012 the processing plant’s solemn inauguration was attended by various representatives from the corporate and political worlds, including partners of the co-operative, local residents, local authorities, UNAG and the media. That demonstrates once again that the plant will have a huge impact on the economy in the department of Nueva Segovia and on the quality of life of the small cane sugar producers. The co-operative has been given the opportunity to expand further and to continue its activities. It is now able to invest in the development of new products, such as a type of raw brown sugar that is unique in Nicaragua. Furthermore, the co-operative can make the sugar production process more environmentally friendly by gradually replacing firewood with sugar cane pulp.

“We have achieved our goal and made progress by reinforcing management and improving the sugar cane plantations. Every day we continue to innovate in order to secure better sales and a higher income”. Thanks to the expansion of the company’s capacity COOPROCA is now a competitive cooperative that can deliver high-quality raw brown sugar in Nicaragua.

None of this would have been possible without the producers’ perseverance nor the help of various organisations who realised the entire process together. That is the message conveyed by Lenar Rodríguez, member of the co-operative and protest singer, in her song about COOPROCA’s success story.

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CASE 7: NEW CO-OPERATIVES IN UGANDA What an extremely difficult task it is: organising unskilled farmers who cultivate peanuts on their tiny patches of land into large co-operatives that are managed by the farmers themselves ánd that are able to land big commercial contracts. In Uganda co-operatives are still somewhat frowned upon by farmers, because some decades ago they were not exactly examples of transparency and good governance.

Nevertheless, it is the only way to allow many small-scale actors to join forces and to attribute an economic importance to farmers. Vredeseilanden and the District Farmers Organisations have worked on this for several years now, trying out different types of organisations. Some failed completely, while others survived partially or fully.

The latter applies to Kobwin, in the Kumi district. This small co-operative barely had any experience in trading, had little to no access to market information and even the accumulated harvest of all its members combined was too little to be marketed. It seemed impossible for Kobwin to be flying solo any time soon.

And yet Kobwin has made quantum leaps over the past few years, especially last year. The people at Uganda Cooperative Alliance offered them training sessions. How to run a co-operative? What is a business plan and how can you draft one? What are the advantages of collectively selling your products and what are the pitfalls?

At the same time Kumi District Farmers Association (KUDFA) and Uganda National Farmers Federation (UNFFE) did their part. They lobbied so that co-operatives would have easier access to credits and spent a lot of time in regulating and certifying seeds, to counter the deceptions of the past.

Today Kobwin is supported by the three pillars of the cooperation model, which proved its usefulness last year: a product co-operative, a sales and marketing company and a credit institution. Kobwin should be proud of the four registered co-operatives that collect the farmers’ peanuts at village level.

They have a total of 480 members, 171 of which are women.

During the last harvesting season Kobwin made a profit of 5 million Ugandan shillings (1,613 Euros) by selling peanuts and they signed a contract with a large company (Uganda Grain Producers and Marketing Traders Cooperative Union) for the delivery of sorghum. We see that parents can now send their children to better schools and that they do not have to worry about next year’s school fees.

Kobwin has become a role model for other local farmer groups and has earned the trust of other organisations. Sameer Africa, the country’s main distributor of dairy products, has trusted Kobwin with the supervision of the construction of its cooling installation. In the same region a new production co-operative of young farmers has recently been established, with a new marketing and sales company.

“I am really proud of what our young co-operative has achieved in such a short time span”, says Helen, Kobwin’s president, with a smile. “The energy that we have spent in training and debating sessions over the past few years is not lost. And we do have a positive impact on the standard of living in this region. We are like a beacon towering over the Kumi district. Thank you to everybody who has guided us along this unbeaten track!”

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OBSERVATION OF OUR PROGRAMMES As was the case last year, all programmes in the South are planned and monitored by means of the Chain Intervention Framework (CIF). This framework clearly states for all our activities (interventions in the agricultural chain, but also lobbying and consumer actions) what the intervention is aiming at and how it hopes to achieve the expected results. This new working method ensures a standardized approach in all regions where Vredeseilanden is active. The CIFs serve as a basis for drafting the annual operational plans of partner organisations and Vredeseilanden. This system leads to a more active participation of the team and partner organisations in the programme development.

An important advantage of the CIF is that the concrete changes in the chain are monitored as well as the way in which all stakeholders have contributed to those changes. Every six months an update of the Chain Intervention Report (CIR) is made for every chain and this provides the basis for the annual reporting.

The CIF has become an important component of the comprehensive Planning, Learning and Accountability system (PLAs) of Vredeseilanden, a monitoring and evaluation system that mainly aims at learning from successes and failures. The PLA system provides a framework for the systematic collection of data and the use of those data for continuous programme control. But the PLA particularly wants to do more than that. The objective is to stimulate critical reflection and to share views with colleagues, but also with external stakeholders. The PLA system is based upon a number of principles: • Utility: the PLA system needs to be useful for the programme actors who produce and use the information.

• Participation: VECO wants to move away from the notion that Monitoring and Evaluation is ‘done to the programme’ towards engaging the programme team and partners in the design and implementation of the monitoring processes, to do Monitoring and Evaluation 'for the programme'. It fosters self-assessment and face to face interaction as an important sense-making approach.

• Learning: the main benefits of the PLA system should come from the insights obtained during the monitoring and learning process rather than from the results presented in the reports. The PLA process is aimed to generate new knowledge, support learning, plan and motivate future activities, and build M&E capacity and reflective thinking among the different people involved.

• Focus on the process: In line with OM, the PLA system aims to provide the programme with a continuous system for thinking holistically and strategically about how it intends to achieve results and therefore focuses on both the process and the results.

• Feedback: The PLA system should allow VECO to seek feedback on its interventions and performance from partner organisations and farmers, and VECO should commit itself to also provide feedback to those actors (two-way & downward accountability).

• Multi-faceted: The PLA system acknowledges that the different levels within VECO require different information and inputs. What is needed by adjusting planning and data collection correspondingly will improve the usefulness for every member within the organisation.

• Systematic documentation: VECO aims to invest in a relevant systematic documentation of the information obtained, lessons learned and decisions made during the monitoring and evaluation process. This should support better reflection and analysis as well as allow monitoring and evaluation findings to be more easily shared and communicated internally and externally.

• Transparency: the PLA system and related processes need to be open and honest. Transparency also means openness when communicating and sharing M&E findings (programmatic and financial) to our partner organisations and other stakeholders.

• Realistic & pragmatic: VECO aims to develop a PLA system and procedures which are realistic, (cost) effective, pragmatic and as simple as possible. This means reducing the burden of report writing for partners to a minimum, prioritise information needs, organise effective data collection processes, etc. It also means linking insights obtained during events to planning and management processes and linking the input with its actual use.

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Vredeseilanden developed the PLA system in 2008, but only in 2010 the first results were visible in the programme monitoring of the various offices. All components of the methodology, the CIFs and the CIRs were brought together in one internal website. In the coming years we also want to share this with external stakeholders.

Integration of sustainability aspects in our interventions In 2011, we spent a year fine-tuning our vision on sustainability in the development of agricultural chains. We screened 34 agricultural chains so as to obtain an overall view on the impact of our interventions at the economic, sociocultural, ecological and institutional levels (www.veco-ngo.org/sustainabilityscreening). The general results provided us with a treasure of information that we then used during the strategic planning process (see page 11). We intend to execute this screening every three years.

Moreover, specific focal points were formulated per chain, e.g. on gender. In 2012, those aspects were included in the CIFs and they will be automatically integrated in the planning and monitoring.

Gender Vredeseilanden wants its programmes to have a positive effect on the position of women – an important aspect of social sustainability. In this respect three questions are vital. How can we secure a stronger position for women within a given agricultural chain? How can we ensure that women are among the decision makers within the farmers’ organisations? And how can we raise their income and enable them to decide for themselves how that money will be spent? These three aspects are also monitored through the CIFs and CIRs. In 2012, Vredeseilanden’s interventions led to concrete changes. In several programmes the position of women has clearly been strengthened. Various women now hold important functions, such as the president and the commercial director at FAPECAFES in Ecuador. In Senegal the access to seeds and fertilisers has been facilitated for both men and women. This applies to both sesame and rice. In Benin the women who process rice have convinced the government institution PAFIRIZ to install 5 processing rooms.

In Central America a gender survey was carried out in the plantain chain. It is clear that women can be owners of their own piece of land (35%) and that they are more active than men when it comes to processing the plantains. The women have just as much market information, they establish their own commercial relations and they are actively involved at every level of the chain. The organisation CECOSORORIDAD was awarded a Walmart premium for good suppliers, which means that it is recognised as a professional (female) producers’ organisation. ASOFAIL has 22% female members. In 2012, specific gender strategies were outlined throughout the various chains in Latin America. They will be executed in 2013. FECAFEM has initiated specific actions for a better participation of women (e.g. the production of organic fertiliser).

Generally speaking, more women are active in the agricultural chains. Oxfam Belgium created a guarantee fund with a microfinancing structure, with the purpose of providing women with credits for the purchase of paddy fields. This year much more men are involved in the cultivation and sale of fonio and sesame in West Africa. That evolution was to be expected: men become more active in a chain once the profits are rising. When it comes to fonio 70% of the plots now

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belong to men. And although NAWFA, the organisation of sesame farmers, only has female members, it is clear that men are increasingly influential. Of course we intend to closely monitor this trend. In the DR Congo there is a better balance in the participation of both women and men in the production of rice, management and control over the profits generated from sales.

For vegetables and rice in Vietnam, vegetables and cashew in Honduras, plantains in Nicaragua and peanuts in Indonesia more women are active in sales. In the DR Congo the women are mainly responsible for the sale of rice in retail.

Minor investments can help to reduce the work load among women, e.g. the introduction of harvesting machines in the tea chain in Phu Tho (Vietnam), which has significantly decreased women’s work load from 33 days to an average of 3 days per hectare (the machines are operated by men).

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‘INCLUSIVENESS’ OF SMALLHOLDERS Vredeseilanden wants for the farmers’ organisations to be strong actors in the agricultural chains where they are active. At the same time we encourage businesses to make their purchase policy ‘inclusive’ for smallholders and their organisations.

Principles of inclusiveness1 In an ‘inclusive’ business model farmers are respected and considered to be fully fledged actors in the chain. This is reflected in: • collaboration between the actors in the chain (a common objective), • new relations between all the links (that result in a stable market and constant supply), • an honest and transparent policy (labour conditions, fair prices, good work environment) and equal access to fertilisers, seeds, credits and market information, • inclusive innovation (not ‘for’ farmers, but ‘with’ farmers), • and result measurement (tailor-made indicators and concrete follow-up plans).

How to measure inclusiveness?

In order to fully understand what inclusiveness entails and to be able to communicate this clearly to other actors within the chain and beyond, Vredeseilanden is constantly on the lookout for new methods. Inclusiveness has to do with the balance of power, relations between farmers’ organisations and companies, bargaining power, ... None of those aspects can easily be translated into figures. In 2012, we tested two methods that should allow us to try to capture and describe this complex reality, i.e. SenseMaker and LINK. Both methods proved to be valuable and Vredeseilanden will continue to use them – in an alternate form – in the new programme for the next six years.

1. SenseMaker Essentially SenseMaker, designed by Cognitive Edge®, is based on the use of a large number of fragmented stories that clarify the complex reality and from which patterns can be derived. The idea is that people use stories to illustrate the world around them and that the reality can be viewed through the eyes of everybody who is involved in the programme (and not through the eyes of the evaluators).

SenseMaker is a relatively new method that has primarily been used in the private and public sectors.

To assess the method’s usefulness for Vredeseilanden we selected two chains: tea in Vietnam and banana chips in Ecuador. In both cases the farmers are organised in co-operatives that sell to private enterprises.

With the help of properly formulated questions (adjusted to the role of that particular group in the chain) we invite the participants to share a specific story about a moment when they felt especially motivated or concerned. Subsequently, the participants interpret their own story based on a number of triangles or grade scales (unique to SenseMaker) and multiple choice questions. We collected a total of 144 stories in Vietnam and 75 stories in Ecuador.

In your story, price setting is ...

Example of a triangle Three variables constitute the triangle’s ends. The person who tells the story indicates the point within the triangle that best reflects the relation between the variables.

not transparant and not fair N/A

not transparant but fair

transparant and fair

1 Link Methodology: A participatory Guide to Business Models that Link Smallholders to markets, p. 84.

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Example of a grade scale The person who tells the story is asked to indicate a point on a scale that represents two opposing opinions.

In your story, farmers ... only sell to the one company

sell to anybody N/A

After collecting all the stories and interpretations the data were entered in a specially developed software that drew and analysed patterns. Finally we selected clusters of stories for further analysis.

Example 1: Pricing for the sale of bananas in Ecuador The triangle reflects how the actors in the chain view the pricing system (each dot represents a story). The dominant cluster is clearly ‘not transparent and not fair’, but 1/4 of the stories indicate that the prices for farmers are ‘transparent and fair’.

This cluster was further analysed during a feedback session with the farmers, who were asked to write down their stories. It was also the perfect time to formulate concrete recommendations to improve the functioning of the agricultural chain.

In your story, price setting is ... not fair and not transparant

not transparant but fair

fair and transparant

Example 2: Relation between companies and tea farmers in Vietnam The dots are equally dispersed throughout the triangle, which indicates that the respondents experience the relation in different ways. The most dominant story cluster (left corner) shows that there are difficulties working together. An analysis of these stories reveals that it is mainly the strong price fluctuation (determined by the company) that has a negative impact on this relation. The stories that talk about mutual understanding contain examples such as training sessions and other supporting services offered by the Phu Ha tea company.

The entire SenseMaker process has revealed patterns, invalidated and/or confirmed certain assumptions and generated qualitative data in the form of real, concrete stories from farmers about their position in the agricultural chain and their relations with e.g. purchasers from companies. One of the strengths compared to other methods is the fact that stories are interpreted by the people who told them. The results are therefore less distorted by predetermined patterns that might exist in the minds of external researchers. And it was a useful exercise for all the people involved because it forced them to selfreflect.

In your story, companies and farmers ... understand each other’s needs

have difficulties working together

working together because it benefits them

‘On november 17, 2011, attended a training about pruning techniques held by the tea company. I learnt about how best to prune tea and applied this on my plantation. Several days later, the tea company staff visited my plantation to check my pruning method. She praised me, as I had strictly followed the guidelines provided, so they decided to subsidise 54,000 dong for pruning. I felt very encouraged when the tea company helped my family.’

‘We produced tea to sell to the collection team and then this team would buy it to sell to the tea company. The collection team said that they would sell to the tea company at 3,500 dong per kg and pay farmers 3,100 dong per kg. Two days later, the price paid to farmers by the collection team was just 2,800 dong per kg and three days later, the price was lower, at 2,500 dong per kg. We farmers did not know how to drive a motorbike so we could not transport to sell but relied on the collection team. This story happened in May 2011. Although we got paid at a low price, we still had to sell. We left the tea to grow without reaping it as the money that we got failed to compensate us for the labour.‘

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In both regions the experience was perceived as positive.

“SenseMaker revealed and confirmed the most urgent issues in the chain in a clear and sound manner.

Not only did the results reinforce and confirm our prior assumptions, but they enabled us to analyse them in a more quantitative and concrete manner. Moreover, it discloses the relations between different dimensions.” (VECO Ecuador) “The entire SenseMaker process has lead to more openness between both parties. Discontent was voiced openly and challenges were unveiled. That is a major advantage, because these are topics that are not usually discussed in Vietnam. During the sessions recommendations were formulated. They were immediately put into practice when a sustainable sales contract was signed by the Phu Ha tea factory and the farmers’ organisation. This contract contains a minimum price and states that all prices are based on quality categories that have already been agreed upon and communicated to the farmers on notice boards at the collection points, which enhances transparency.” (VECO Vietnam) In conclusion we can state that SenseMaker is an innovative method, which can also help NGOs such as Vredeseilanden to obtain good and interesting results and to optimise the interventions. However, the method is quite time-consuming and SenseMaker’s true value in measuring progress lies in the continuous collection of data on the same questions. Patterns can thus be monitored over time.

For further information on SenseMaker and its (dis)advantages download the full report on www.veco-org.be/sensemaker.

2. LINK method Based on the audit of one concrete product Belgian supermarket chain Colruyt asked Vredeseilanden to investigate how they could make their purchase policy more sustainable and at the same time ensure the inclusiveness of smallholders. Eventually we chose to study the case of preserved asparagus. Since October 2012, Colruyt has sold asparagus from Peru (in glass jars), produced by the farmers’ organisation REOPA. Processing asparagus that is not suitable for fresh sale creates an added value for the farmers (see page 43).

In order to assess the farmers’ inclusiveness in the asparagus chain in Peru the LINK methodology was used. This method, developed by CIAT, is a manual for the establishment of inclusive and sustainable trade relations. The method’s ultimate objective is to build bridges between the often widely different worlds of small farmers in developing countries and the opportunities that emerge in growth markets worldwide. This method also provides a better insight in how the market works and how to introduce innovations that strengthen producers’ groups. Purchasers can better align their policies with smallholders’ organisations.

CIAT has elaborated specific, measurable, criteria for each of the principles of inclusiveness (see text box above). The different actors in the chain were interviewed to see how they respect and realise these principles. The result of that evaluation is presented in a visual manner (figure 1).

We see every actor’s points of attention, challenges or different expectations (that will have to be aligned) at a glance. The LINK method provides tips for constant improvement within the chain.

In our test case the LINK method revealed how the chain works and how REOPA produces, processes and markets the asparagus.

1 International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) – www.ciat.cgiar.org

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chain wide collaboration 40 35 30 25 20

outcome measurement

new market linkages

15 10 05 00

fair and transparant governance

inclusive innovation REOPA

Gandules SAC

Scana Noliko

Colruyt

Figure 1. Result of the LINK method applied to the asparagus chain in Peru

Five major challenges were identified: introducing price references, facilitating communication, reinforcing trust, guaranteeing continuity and meeting the quality standards. These challenges require a joint effort by all actors.

Paola Mercado, who works for Vredeseilanden in Peru, reviews the analysis: “What is special about this project is that it looks beyond commercial relations. We study and analyse the role and work of all actors in the chain. As an NGO we constantly have to mediate and build bridges in order to secure a win-win situation. There is a lot more to it than merely buying and selling. What we do here can be translated to other actors and markets, as the importance of a sustainable purchase policy will only grow as time progresses.”

Herman Strobbe, import purchaser at Colruyt, points out the social (minimum wage and labour conditions) and ecological aspects: “If we continue to buy asparagus as we do now, then the story will end one day. The (asparagus) production will either relocate to other regions or asparagus will quite simply no longer be available, due to erosion and water management issues. That is why we have to proceed with caution and anticipate. Hopefully others will follow.”

Philippe Toussaint, responsible for Sustainable Purchase Policy at Colruyt, adds that the practical feasibility of making the entire range of products (10,000) more sustainable is a huge challenge: “The bright side is that we have fully examined one chain in depth and in detail. The downside is that we have so much more to do. If you look at the amount of energy that we have spent on this one chain, then you realise what a gigantic task it will be to tackle all of Colruyt’s products.”

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Vredeseilanden in Belgium

THE 9 BILLION PEOPLE QUESTION How will we feed 2 billion extra mouths? In 2050, there will be 9 billion people living on this planet.

The context surrounding this question is all but rosy: global resource depletion, mounting pressure on biodiversity, the dramatic consequences of climate change, ... The answer to this question is one of mankind’s major collective challenges.

Vredeseilanden is absolutely convinced that farmer families hold the key to the future. Two thirds of the people who suffer from hunger belong to a farmer family. If they can earn an income from sustainable agriculture they will not only abandon poverty, but they will also feed the world and relieve the pressure on our planet. That is the story that we want to tell here in Belgium.

CAMPAIGN 14 volunteers, students and youngsters travelled to Java (Indonesia), the most densely populated island in the world. Farmers here are already facing the challenges that await the rest of the world.

Over 3,000 farmer families on Java are united in the farmers’ organisation Appoli. By cooperating the farmers consume less water to produce more rice. They only use natural fertilisers so that every square metre of soil will forever remain fertile. Each year their harvests improve. Additionally, their efforts lead to an improved quality and to better collaboration with traders: the farmers are able to feed more people and are now earning twice as much as in 2008.

In other words, smallholder farmers can definitely realise their potential when given the appropriate support. Our delegates witnessed the results and then travelled all over Belgium to spread the word.

In November, 11,000 pupils in 70 schools reflected on ‘the 9 billion people question’.

Our volunteer work saw its peak during the annual campaign weekend in January. During those two days over 10,000 volunteers took to the streets again to rally support for farmers in the South.

Communication agency Boondoggle and animator/illustrator Willem Pirquin created a short video that was broadcast on Belgian television 12 times. The story of APPOLI, the farmers’ organisation, was told during those 30 seconds.

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Vous lé Vous, Volta, Boury, Centpourcent, het Land aan de Overkant, Faculty Club, Lombardia, het Keienhof and Très Simple/Très Luxe ... Those are the names of some of the top restaurants that supported Vredeseilanden’s annual campaign. Their websites featured a button that allowed you to (symbolically) book a table for the year 2050. You could invite your friends to join you through Facebook and thus pledge your virtual support to a sustainable agriculture for the future.

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SUSTAINABLE FOOD: GROWING INTEREST The food issue does not only affect the South. It poses a challenge for the entire world, which means that every one of us can be part of the solution. Changes in consumption patterns in our own society are important and vital. By raising consumers’ awareness and convincing them, the demand for products from sustainable family farms will grow. Reality confirms our objectives. The sales figures for fair trade products are still rocketing: a 12% increase in 2012 has brought the overall turnover to just under EUR 40 million (source: Max Havelaar). The overall consumption of organic products in Belgium amounted to EUR 417 million in 2012, i.e. a 7% growth. Last year, 89% of all Belgian households purchased at least one organic product (source: GfK).

FairTradeTowns – FairTradeProvinces The success of the FairTradeTowns campaign proves that consumers are becoming more aware of the importance of sustainable food. In 2012, no fewer than 30 Belgian towns and cities were awarded the title of FairTradeTown, which is more than during any previous year. By the end of 2012, 203 Belgian towns and cities were actively involved in the campaign and 142 had actually won the title. And 2012 saw another record: 200 new FairTradeTown road signs were distributed along the Belgian roadsides, bringing the total in Belgium to approximately 900 signs. And finally, over 500 local politicians had their pictures taken with a speech bubble that featured a fair trade product.

That was a powerful message towards consumers as well as higher authorities.

Sustainable mass catering Vredeseilanden firmly believes that mass caterers can be pioneers in making Belgian food habits more sustainable. Cafeterias in companies, public administration buildings, schools, homes for the elderly and hospitals account for 35% of all catering. A sector to be reckoned with.

Mid-2012, Vredeseilanden initiated a unique parallel trajectory: sustainable catering in Belgian educational institutions. In the three major student cities Vredeseilanden selected a college of higher education or university that was interested in making the student restaurants and cafeterias more sustainable. Universiteit Antwerpen, Katholieke Hogeschool Leuven and Hogeschool Gent have pledged to make sustainable food a priority for two college years.

Before the start of this parallel trajectory these 3 institutions had only one thing in common when it came to catering: they had taken tuna – an endangered species – off the menu.

Vredeseilanden will gradually guide the institutions’ catering services towards more sustainability on the students’ plates. At the start of the college year 2012-2013 the University of Antwerp introduced the concept of ‘Thursday Veggie Day’: every Thursday the focus is on vegetarian dishes. The campaign became a huge success in a matter of weeks. The figures speak for themselves: in 2011, vegetarian dishes made up 10% of all the dishes that were sold. In October-November 2012, the percentage had doubled to 20% on weekdays and it peaked to 30 to 50% on Thursdays.

Also in the framework of a sustainable food range in restaurants Vredeseilanden has worked with IKEA Food since mid-2012. An audit was performed in all the stores and Vredeseilanden provides IKEA with advice on fair trade, seasonal fruits and vegetables, organic food and sustainable fish. The collaboration will be expanded to include a reduction in meat consumption and in food waste.

And finally, pilot projects were launched at ‘De Hoge Rielen’ (a holiday resort where mainly schools and youth associations come to stay) and Sint-Lucas School of Arts. Since June 2012, the soup served in the restaurant at De Hoge Rielen is completely organic and seasonal. At the start of the college year Sint-Lucas School of Arts introduced a new reusable cup that students could buy at a very reasonable price. It became an instant hit.

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An Op de Beeck, coordinator of the student restaurants at the University of Antwerp, was interviewed by the student newspaper: “This year we started a sustainability project in collaboration with Vredeseilanden. One of the initiatives is ‘Thursday Veggie Day’. Of course vegetarian dishes are available at student restaurants every day, but every Thursday they are highlighted. Our aim is to reduce our carbon footprint and to make students more aware of the impact of meat on the menu.

We also try to use eco-friendly disposables. The bread bags and takeout containers are made from sustainable materials and are completely recyclable. We want our organisation to become more sustainable step by step, so that we, humans, as well as animals and the environment benefit, now and in the future. ... A third collection point in the vegetable box scheme was opened at the university. ... And finally, an organic vending machine was installed at one of our campuses. It only contains organic and fair trade products. All snacks are healthy, low-calorie and purchased from small and local producers.”

Your Choice puts sustainable food on mass caterers’ agendas ‘Your Choice’ refers to interactive events organised by Vredeseilanden aimed at putting sustainable food on mass caterers’ agendas. Your Choice’s main objective is to inform mass caterers and raise their awareness on the 3 pillars of sustainable food. They become familiar with the products and campaigns that are available, which will help them to implement sustainability in their purchase policies and catering services. On Tuesday November 6, 2012 over 100 professionals from the catering sector attended the Your Choice networking session at Wiels Expo (Brussels) to exchange information and experiences on various aspects of sustainable food. Chefs, procurement managers for large companies, local and national public administration services, towns and cities, school principals and day care centre directors had the opportunity to meet suppliers of organic, local and fair trade products. The goal of this interactive networking session was to bring the different actors together through round table discussions and a speed date and to find out how supply and demand can be better aligned.

Potverdorie, eet normaal (Darn it, eat normally!)

With our action ‘Potverdorie, eet normaal’ (Darn it, eat normally) Vredeseilanden encourages young people to change their attitudes towards food and to reduce their carbon footprint at the same time.

This year the action was led by a group of young people who travelled to Indonesia during the summer vacation, where they learned about the “Healthy Food, Healthy Living” project. In that wonderful project their peers in Indonesia advocate the consumption of sustainable food. Back in Belgium, the group elaborated methods to tell their story in schools, to bring it to life among the volunteers in their hometowns, in youth clubs, and to visualise it during big events such as the Mano Mundo world music festival. They set up concrete action perspectives for each visit: structural changes in catering, the choice for sustainable appetisers during receptions, the introduction of “This school is serious” in accordance with the FairTradeTowns criteria, …

Our largest target group were secondary schools of all types: special needs education, vocational and technical schools and grammar schools. Some youth associations and festivals also joined in.

Some examples: • The ‘Humaniora van de Voorzienigheid’ grammar school in Diest organised a so-called restaurant day. Several fair trade products, such as cake, were on sale. A special team launched several actions to promote sustainable food in the school. Vredeseilanden was the propelling force behind this team and hosted various sessions on sustainable food at the school.

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• Vredeseilanden and the organisers of the Mano Mundo world music festival in Boom collaborated to make the range of food and drinks at the festival more sustainable, both in the restaurants for the artists and the crew and in the food stalls on the festival grounds. We paid special attention to the involvement of young people.

Furthermore, we established contacts with several of the festival’s partners in order to test some initiatives that might be introduced during the next edition. During the festival Vredeseilanden’s youth ambassadors ran their own "Farmer's Café", where they sold cocktails using local, seasonal, organic and/or fair trade ingredients. Approximately 5,000 people visited the Café.

Vredeseilanden Salons

For the second year in a row we organised the ‘Vredeseilanden Salons’, an evening during which people have the opportunity to meet somebody with a special connection to Vredeseilanden. In a small group he/she talks about their commitments in life and how those originated. The inspiring salons take place in the cosy setting of ‘Het Dagelijks Brood’/’Le Pain Quotidien’. In 2012, we were welcomed at the bakeries in Bruges, Louvain, Ghent and Hasselt, where a total of 50 people listened to the captivating stories of their interesting hosts.

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ADVOCACY Lobbying to bridge the financing gap Together with our partners in the Coalition Against Hunger Vredeseilanden organised a round table debate in Belgium’s federal Parliament in September. The subject was “How can a Belgian policy that supports local private sectors strengthen family farming?”. Together with 11.11.11 Vredeseilanden prepared a file (‘bridging the financing gap’) that contained an analysis of the financing needs of smallholder farmers in the South as well as policy recommendations for the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO) and the new strategy note on the support to local private sectors in Belgium’s partner countries. The file was presented during the round table debate and we received some interesting feedback from the Directorate-General for Development Cooperation (DGD), BTC, representatives from the cabinet of the Ministry for Development Cooperation, NGOs, farmers’ organisations from both North and South, consultants, the Trade for Development Centre,…

Throughout the year Vredeseilanden also met regularly with DGD representatives, the Minister for Development Cooperation, representatives from his cabinet, MPs, etc. to discuss the reform of BIO, the strategy note on private sectors, the implementation of the strategy note on agriculture and food security, ... and how these tools from Belgian development cooperation can help to meet the financing needs of agricultural organisations in the South.

AgriCongo The consortium AgriCongo continued its activities and maintained its support to the lobbying cell at CONAPAC (a new national farmers’ organisation) in Kinshasa in 2012. This lobbying cell spent a lot of time and energy on the implementation decisions of the so-called ‘Loi agricole’ (the national Agricultural Bill that was passed last year). Through 7 workshops representatives from each province formulated proposals for the lobbying cell. The work of that cell and the institutional support that it receives were used as evidence during our meetings with BTC, DGD and the cabinet of the Minister for Development Cooperation in Belgium. Together with these actors we discussed how we could reshape the agricultural policy in the DR Congo, what Belgium’s contribution might be and what the implications are of Belgian investments in the DR Congo’s agricultural policy.

Towards a transformation of our agricultural system In 2011 we cofounded ‘The New Food Frontier’, a group of 50 carefully selected people who, following an analysis, would voice a number of concrete and bold visions for a future sustainable agricultural and food system for Belgium. In 2012 Vredeseilanden was still one of the leaders. The group’s work resulted in 11 principles for this agricultural and food system of the future. New concrete developments can be tested against these 11 principles. One of them is: ‘Internationally fair’.

The members of ‘The New Food Frontier’ are managers from companies at different levels of the food/agricultural chain and actors from all layers of society who have some connection with agriculture and food (journalist, doctor, environmental organisations, government, trend watchers, chef, academics, …). The results of this process will be the basis of a follow-up trajectory that will be led by the actors from the food/agricultural chain, including Vredeseilanden.

A reformed European Common Agricultural Policy In 2012 Europe was preparing the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy for the time frame 20142020. During the talks with environmental and farmers’ organisations Vredeseilanden added the North-South dimension. It is essential that farmers in the South cannot be harmed by the new European policy. The North-South point of view was prepared together with NGOs in Concord, the European confederation of NGOs. At the Flemish level a balanced position was adopted within SALV, the Strategic Advisory Body for Agriculture and Fisheries. At the European level Concord managed to gain the support of the MEPs in the Development Committee. Unfortunately, despite many lobbying efforts and the support of the Development Committee many of the suggested amendments did not make it through the vote at the European Parliament in March 2013.

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Alliances at the European level Since 2010 Vredeseilanden, together with SOS-Faim and CFSI, has supported the participation of seven West African national farmers’ organisations in the EU-ACP Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA), a meeting that gathers MPs from the European Parliament and ACP countries1 around a common agenda. In 2012 these farmers’ organisations attended the EU-ACP JPA in Horssens (Denmark). In preparation of that meeting a document with joint policy recommendations was drafted together with these farmers’ organisations, aimed at supporting family farming in their countries. During the JPA this document was distributed among European and ACP MPs, staff members, ... There was a lunch meeting with MPs during which the farmers spoke about their challenges and the solutions that they suggest. The next EU-ACP Joint Parliamentary Assembly in which these partners participated took place in Brussels in June 2013.

Vredeseilanden in the media Journalists mainly approached Vredeseilanden during the summer of 2012, when the prices of certain basic commodities in the world market started to rise. The result was the publication of several opinion pieces and a long radio interview. Points of view on current topics or ad hoc campaigns throughout the year are discussed by a steering group with members from the different departments at our head office, that meet once every week. As mentioned earlier, we aim to base as much of our media and lobbying efforts as possible on facts and experiences from the field. That is why the steering group is in close contact with the advocacy staff in our regional offices in the South.

1 Countries from Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific

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COLLABORATION WITH COMPANIES IN BELGIUM Sometimes our partner organisations that want to export their products ask us whether we can find buyers in Belgium. Similarly, Belgian or international companies sometimes want to collaborate with us on a specific product chain. In that case we examine whether their request matches our presence in a given region or chain.

In 2012 we received more similar requests, but we have not yet been able to follow up on them for lack of a match with our work in the South. Moreover, the economic crisis has also affected retailers and has made it more difficult to initiate new projects with certain companies, since their priorities have shifted.

Vredeseilanden is currently supporting the exports to Belgium of rice from Benin, asparagus in glass jars from Peru and rice from Indonesia (Java). In 2012, 12 tons of rice were exported to Belgium from Benin and 170,000 glass jars containing green asparagus were shipped from Peru. The first container of rice sailed from Java in May 2013. Additionally, several other export chains are being prepared: bananas from Senegal, coffee from the DR Congo and passion fruit from Tanzania.

Rice from Java: soon to be distributed by Biofresh APPOLI, the organisation of organic rice farmers in Java, wishes to focus on exporting rice that has obtained the organic and Fair for Life (IMO) certificates. To this end the farmers elaborated an Internal Control System in 2012. The rice is already sold in the domestic market, but thanks to the organic and Fair for Life certificates the farmers can now charge 50% more for their rice in the export market. APPOLI started to look for possibilities to export part of its rice. It reached an agreement with PT Bloom Agro, who will package and export the rice. In Belgium Biofresh was interested in importing and distributing the rice. The first shipment of 18 tons was expected to arrive in Belgium in May 2013. Read more about APPOLI on page 23.

Asparagus in Colruyt shops: on the lookout for new business models Vredeseilanden already collaborated with the Colruyt Group in our first project, which consisted in bringing fair trade rice from Benin to the supermarket shelves. In September 2012, a new shipment of rice arrived. It was introduced in the Belgian market with a new packaging. In the meantime we started a follow-up project. The idea was not to introduce a new product, but to focus on an existing one. How about the ecological, social and economic sustainability of that product? And what is the position of smallholder farmers in the product chain? Those were the questions that Colruyt and Vredeseilanden needed to have answered. Following plenty of debate it was decided that asparagus in glass jars were to be imported from Peru (among other countries), through Scana Noliko, a processing company with head offices in Bree (Belgium).

In 2012, Colruyt purchased all its green asparagus in glass jars from a co-operative of smallholder farmers in Peru (REOPA), through Scana Noliko. In order to make this happen REOPA needed support.

There were consultations between all the links in the chain and REOPA’s business model was analysed, as well as its environmental impact. The asparagus in glass jars are transported by boat, which limits the environmental impact. What is a cause for concern, however, are the current irrigation techniques, which are unsustainable in the long run and which need to be replaced with alternative options.

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After more than one year, during which the lack of clear communication between the different links in the chain proved to be the main obstacle, the glass jars with REOPA’s asparagus made it to Colruyt’s shelves. The farmers of REOPA have managed to raise their income because now they can also sell asparagus outside the season, during which they export fresh asparagus to the US. All the partners involved in this project have learned a lot. We are now writing down those experiences and by the summer of 2013 we will have drafted a detailed case study, so that the lessons from this project can be shared with other companies, farmers’ organisations and NGOs.

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Administrative report

THE PEOPLE BEHIND VREDESEILANDEN The organisational structure of Vredeseilanden vzw

International Forum General Assembly

Volunteers

Board of Directors

Regional Office

National Council

Council of Sages

Executive Management

Regional Office National Council

(every six years)

Head Office

Regional Office

National Council

General Council

Regional Office

National Council

Regional Office

National Council

Regional Office

National Council

Regional Office

National Council

Regional Office

National Council Advisory relation

General Assembly The General Assembly is composed of 79 representatives for our main stakeholders. They can be volunteers, experts from different organisations or private companies, members of the Board and former staff members. There are 51 male and 28 female members, 4 of them of foreign origin. In 2012 6 new members joined the General Assembly and 3 members left. Membership is valid for an indefinite period. Everybody can apply to become a member of our General Assembly. His/her application is presented at the next General Assembly. The Articles of Association stipulate that current staff members of Vredeseilanden cannot be a member of the General Assembly. The list of the current members can be retrieved at Vredeseilanden or can be consulted on our (Dutch) website www.vredeseilanden.be/over-vredeseilanden/de-mensen/algemene-vergadering.

The General Assembly is the supreme body of the organisation. It appoints the Board and ratifies the annual accounts and the annual report. Within the general Assembly there is a Financial Commission that thoroughly studies the financial reports in preparation of each General Assembly. In 2012 the General Assembly did not only fulfil its formal obligations but also discussed the role of Vredeseilanden in Belgium. In which way can Vredeseilanden help fostering the societal debate about sustainable food and agriculture in Belgium? The General Assembly of December zoomed in on current forms of the volunteers’ commitment by listening to testimonies.

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Board Members: Magda Aelvoet, Leen Bas, Patricia Grobben, Roosmarijn Smits, Annelies Van Raemdonck, Lieven Denys, Alfons Vaes, André Van Melkebeek. Three new members joined the Board: Marc Bosmans, Arnout De Smet and Hilde Van Ongeval. In the course of 2012 Marleen Iterbeke resigned from the Board.

President of the Board: Alfons Vaes.

You will find a detailed presentation of the members of the Board at: www.vredeseilanden.be/over-vredeseilanden/de-mensen/raad-van-bestuur.

Board members are appointed for a period of 4 years. The mandate can be renewed for an unlimited number of times.

The Board is in charge of the general management and determines the strategy of the organisation.

The decisions of the Board are based on a number of core values: sustainability, international cooperation, inclusive thinking, innovation, ... The Board checks the performance of the organisation with regard to sustainability, both in practical decisions (such as the transformation of the office building into sustainable premises) and in options within the programme (with regard to content and finances).

The Board delegates the operational responsibilities to the Executive Management of the organisation. The President and all other Board members are volunteers. They receive no payment for their mandate and neither have an executive function within the organisation. The members of the Executive Management are on the Vredeseilanden payroll.

The Board has integrated the principles of good governance into its Articles of Association and Rules and Regulations. The latter were revised in 2011. The Board based itself upon the text ‘Goede praktijken en aanbevelingen voor het besturen van Social Profit organisaties’ (Good Practices and Recommendations for the Management of Social Profit Organisations) of the King Baudouin Foundation. Clauses were included with regard to the necessary competences, procedures for avoiding conflicts of interests, decision making methods, evaluation procedures, ...

Members of the Board are involved in certain operational working groups (e.g., the working group currently drafting the new strategic plan for the next six years). Also – in addition to the Executive Management – staff members are regularly invited to meetings of the Board to discuss their work.

This leads to a direct information flow from Vredeseilanden staff to the Board.

Within the Board there is an Audit Committee. In 2012 the Audit Committee did not carry out any internal audit. For the preparation of the strategic planning 2014-2020 various assessments were planned. These focused rather on the programme, but also dealt with various management aspects.

Assessments took place in Uganda/Tanzania (February), in Nicaragua/Honduras, in Indonesia, on a limited scale in the Andean region, in the DR Congo, in Senegal and there was also an assessment of our activities in Belgium.

The results of the evaluations were monitored by the Executive Management. On this basis a programme was proposed for internal audits for 2013.

A first internal audit will take place in the DR Congo, to screen our procedures on fraud sensitivity and to develop a programme for fraud prevention. After this test there will be actions on fraud prevention in all offices in the South. In 2012 we uncovered two cases of corruption. A financial officer of the antenna in South Kivu (DR Congo)evaded paying local taxes. The officer was dismissed on the spot. Furthermore there was a problem at Nicaraocoop, a partner organisation of VECO Mesoamérica. A fraud problem was detected with the new Nicaraocoop management. This was discovered by the Board of the cooperative and they have immediately pressed for measures. Meanwhile Vredeseilanden has stopped its collaboration with Nicaraocoop until everything has been settled.

The regional office for East Africa in Kampala was the target of a brutal burglary, during which the thieves murdered the guard. There were immediate legal and police interventions, but until now the perpetrators have not been identified.

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Council of Sages The Council of Sages consists of certain people who have made a special contribution to Vredeseilanden (former Board members, Vredeseilanden pioneers, etc). They are appointed by the Board and meet once a year. The Council embodies the organisation's history and advises the Board, primarily on matters relating to the values and objectives of our association (such as its mission and vision). In December 2012, the Council of Sages met to examine how the values of the organisation can be translated in a contemporary way in our communication.

Executive Management Luuk Zonneveld: General manager (until 1 December 2012); Marianne Vergeyle: Manager Internal Services and Programme Manager North (starting from July 2012; Roos Peirsegaele: Programme Manager South; Lieve Vercauteren: Programme Manager North (until July 2012).

In August Luuk Zonneveld announced that he would be leaving Vredeseilanden to go and work at BIO, the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries. Meanwhile he is assuming the office of Director. Lieve Vercauteren was appointed as Director at BioForum on 1 July 2012. Vredeseilanden is sending its sons and daughters out into the world ...

Due to the departure of the Programme Manager North, the Executive Management was reduced from 4 to 3 persons from July 2012 onward. The activities in the North are henceforth steered by the Manager Internal Services. The Executive Management is working as a collectively responsible body and meets every two weeks.

The Board started a recruitment procedure for a new General Manager and subsequently appointed Luc Bonte. He started working at Vredeseilanden on 1 April 2013.

Working on quality The Belgian NGO Federation has selected the EFQM management model as a quality model. EFQM is an internationally recognized quality model that links the activities of an organisation to the results of those activities. EFQM is meant to promote an organisation’s growth and development, it is an ‘improvement-oriented’ model. The focus is on achieving balanced and proper results that meet the expectations of all stakeholders of an organisation: target groups (partner organisations and farmers in North and South), male and female staff members, society and key stakeholders (members of General Assembly and Board, volunteers, private and institutional donors.) In 2012 Vredeseilanden was recognized a first time in this process: we achieved the C2E-label (Committed to Excellence). There was an external audit by B-Best, resulting in a positive assessment of the improvement projects. This appreciation was quite heartwarming, and now we are strongly motivated to continue working in 2013 for achieving the R4E label (Recognized for Excellence).

One of the improvement projects was an efficiency check of the supporting services. For this we got the support of PWC, who pro bono carried out a ‘benchmarking’ and a qualitative analysis.

A number of important recommendations were formulated regarding the reorganisation of the financial support, the professionalization of the approach of new events within our fund raising activities and a number of ‘quick wins’.

The concept of working with improvement projects has been integrated in the annual objectives for 2013 and every department of the head office has formulated at least one improvement path.

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Staff of the head office The list of staff members of Vredeseilanden can be found at the Vredeseilanden website. There are 165 people working at Vredeseilanden, divided among the head office in Leuven and the regional offices in the South. (www.vredeseilanden.be/over-vredeseilanden/de-mensen/medewerkers) Staff of the regional offices The regional managers are Amidou Diallo: Togo/Benin/Burkina Faso/Niger; Rose Adokorach (until September 2012), Immaculate Sekitto (ad interim) (starting from September 2012): East Africa; Rogier Eijkens: Indonesia; Roos De Witte: Central America; Hanneke Renckens: Andean region; Eduardo Sabio: Vietnam; Ibrahim Ouedraogo: Senegal/Gambia; AndrĂŠ Mayengo: East Congo.

General Council and workshops The General Council is an advisory body whose main responsibility is to support policy-making. It consists of the regional managers, the members of Executive Management and head office department heads. The General Council discusses the implementation of decisions taken by the Board or Executive Management. The Council also discusses about strategies and goals. The aim is always consensus-building.

In 2012 the staff of the regional offices and head office met for exchange during the autumn General Council (October 2012). The main objective was to bring together all the elements for the 2014-2020 strategic planning. The strategy for the coming years was refined on the basis of the assessments, the description of flagship projects and some workshops. The renewed strategy was explained, discussed and internalized during the General Council.

The General Council was preceded by a workshop for all SACD and advocacy coordinators from the South, so that the colleagues working on ‘topical’ items were also closely involved in strategic planning. At the same time the regional coordinators met in a workshop on coaching during a process of change.

Regional/National Councils and International Forum Each regional office of Vredeseilanden gets the support of an advisory board. These Regional (or National) Councils consist of 6 to 8 relevant persons who meet at least once a year on a voluntary basis. They give their views on the social developments in a given country/region, advise on and discuss the programme and the programme reporting and implementation, future challenges, etc., and formulate recommendations on how Vredeseilanden can improve its programmes, including on sustainability in all its aspects.

In 2012 all regional offices and the head office organised Regional Forums. There we checked with various stakeholders the Vredeseilanden activities and strategy within the current societal evolutions. The opinions, contributions and conclusions of all those Regional Forums were included in the discussions on the 2014-2020 strategic plan to provide input for this plan with regard to the context analysis.

It had been intended to hold an International Forum in 2012. The International Forum is the international emanation of the advisory boards. Once every 5 to 6 years, a diverse group of people from the South and from Belgium come together: members of the Regional/National Councils, the partners with whom we collaborate, volunteers, Board members, staff members and other relevant stakeholders of Vredeseilanden. The objective is to assess the implementation of the Vredeseilanden strategy over the past 5 to 6 years and to formulate a strategy proposal for the 6 years ahead.

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The quality level of the discussions within the Regional Forums was so high, that the June General Assembly came to the conclusion that an International Forum would not provide a substantial added value to the international context analysis. Therefore the planned International Forum was cancelled.

An overview of the organisation’s values and principles as well as a detailed description of the composition and competences of the various bodies can be found in the Vredeseilanden Rules and Regulations. These can be found on our website: www.vredeseilanden.be/missie.

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50

The social balance of Vredeseilanden

SUSTAINABLE PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT Vredeseilanden tries to develop an employee-centred sustainable staff management. We want to manage our employees and their talents, capacities and energy in a sustainable way. Just like sustainability at the global level means using resources without depleting them for future generations. Even better: just like cradle-to-cradle wants that the use of resources can yield new resources or lead to the self-renewal of resources. We also want to treat the resources that are our team members, with their energy, their potential, their competences, their talents, their commitment and dedication in the same way. We do not want to use them up, but on the contrary we want them to permanently regenerate and renew themselves within Vredeseilanden.

We want team members to work together on the basis of their talent and 'liking', so that everybody can add some value by doing the things he or she is good at. If all people involved do what they are good at, it will be possible to achieve results with a lot of pleasure, in a powerful setting. In such conditions, energy starts to flow. In such a team everyone knows their own strength and the strength of their team members.

The cooperation is strongly stimulated by the open office spaces and there is room for informal and formal exchange, mutual fertilisation of ideas and also a lot of humour.

Introduction Everything starts upon recruitment of a new staff member. Every new staff member receives an induction binder with information on all aspects of working for Vredeseilanden: the mission, historical background, information sheets on the organisation’s themes, practical information about ordering sandwiches for lunch, ... An induction programme is developed for the first 1 to 2 weeks, during which the new staff member can talk to colleagues who give explanation about their department, their functioning, and the theme they are working on. A good induction ensures that a new staff member quickly feels at home in the organisation and that he/she can fairly easily settle into the new job.

In 2012 we organised induction for 1 new staff member of the head office, 1 new regional coordinator and 2 BTC juniors.

Career and development Throughout the career at Vredeseilanden we pay constant attention to every employee’s personal development. We conduct an annual performance interview with every staff member as well as an evaluation interview at the end of the year. During those interviews we also pay much attention to general and job-related skills and the targets for the next year. We always check whether any training would be needed for the development or improvement of specific skills or for the achievement of the annual targets.

Vredeseilanden keeps trying to permanently offer its employees at all levels in the North and the South, both individually and collectively, the opportunity to develop themselves. Vredeseilanden wants to be a flexible organisation, where people adapt themselves to new visions and long-term objectives of the organisation and where mutual learning is stimulated. Therefore ‘learning’ is explicitly included as an objective in the Vredeseilanden strategic plan.

In 2012 Vredeseilanden spent about EUR 51,000 on training, education and workshops for staff members at the head office and in the South. Both executives, topical programme staff and administrative staff have access to training courses.

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Most of the courses are grouped into the following themes: • strategic planning • management and leadership • language courses • sustainable agriculture At the head office a total of 1,530 hours (formal as well as informal) training were provided in 2012.

That means an average of 31.5 hours per person.

There were also 3 internal training days for all staff members of the head office, with regard to the strategic change process. In this way everybody was involved and informed of the lines of reasoning, new terminology, ...

Next to the formal training, briefings on various topics are organised on a regular basis for the staff members at the head office in the course of the year. In 2012 there were 23 briefings on new evolutions in the programmes in the South and in Belgium, IT, the annual campaign, fund raising activities, the results of traineeships, projects and management decisions, ...

Well-being Vredeseilanden makes efforts to guarantee the well-being at work of its employees. We strive for a healthy work-family balance. Employees can work flexible hours depending on their personal needs.

They are entitled to take parental leave, time credit and a career break.

We strive for equality in all areas. The organisation operates no age, gender, nationality, religion or other discrimination. The standing employment conditions explicitly state that the terms of employment at Vredeseilanden apply to all employees. The personnel manager is responsible for ensuring that discrimination does not occur. Staff members are notified of this fact during training and induction. Non-discrimination is the guiding principle including in hiring, programme-setting and choosing partner organisations.

Whenever a staff member feels he or she gets an unequal treatment or is the victim of unwanted acts, ... he or she can contact one of the two mediators appointed at the head office or the mediator of the regional office. The mediators receive the complaints of the victims, give advice, offer shelter, offer help and assistance to the victim and try to mediate. The identities of the mediators are communicated via the standing employment conditions that are given to every new head office or regional office employee.

Last year, no complaints were filed with the mediators. In the South, mediators also act as prevention advisors. The standing employment conditions also provide measures for the prevention of TB, HIV/aids, etc.

In 2012, there were 82 sick days in total. There were no industrial accidents.

The organisation prides itself on its openness and acceptance of constructive criticism voiced through the usual channels of meetings, briefings and discussions. Complaints and comments can also be discussed or raised in the performance and evaluation interviews.

As we did in previous years, Vredeseilanden invested in informal moments, like an annual staff outing, a Christmas party, a farewell celebration upon retirement, team activities... In the South too personnel events are organised, for example, teambuilding activities, New Year parties, ...

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Social consultation Vredeseilanden employs less than 50 employees at the head office and therefore is not obliged to establish a Works Council or a Trade Union Representation.

2 official staff representatives have been appointed on behalf of the personnel meeting, one of them a trade union representative. The staff representatives organise the personnel meetings. In 2012, there was one personnel meeting.

Policy The personnel manager draws up HR policies and determines the daily management. The Board validates policy documents, and management decisions are validated by the Executive Management.

General Council October 2012

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SOCIAL BALANCE (as per 31/12/2012) In this section we provide some figures and explanations about the Vredeseilanden headcount (situation at 31/12/2012).

The figures for the head office were gathered on the basis of statistics and reports from the digital payroll programme. The figures for the South were taken from the audit reports.

Headcount For some years we have been focusing on recruiting more local people. This trend continues. In 2012 67% of the Vredeseilanden staff members were local collaborators.

In Belgium all employees are hired under permanent contracts. The only exception is made for temporary assignments, for which fixed-term contracts or job-specific contracts are drafted.

In the South it is sometimes usual to issue fixed-term contracts that can be extended several times.

Number of staff members South Expatriates Local collaborators 51 15 (8,8%) 103 49 14 (8,3%) 105 48 12 (6,9%) 113 49 19 (5,3%) 111 48 7 (4,3%) 110 Number of full-time equivalents Head office South Expatriates Local collaborators 42,59 15 103 41,14 14 105 39,69 12 113 40,62 19 109,5 41,91 7 107,5 Haed office 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Total 169 168 173 169 165 Total 160,59 160,14 164,69 159,12 158,41

Number of staff members split up according to gender and age1 Head office man woman 0 1 3 4 1 6 2 4 2 2 6 3 3 5 0 4 2 0

total 1 7 7 6 4 9 8 4 2

Head office 18-25 26-30 31-35 36-40

Age

age 18-25 26-30 31-35 36-40 41-45 46-50 51-55 56-60 +60

41-45 46-50 51-55 56-60 +60 0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Number

Man

Woman

1 For the local collaborators in the South, no figures split up according to age are available for 2012. We will include those figures as from next year.

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Expatriates man woman 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 1 1 0 0 1

Expatriates

total 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 1 1

18-25 26-30 31-35 36-40 Age

age 18-25 26-30 31-35 36-40 41-45 46-50 51-55 56-60 +60

41-45 46-50 51-55 56-60 +60 0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Number

Man

Local collaborators South man woman 71 39

Woman

Local collaborators South

39% 71%

Man

Woman

Staff turnover In 2011 3 students were employed in holiday jobs at the head office and some people were hired to perform temporary tasks. 2 expatriates reached the end of their contracts and were not replaced by new expatriates, but by local collaborators.

Head office IN OUT

08 10

South Expatriates 0 2

Local collaborators 17 19

Turnover according to gender1 Head office: in 2012 an equal number of men and women left the office. There is a preponderance of women over men among the newly recruited staff members.

In 2012

Out 2012

2 5

5

6

Man

Woman

Man

Woman

1 For the local collaborators in the South, these figures are not available for 2012. We will include those dates as from next year.

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Expatriates: in 2012 no new expatriates were hired. The 2 expatriates who left the organisation were men.

Turnover according to age1 Head office: in 2012 mainly young people younger than 30 years started working for Vredeseilanden.

The people who left the organisation were more spread among the different age categories.

Out 2012: age

18-30

18-30

31-40

31-40 Age

Age

In 2012: age

41-50

51-60

41-50

51-60

+60

+60 0

1

2

3

4

5 Number

6

7

8

9

10

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Number

Expatriates: the 2 expatriates who ended their service in 2012 were both situated in the age category of 41-50 years.

Gender balance At the head office Vredeseilanden employs far more women than men: 63%.

Women are also well-represented at executive and managerial level. 5 of the 8 executive functions are taken up by women.

There is much more part-time employment among the female staff members. In 2012, 6 men were working on a part-time basis, against 17 women. Part-time employees receive the same extralegal benefits as full-time employees. No distinction is made.

All head office employees fall under the scope of the Collective Labour Agreements of the Joint Committee 329.01. This is the Joint Committee for the Socio-Cultural Sector, to which belongs the subsector of development cooperation.

The gender ratio among the expatriates is currently out of balance. In 2012, there were 2 women working as expatriates, against 5 men.

More men than women are employed as local collaborators in the South: 64%. There are 71 men and 39 women.

Men and women get a 100% equal pay. Men and women receive the same wage if they hold the same function. This applies to the head office, the expatriates and the local collaborators.

Wage multiplier and extralegal benefits Also with regard to extralegal benefits, there is full equality between men and women and between employees on permanent and fixed-term contracts.

The head office staff are awarded luncheon vouchers, group insurance, health insurance and reimbursed travel expenses.

In the South, extralegal benefits include health insurance, life insurance, pension, 13th month bonus, extra leave, travel allowance, etc.

The head office operates a decent wage multiplier of 1 to 3, meaning that the highest wage equals 3 times the lowest wage. The trade union recommended decent wage multiplier is 1 to 4.

There is no performance bonus or any other bonus system, including in the South.

1 For the local collaborators in the South, these figures are not available for 2012. We will include those dates as from next year.

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Rejuvenation The average age of the staff at the head office is 43 years. We try to work on rejuvenation and do so upon recruiting new staff members and by working with trainees. Trainees offer innovation and rejuvenation to the organisation. They bring in new ideas, visions, working methods and topical and up-to-date knowledge. Trainees can also provide an academic input as a supplement to the knowledge of the field. Moreover trainees form a good recruitment base to find new staff members.

Working with trainees provides the opportunity to make young people grow and develop within the organisation or the North-South sector. We provide traineeships at the head office and in the South.

In 2012, we had trainees within the HR department, the movement team and the communications department.

Since 2009, Vredeseilanden is also involved in the junior programme of BTC (Belgian Technical Cooperation). This programme offers young people the opportunity to acquire initial working experience in development cooperation. These young people work for minimum 1 year and maximum 2 years in a BTC project or a Belgian NGO programme. In 2012, 6 BTC juniors worked in Senegal, Vietnam, Ecuador, Uganda/Tanzania, Peru and Benin.

Volunteers Each year some 10,000 volunteers hit the streets in January to ask for attention and support for farmers’ families in the South. Next to that many volunteers dedicated themselves to Vredeseilanden in the course of the year 2012: • 363 core volunteers acted as Vredeseilanden’s ambassadors in their communities.

• 2 young people went on a trip to Indonesia and provided entertainment in secondary schools; 1 volunteer provided entertainment in primary schools; 7 youngsters went on a trip to Indonesia.

They are active as volunteers on the occasion of various Vredeseilanden events and they tell the story of Vredeseilanden in their community.

• 6 volunteers helped with translation, editing, lay-out work and other tasks at the head office.

• 12 people worked at the head office to support fundraising events.

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58

Vredeseilanden’s environmental policy

WORKING FOR A SMALLER ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT 1. Environmental performance head office The past few years Vredeseilanden’s head office strongly focused on some aspects of its environmental policy: reducing the consumption of water, gas and electricity; strongly encouraging the use of public transport; using eco-friendly detergents, increasing the share of fair trade and organic products in our catering.

In 2011, we remodelled our whole office building in the Blijde Inkomststraat into a sustainable office. We are now reaping the fruits.

2009 2010 2011* 2012

Water consumption (in m3) 251 203 149* 116

Electricity (kWh) 32.466 29.755 16.351* 28.435

Natural gas (gj) 8.276 8.242 4.109* 7.434

* 2011 is an atypical year with regard to consumption, since the premises were renovated at that time and we were accommodated some months in a building where the power and gas consumption was included in the rent (so that we have no data for those months).

In comparison to previous years we see a clear reduction in the water consumption. Toilets are flushed with rainwater. The water consumption is only due to the drinking fountains and the use in the kitchen. In case of rainwater shortage in the rainwater tanks, we shift to mains water.

The gas consumption has decreased as well. The shift to a condensing boiler and a totally new heating and air conditioning system has reduced the consumption. We think it is still possible to make further steps, because the system had some teething problems in the beginning.

We only see a slight reduction in the electricity consumption. We had expected much more as a consequence of the investment in energy-saving lighting, the use of thin clients (computers with a very low energy consumption) and the installation of solar panels. Thanks to a very close monitoring of the consumption data we could determine that the relatively high consumption is related to the ventilation and heating system that is powered completely by electricity. This has increased the number of electrical appliances and thus we were not able to achieve the reduction of power consumption we had hoped for. Meanwhile we have carried out some adaptations, such as the ventilation at fixed points in time in view of a more significant decrease of consumption.

Sustainable work also takes commuting into account. Working from home is of course possible. 95% of staff uses public transport or cycle to work. Our offices are close to the station (10 minutes walking), and there is a shower for bikers.

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Travelling per plane is still necessary for our operation. It is essential for an international organisation to have regular contact between colleagues in various continents. We use skype as much as possible to exchange information, but the internet connections in most countries where we work are too unstable to organise video conferences (certainly in Africa). Moreover face-to-face exchanges are so much more valuable. Therefore travelling from North to South and between the offices in the South is necessary. We are aware of the fact that this strongly increases our ecological footprint and we try to combine as many assignments in one air trip. We also commit ourselves to compensate all air travelling trips from the head office (by staff and volunteers). The emissions are calculated (using the formula of www.compenco2.be) and converted into an amount of money that is spent in a

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specific Vredeseilanden project in Tanzania. In that project we try and find together with Masai cowherds solutions to preserve the soil fertility of their land and to better manage the water in dry periods.

2010 2011 2012

Air trips (km per year) 639.664 722.910 531.445

CO2 emissions (kg) 237.800 247.345 180.500

CO2 compensation (euro) 5.409 6.470 4.061

The table on page 62 provides an overview of all environmental indicators. For the first time we have added the data of the head office to those of the regional offices in the South, to enable a better comparison.

Explanation per category Paper: the bulk of the paper that we buy is used for mailings with information to the sympathizers.

We try to limit this. 2011 was an exceptional year due to the remodelling and the temporary housing.

We decided to use up our stocks and to buy as little additional paper as possible. For 2013 we expect an increase due to one prospection mailing to a large address file.

Office supplies: in 2012 we bought only little office supplies like writing materials, notebooks, ... The major part of the purchases concerned printing toners. We decided to start buying more original toners again instead of recycled toners. The recycled toners caused repeated technical problems with the printers.

Food products: if a food product is available in a version with the bio or fair trade label, we always chose to buy that labelled version. Last year, we also paid particular attention to this while purchasing food products for events.

Cleaning products: all maintenance products that we buy are of the Ecover brand, except for some products where an environmentally friendly alternative is difficult to find. We constantly look out whether it is possible to replace certain products by an ecological version.

Water and energy: cf. above Mobility: a company bike is available for the staff members. The large majority of the collaborators use public transport for their commuter trips. This positive trend is also winning ground for professional travelling.

2. Environmental performance regional offices in the South Last year we reported about the environmental performance of our regional offices for the first time.

We also set a baseline, in order to have a benchmark for measuring a number of environmental indicators. This year we are able to make a first comparison. You can find the data in the table on page 62-63.

For some figures we can see a big difference between 2011 and 2012, for which we cannot really give a good explanation. This certainly has to do with the fact that the regional offices do not yet gather the data in a systematic way and that it sometimes is not clear on which figures last year’s data were exactly based. We certainly have to refine this together with our collaborators in the South.

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We also asked to formulate again objectives for the coming year and we observed that these are not very ambitious, on the contrary. In general the energy costs for transport are expected to rise nearly everywhere. This has to do with the strategic planning, which requires a lot of consultation with our partner organisations and hence a lot of travelling. The office in Dakar aims to achieve serious savings on all aspects. This is mainly due to the merger of two offices that is planned for late 2013.

Most offices started using energy-saving light bulbs, others have developed policies regarding the use of air-conditioning. Yet we observe that the efforts for more environmental sustainability are interpreted differently among the colleagues in the South. Using a four-wheel drive, working in (too strongly) cooled offices,... are status symbols and difficult to change from a cultural point of view.

Sometimes, safety also plays a role in the choice of a vehicle. It is therefore very important to make the topic debatable all the time.

Explanation per category Paper: in Africa, Vietnam and Indonesia there is hardly or no recycled paper. In de Andean region recycled paper is available, but at this moment the cost price is 45% higher than for non-recycled paper. In Mesoamérica there is one company supplying recycled paper now, and additional efforts are made to limit the paper consumption. The two offices in West Africa anticipate to reduce the paper consumption, because the two offices will merge into one regional office.

Office supplies: the quality of recycled toners is very bad in the South. Therefore we chose not to use them. In 2012 the Dakar office shared its office and printer with another NGO; this explains the increase for 2012. In the DR Congo they tried to re-fill their toners, but the quality is very bad. In Vietnam they use a system of toner re-filling.

Food products: there are considerable differences between the various offices. Some offices do not provide any drinks or snacks for their staff. They only provide catering on festive occasions or during team events. Other offices do provide coffee, tea and snacks every day. In Latin America organic and fair trade products are better known; in Africa it is hardly possible to buy labelled food. VECO Mesoamérica only serves organic coffee from a partner organisation. In Vietnam there is officially certified or labelled food, but these are expensive, imported products. In the DR Congo they only buy ‘organic’ products, even though they are not labelled, since the farmers have no access to pesticides or chemical manure.

Maintenance products: in many cases local soaps are used, but these do not have an eco-friendly label. In Nicaragua environmentally friendly products exist. The office in Dakar works with a cleaning company, which does not use eco-friendly products.

Energy: in the DR Congo there is no electricity grid, so all energy comes from diesel generators. In 2012 there were still a lot of electricity breakdowns in Senegal. In nearly all offices they use energysaving bulbs. In Vietnam and Mesoamérica there are additional efforts for making the staff more aware of the need to save energy.

Mobility: in the Andean region the area where the programme is implemented is at least 520 km away from the regional office. For that reason plane trips are necessary for all programme visits. In Indonesia the number of plane trips is very high as well. In both offices the programme area is far away from the office. The office itself has a central position, so that it is easy to travel to all programme areas. For 2013 all countries expect to consume more energy for transport because the strategic planning will require a lot of travelling.

61

Head office

VECO Andino

VECO Congo

2010

2011

2012

Target 2013

2011

2012

Target 2013

2011

2012

Target 2013

180.000

97.500

120.000

110.000

23.000

30.500

35.000

45.000

27.000

25.000

100%

100%

100%

100%

13%

10%

14%

0%

0%

0%

Paper Number of sheets A4-paper % recycled paper Number of sheets A4-paper for mailings

1.057.853 1.046.902 1.009.496 1.300.000

Office supplies Number of toners or cartridges

19

21

13

12

9

16

18

91

24 toners 24 toners and 32 and 26 cartridges cartridges

% recycled/refillable toners

100%

80%

45%

30%

0%

25%

30%

0%

0%

% ecological office supplies with regard to the total

75%

50%

45%

50%

n

n

n

n

97%

90%

97%

97%

27%

39%

45%

100%

100%

100%

470

462

480

33

266

255

Food products % food products with organic and fair trade label (calculated according to purchase prices) Maintenance products Amount for maintenance products (in EUR)

free by the firm Boma

Amount for eco-friendly maintenance products (in EUR) % ecological maintenance products

free by the firm Boma 85%

88%

90%

95%

0

120

0

0

0

0%

25%

0%

0%

0%

86

80

n

Water Annual consumption (in liter)

149

n

116

116

Annual consumption in m3 per person (in liter)

3,1

n

2,4

2,4

0

0

Bottled water bought (in liter) Bottled water bought per person (in liter) Use of rain water

46,86

48

48

0

0

n

196

196

n

84

n

no

no

yes

yes

no

no

no

no

no

no

171,7

n

154,8

150

8,7

11,5

0

0

0

n

256

270

n

5.140

5.400

343

400

29.755

28.435

22.000

n

592,3

440

Energy Gas (gj per person per year) Petrol/diesel (in liter) Petrol/diesel per year per person (in liter)

52,29

Electricity (in kWh)

Electricity per year per person (in kWh)

619,8

Energy saving measures

thin clients

Temperature airco

renovation no head specific office measures

1.000

adjustment heating and ventilation system

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

yes

yes

yes

yes

28,44

30

654

6.797

7.500

all electricity from diesel generators

755

833

all electricity from diesel generators

lowlowenergy energy light light bulbs and bulbs and energy energy saving saving computers computers

none

n/a

lownew energy batteries light to bulbs and optimize energy invertor saving computers

n/a

n/a

Waste Waste per person per year (in kg) Separate waste collection or recycling?

Amount of refuse remaining after separation of recyclable elements/person/year (in kg)

7

6

8

7

Amount of Plastic, Metal and Beverage carton per person per year (in kg)

1

1,1

0,6

0,6 0,8

n

n

n

3

n

n

paper

paper

paper

no

no

no

Amount of paper waste per person per year (in m3)

0,8

1,5

0,8

Amount of organic waste per person per year (in kg)

15

17,6

12

15

95%

95%

95%

95% 180

150

170

45

63

30%

30%

n

9.338

10.000

34.007

33.515 6

Amount of returnable beverage packaging with regard to total purchase of bottles Mobility Work related trips:

plane trips car (in km) public transport (routes)

Commuting:

car (number of staff members) public transport (number of staff members) bicycle/on foot (number of staff members)

cf. table page 60 54%

49%

46%

51%

70%

70%

n

151

180

20

5,68%

6,43%

5.44%

5,44%

5

4

4

6

6

2

1

4

4

4

6

6

2

1

1

4

3

3

94,32%

93,57%

n = not known/no data

62

94,56%

94,56%

VECO East Africa

VECO Indonesia

VECO Mesoamérica

VECO Vietnam

VECO West Africa Cotonou

VECO West Africa Dakar

2011

2012

Target 2013

2011

2012

Target 2013

2011

2012

Target 2013

2011

2012

Target 2013

2011

2012

Target 2013

2011

2012

Target 2013

99.500

57.500

50.000

10.800

12.000

12.000

36.500

32.500

30.500

15.000

16.000

16.000

33.800

38.263

25.500

40.000

30.000

12.500

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

15%

49%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

28

8

4

58

40

40

35

15 toners and 13 cartridges

26

10

11

11

15

8

8

11

15

10

58%

8%

4%

58%

40%

40%

2%

54%

68%

100%

100%

100%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

0%

n

n

n

n

76%

100%

100%

10%

10%

10%

n

15%

20%

0%

0%

0%

676

823

320

266

275

500

711

845

73

73

73

528

857

686

300

111

0

0

0

0

0

0

16,5%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

32%

36%

n

1.170

1.170

720

640

640

352

96

100

n

n

n

n

n

n

no

no

no

1.556

10.269

9.400

n

n

1.200

1.200

no

no

no

75

75

4.832

5.500

34.100

34.100

312

290

1.404

1.300

212

43

8

none

lowenergy light bulbs and energy saving computers

n

26°

26°

n

25°

25°

1,5

0,7

1,5

n

n

n

no

no

no

36,5

171

221

20%

32%

492

n

658

550

35,1

24,26

0% 492

35

35,1

n

5.730

5.730

580

592

400

59,2

40

n

3.137

2.041

396

396

n

409

409

n

275

230

n

313

204

no

no

no

no

no

no

no

no

no

yes

yes

yes

n

9,3

9

n

4,2

0,60

n

6.238

6.150

n

900

900

n

22.006

15.500

n

7.848

3.924

531

4.440

3.875

969

2.616

1.308

13.196

13.100

10.334

9.450

190

59

1.482

1.319

lowenergy light bulbs and energy saving computers and bicycles for short distances

50 9,5%

50%

maintenance by external firm

64,2

64,2

18.000

18.000

130

128,5

128,5

486

lowenergy light bulbs and energy saving computers

idem

idem

none

energy saving computers, promotion of bicycles, sensitization of personnel concerning water and energy use

idem

n

n

20-24°

20-24°

n

25°

25°

n

18.100

1.347

1.810

lowlowlowlowenergy energy energy energy light light light light bulbs and bulbs and bulbs and bulbs and energy energy energy energy saving saving saving saving computers computers computers computers and smaller use of airco 19°

19°

n

n

372

idem

n

n

n

n

n

1

1

0,5

45

30

n

n

n

paper

paper

paper

paper

paper

paper

no

no

no

no

no

no

2

64

24

40

6

7

7

18

8

n

6

2

7

n

6

8

76.000

6.409

12.000

43.183

72.011

72.000

31.500

3.300

n

45.500

132.000

65.000

n

25.472

12.736

72

24

10

24

2.640

3.168

20

46

n

22

16

13

n

1

1

8

3

3

6

4

4

n

16

14

0

1

3

5

5

0

21

7

7

4

5

6

n

0

0

0

0

0

2

3

1

4

1

1

0

0

0

n

1

1

4

12

11

3

2

1

63

Waste: most regional offices obviously have paper waste, organic waste, ... Yet the waste is usually collected on a daily basis in the informal economy, where it is either or not recycled. This is done independently of the official channels.

3. Indirect environmental impact Vredeseilanden’s indirect environmental impact is mainly the result of the activities of the South programme. As stated on page 30 we have included the results of the sustainability screening in 2011 in the CIFs, so that we can also monitor and adjust the environmental impact of our interventions.

64

Fundraising within Vredeseilanden

A MOVING STORY Vredeseilanden receives financial support from many sides, i.e. private persons, foundations, NGOs, governments and companies. Private fundraising ensures the vital resources for the organisation.

After all, on the medium term we want to be less dependent on the Belgian federal government’s subsidies. The head of the fundraising department draws up an annual action plan together with the head office coordinator (member of the Executive Management) and presents this to the Board. Every two months a feedback group meets to follow up on the results and the actions and also to work out new ideas, inspired by conversations with external stakeholders and by research.

For our private fundraising we organise a range of different activities. It is more expensive to organise events, but these often generate a lot of media attention and allow us to broaden our network and /or provide us with an opportunity to involve people more in the Vredeseilanden mission. Some fundraising activities are new and still not at their best, therefore the input/output ratio is not ideal yet, while other activities can thrive on routine and achieve a marvellous input to output ratio. For all the fundraising activities the financial input to output ratio is one to three. This means that for every Euro we spend, we earn three. This is a healthy proportion and complies with the rules of the Foundation for Ethics in Fundraising (see below).

We put an extra amount of effort into our own database. With our ‘donor documents’ we can have a better follow-up of our costs and income, the new donors and the ones who stop donating, the evolution of the number of fixed bank transfers, actions by volunteers, events,...

In September PwC studied the efficiency of the head office, including fundraising. The most important recommendations were that it would be good to apply a more modern, more commercial strategic outlook as a starting point for defining new activities or events and to gather knowledge on managing events within the fundraising team. Moreover, the ‘donor documents’ need to be further automated. Obviously we take these recommendations seriously and we will be working on these aspects.

Very important for fundraising in general – and this is very true for Vredeseilanden – is building relations: from ‘friendraising’ to ‘fundraising’. This is a general element within all of our activities.

From the Usuals...

Many of our donors, for example, have since long become ‘friends of Vredeseilanden’. They support us and think with us. In 2012 we decided to not only inform them better, but also to consult them from time to time or to invite them to events. In some in-depth interviews we asked about their vision on the path Vredeseilanden should be walking in the coming six years.

Despite our enthusiast volunteers, the campaign declined again in January. A very slight decline, but nonetheless a trend we should be taking into consideration. In 2013 we will be inviting a number of stakeholders to help us counter this trend.

The ‘Run to Africa’ (20 km of Brussels) had fewer participants than in 2011. The starting shot was fired at a much earlier hour than in 2011 and this probably had its influence on the number of registrations. Nonetheless, the ‘Run to Africa’ is a big success: the 1,233 participants collected EUR 114,955.

For the race ‘Straight through Hasselt’, we had 80 more runners than last year. However, this is not enough to establish a profitable relation between input and output and we do not see enough potential for growth in this race. We have established a nice track record with some companies in Limburg, and we have a good relation with them, which we hope to continue in a different way.

8 65

... to Classics With the experience of the three Senegal Classic editions, we organised in 2012 the Benin Classic and the Nicaragua Classic. For the first time we managed these classics completely by ourselves. 11 people participated in the Benin Classic, 18 in the Nicaragua Classic. A team of 4 people of the television show ‘Vlaanderen Vakantieland’ accompanied the participants of the Nicaragua Classic and in December a call was published in GDL Magazine to cycle together with Goedele Liekens, a Belgian public figure, in the coming 2013 edition. This media attention contributed to the registration of three times more participants. Taste the adventure by looking at our pictures and films from the 2012 Classics on http://www.vredeseilanden.be/classics In October 2012 we organised a second fundraising dinner. This time as well, we worked together with P.A.R.T.S., the dance academy of Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, and her dance ensemble Rosas.

We were able to receive 150 people who enjoyed an evening of dance magic, the energy of young dancers and the healthy food that powers this energy.

We updated our brochure on bequests and provided every Flemish notary with a few copies. We advertised our bequest system in ‘Netto’ of the newspaper ‘De Tijd’. On December 27th we received a bequest of EUR 246,358. The ultimate proof of confidence…

We guarantee the privacy of our donors. Vredeseilanden uses the personal data only for administrative objectives and to inform the donors about our activities. Personal data are not transmitted to other organisations, institutions or companies. Everybody has at any time the right to have a look at these data, have them changed or removed. In 2011 we did not receive any complaints.

Moreover Vredeseilanden wants to communicate in a clear and transparent way with all its donors about the way in which the collected money is spent. At our website we answer a number of frequently asked questions – www.vredeseilanden.be/faq. Furthermore Vredeseilanden participates in the following initiatives on transparency and accountability: The Vereniging voor Ethiek in de Fondsenwerving (Foundation for Ethics in Fundraising) guarantees the moral quality of the fundraising and the transparency of the accounts. This code also includes the right to information. This implies that donors, collaborators and staff members are at least once per year informed about what is done with the acquired funds. This annual report meets these expectations.

We are obliged to establish a file for the VEF every year. The rating is published on their website.

Donor Info is a database with objective information and the audited figures of aid organisations.

Ngo-openboek is a database on and of the Belgian NGOs. The website shows how money from donations and subsidies is spent.

The project Filantropie.be is an initiative of the King Baudouin Foundation. The website wants to be an indispensable crossroads for the social profit stakeholders, contribute to the transparency of the sector and encourage exchanges between stakeholders.

66

67

68

Financial annual report 2012

FINANCIAL ANNUAL REPORT 2012

INTRODUCTION The present annual report contains a complete financial overview of the entire Vredeseilanden group.

Thus it is possible to provide a correct and full picture of all our activities of the Leuven head office, as well as of our regional offices in the South. Vredeseilanden is one of the few NGOs that is able to present fully consolidated figures.

It is a complex procedure to integrate the figures. To do so, all countries have to report to the head office in a uniform way, according to the current Belgian standards, which may differ considerably from the accounting standards used in the different regions. Subsequently this report is verified by the head office’s financial department. Afterwards local auditors of the international audit company KPMG visit all offices and draft a report on their findings. Eventually the head office is thoroughly audited too and then the Supervisory Board of Vredeseilanden, consisting of Clybouw Bedrijfsrevisoren and KPMG, draws up a final report, following a critical review of all the reports on the various offices.

The financial report consists of three parts: the profit and loss account, the balance sheet and the statutory auditor’s report. The profit and loss account gives an overview of all the expenses and revenues of the organisation over the past year. The balance sheet is an overview of all assets and liabilities of Vredeseilanden as per the last day of the year of reporting. The statutory auditor’s report is an independent opinion about our internal monitoring mechanisms and about the correctness of the figures stated.

We do not only provide a consolidated balance sheet and profit and loss account of the entire Vredeseilanden organisation, but also a detailed description of the head office’s profit and loss account.

In order to report correctly to the general public and our different donors, the Vredeseilanden head office uses analytical accounting, breaking up expenses and revenues at two different levels: the level of the divisions and the level of the donors. The expenses and revenues of our regional offices are at least split up per donor.

After closing the financial year 2012, we can say once more that Vredeseilanden is a financially sound organisation that can face the future with confidence.

9 69

70

Š Jelle Goossens

FINANCIAL ANNUAL REPORT 2012

Breakdown of the expenses per region

Andes Mesoamérica Indonesia Vietnam East Africa DR Congo West Africa (Dakar) West Africa (Cotonou) 0

500.000

2011

1.000.000

1.500.000

2.000.000

2.500.000

2012

1. PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT 1.1.

Analytical profit and loss account of the head office

In contrast with the figures of the consolidated profit and loss account (see Appendix a), the table on page 70-71 provides a breakdown of the head office costs per department. The advantage is that we can clearly indicate how much we effectively spend on the operation of each department and – more specifically – on overhead, fundraising and the achievement of our programme objectives.

Our budget for the financial year 2012 assumed a loss of EUR 193,847: an amount that is slightly less than we planned to spend for the innovation fund . After balancing this fund, we would finally end up with a slightly positive result.

Regarding the expenses, the budget is not overrun anywhere. The expenses for overhead reached 91% of the budget.

For the South programme we are at 86% of our budget. Particularly in Uganda expenses were for a second year in a row lower than budgeted (-37%). This is among other things due to the brutal raid (see page 46) and a number of changes in personnel, preventing or delaying certain activities. In 2013 we will check whether we can shift part of the budget for Uganda to another region.

* The innovation fund is a fund that is part of our capital and reserves and thus is not part of our normal operations (cf. page 76).

71

The 2012 result compared to the 2012 budget and the 2011 result EXPENSES OVERHEAD Direction and executive bodies Preparation costs Kuota and VECO Consultancy HR Finances Secretariat External relations

RESULT 2011

BUDGET 2012

RESULT 2012

%

251.456 4.356 212.932 349.909 164.492 42.059

254.149

226.764

89%

160.745 313.262 136.357 48.044

120.687 308.804 126.046 44.221

75% 99% 92% 92%

TOTAL OVERHEAD

1.025.204

912.557

826.521

91%

FUNDRAISING Fundraising

626.718

735.074

639.515

87%

626.718

735.074

639.515

87%

486.440 354.911 389.214

516.838 335.920 477.538

428.061 275.978 411.551 100.000

83% 82% 86%

1.230.566

1.330.296

1.215.590

91%

336.333 165.449 99.706

490.425 192.948 224.289

311.584 148.491 213.741

64% 77% 95%

601.489

907.662

673.816

74%

441.405 91.853 659.093

555.893 200.000 569.909

482.259 70.760 515.486 133.526

87% 35% 90%

640.909 500.872 2.091.320 1.941.788 1.025.446 916.343 317.837 10.050 925.966 807.427 697.853 222.976

911.088 523.516 1.405.884 2.578.896 1.293.085 1.285.810 516.639 0 1.225.595 1.214.631 1.098.893

753.508 546.265 1.399.970 1.917.672 1.107.119 810.552 496.622 0 995.490 1.141.265 913.691 –48.638

83% 104% 100% 74% 86% 63% 96%

8.156.998

9.475.141

8.115.844

86%

9.950.838

11.708.605

9.991.690

85%

12.833.326

14.686.532

12.673.317

86%

TOTAL FUNDRAISING PROGRAMMES NORTH PROGRAMME North Programme Awareness raising and education Communication Provision of established rights North TOTAL NORTH PROGRAMME SOUTH PROGRAMME COORDINATION OF PROGRAMME EXPERTISE Advocacy SACD PLA TOTAL COORDINATION OF PROGRAMME EXPERTISE Programme management Innovation Fund Expatriates Provision of established rights South COUNTRIES West Africa (Cotonou) West Africa (Dakar) DR Congo East Africa Tanzania Uganda Vietnam Laos Indonesia Mesoamérica Andes Transferred to countries but not expended yet TOTAL COUNTRIES GENERAL TOTAL SOUTH PROGRAMME GENERAL TOTAL EXPENSES

72

81% 94% 83%

FINANCIAL ANNUAL REPORT 2012

REVENUES GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIES EU Project financing Transfer to next year DGD North component Balance Nort component South component Balance South component in countries Balance South component in Belgium Subsidies for overhead costs DGD

RESULT 2011

BUDGET 2012

RESULT 2012

%

25.041 –7.625

25.000 7.625

1.147.009 –139.347 5.020.854

1.111.853 139.347 5.106.574 947.623 113.798 320.871

1.111.851 –107.617 5.106.576 –155.189 320.871

100% –77% 100% 0% –136% 100%

10.000 1.504.181 –407.629 339.840 –194.840 879.944

1.051.387 407.629 184.653 194.840

1.571.961 –207.254 203.699 140.329

150% –51% 110% 72%

4.000 133.826

4.125 187.105

10.250 189.725

248% 101%

43.836 8.000 7.410 3.000 67.104 78.700 220.123 0

41.098 8.000 10.000 3.000 45.000 80.000 194.742 42.800

36.214 0 5.000 50 26.522 58.009 186.033 17.450

88% 0% 50% 2% 59% 73% 96% 41%

8.948.590

10.227.070

8.537.359

83%

267.083 612.832 881.078

281.001 430.437 1.125.791 256.921

281.001 609.594 1.164.191

100% 142% 103% 0%

1.790.993

2.094.151

2.054.786

98%

356.362 723.173 22.551 4.280 111.890 46.105 542.530 46.507

348.000 777.000 40.000

85% 83% 50%

100.000 94.464 560.000 122.000

294.753 645.480 20.166 245.410 126.031 40.650 540.152 121.809

126% 43% 96% 100%

TOTAL REVENUES FROM PRIVATE PERSONS

1.853.398

2.041.464

2.034.451

100%

REVENUES FROM PROVISIONS OF SERVICE

22.954

FINANCIAL REVENUES INTERESTS DIVERSE REVENUES

89.958 79.823

80.000 50.000

72.960 19.633

91% 39%

169.781

130.000

92.593

71%

TOTAL REVENUES

12.785.716

14.492.684

12.719.189

88%

GENERAL RESULT

–47.610

–193.847

45.872

BFS programmes in the North BFS programmes in the South Balance BFS programmes Synergy projects Balance synergy projects Food Aid Balance Food Aid overseas PODDO Flemish Government – VAIS PROVINCES West Flanders Limburg Antwerp East Flanders Flemish Brabant TOWNS AND CITIES SALARY SUBSIDIES (Maribel, Gesco, DAC) Other subsidies (BIM, ...)

TOTAL GOVERNEMENT SUBSIDIES REVENUES FROM NGOs, FOUNDATIONS AND COMPANIES 11.11.11 IFDC FOUNDATIONS, VZWs and NGOs Received locally in the South COMPANIES TOTAL REVENUES FROM NGOs, FOUNDATIONS AND COMPANIES REVENUES FROM PRIVATE PERSONS EVENTS (Loop naar Afrika, Senegal Classic,...)

DONATIONS PROSPECTIONS BEQUESTS MAJOR DONORS PROGRAMME ZUIDDAG/SOUTH DAY FOUNDATION CAMPAIGN DIVERSE REVENUES FUNDRAISING

TOTAL FINANCIAL AND DIVERSE REVENUES

–113.798 318.961

22.879

0% 300%

30.000

73

INNOVATION FUND

Result 2011

Budget 2012

Result 2012

Innovation in the South

91.853

200.000

70.760

TOTAL INNOVATION FUND

91.853

200.000

70.760

% 35%

Analysis of the expenses and revenues t Breakdown of the 2012 expenses

7%

5%

Overhead Fundraising Achieving the objectives

88%

Overhead Fundraising Achieving the objectieves Total

2011 1.007.136 8% 630.331 5% 11.191.867 87% 12.829.334

Budget 2012 912.557 6% 735.074 5% 13.038.901 89% 14.686.532

Achieved 2012 826.521 7% 639.515 5% 11.207.281 88% 12.673.317

Overhead Overhead costs are the general operation and personnel costs of the support services at the head office (secretariat, HR, finances and external relations), of the Executive Management and the managing bodies. In comparison to last year we spent 1% less on overhead. In comparison to budget we spent about EUR 86,000 or also 1% less than planned. The percentage is in any case lower than the assumed 10%. As a fundraising organisation, we are legally liable to keep this percentage under 20%.

Fundraising The fundraising expenses include on the one hand the staff and operational costs for the campaign in January and on the other hand the costs for fundraising throughout the year. The fundraising expenses constitute 5% of the overall expenses: the same percentage as last year and in accordance with the budget.

Expenses related to achieving the objectives This is the total amount of expenses, after deduction of overhead and fundraising costs. These expenses relate to both our activities in the North and in the South. Activities in the North relate to the expenses for the following services and activities: collaboration with companies, campaigns for consumers, guidance of mass caterers, communication and awareness-raising activities and the gathering and diffusion of insights and results of all our programmes. When we talk about activities in the South, we are obviously referring to expenditure in the various countries, but also to expenses related to providing support for those activities in Belgium and the expenses for the expatriates in the South. An extensive overview of all organisations that get support from Vredeseilanden, can be found on page 18-21.

74

FINANCIAL ANNUAL REPORT 2012

t Breakdown of the 2012 revenues

16%

1%

Government subsidies NGOs, foundations and companies Private revenues, including bequests Financial and other revenues

16% 67%

Sources of funding 2011 Government subsidies 8.948.590 70% NGOs, foundations & companies 1.790.993 14% Private revenues, incl. bequests 1.853.398 14% Financial and other revenues 192.735 2% Total 12.785.716

Budget 2012 10.227.070 71% 2.094.151 14% 2.041.464 14% 130.000 1% 14.492.685

Achieved 2012 8.537.359 67% 2.054.786 16% 2.034.451 16% 92.593 1% 12.719.189

Vredeseilanden has four major sources of funding, which we will look at in detail in the following paragraphs.

Government subsidies For the government subsidies, the Federal Directorate General for Development Cooperation (DGD) remains by far our largest source of funding. We mainly receive programme funding and funding by the Belgian Fund for Food Security (BFVZ) and some programmes on the budget line for ‘Synergy’. In addition, we received employment subsidies (‘GESCO’, ‘DAC’ and ‘Sociale Maribel’ – lower social security payments) and subsidies from a number of local governments in Belgium (cf. Appendix e). It is still our objective to depend for less than 70% on government subsidies. Last year we reached 70%, this year 67%.

NGOs, foundations and companies This item includes the payments received from a number of Belgian NGOs and foundations – of which 11.11.11 certainly is the most important one - as well as payments received from a number of NGOs and foundations from other European countries and a contribution from 1 Belgian company (cf.

Appendix d).

Private revenues Private revenues Events Donations Campaign Total

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 53.723 108.650 100.507 111.063 156.903 323.052 356.362 294.753 1.078.667 795.529 853.315 853.765 826.916 862.424 904.120 954.136 694.854 636.336 795.466 636.808 604.611 623.068 588.635 540.152 1.827.244 1.540.515 1.749.288 1.601.636 1.588.430 1.808.544 1.849.118 1.789.041

Bequests

2.657.355

402.178

53.099

232.161

20.000

0

4.280

245.410

This is the third largest source of funding for Vredeseilanden. It mainly includes donations received throughout the year (fixed bank transfers, donations in response to mailings, ...) in combination with the proceeds from our annual campaign and our events. These events are of course the Run for Africa (20 km of Brussels), as well as the Benin and Nicaragua Classics. Next to that we also organised for the second time a charity dinner together with P.A.R.T.S. You can read more about private fundraising on page 65.

75

Because of their exceptional and unpredictable nature, bequests are still mentioned separately. In 2012, we received three bequests. Moreover two bequest dossiers are still being dealt with.

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 0

200.000

Events

400.000

600.000

800.000 1.000.000 1.200.000 1.400.000 1.600.000 1.800.000 2.000.000

Donations

Campaign

Financial and other revenues Obviously we do not spend every Euro that we receive the very next day. That is why we regularly invest surplus cash on the short term in completely risk-free instruments with a guaranteed interest rate. We moreover ensure that these investments are as ethical as possible. These proceeds account for 1% of our total revenues.

1.2.

Consolidated profit and loss account (Cf. annex a)

1.2.1. Expenses Services and various goods (Section 61 accounts) These are expenses related to the operations of both the head office and the country offices.

Salaries, social security contributions and pensions (Section 62 accounts) These are the total wages costs of all staff members, including staff at the Leuven head office, the expatriates and local staff.

Amortizations and provisions (Section 63 accounts) Amortizations are the depreciation of the investments in the current financial year. All investments in the country offices are fully amortised in the year of the purchase. Investments in the head office are amortised over various years, in accordance with the amortisation periods laid down by the Board of Directors.

This item includes a number of provisions for risks and costs. Most of these provisions are related to events taking place in our offices in the South.

Other operating expenses (Section 64 accounts) The major component of this item is, regarding the country offices, the payments to the various partners in the South. For the head offices, these are direct payments to international networks.

76

FINANCIAL ANNUAL REPORT 2012

1.2.2. Revenues Operating income (accounts 70-74) In the consolidated profit and loss account, all ordinary revenues of the organisation are included under this item. They are broken down over three categories: “Subsidies”, “Donations, bequests and membership fees” and “Other operating income”. Most revenues intended for the countries are collected via the head office. Yet there are a number of minor payments from foundations or subsidy providers that the donors pay directly to the regional offices without passing through the head office.

2. BALANCE SHEET The Vredeseilanden balance sheet can be found in attachment b. The balance sheet contains 4 major categories, which will be briefly discussed below. This balance sheet refers to the head office, as well as to the regional offices in the South.

2.1.

Fixed assets

Material fixed assets For the head office, this heading mainly consists of the building in the Blijde Inkomststraat, housing the Vredeseilanden offices. In addition the material fixed assets also contain some smaller items, mainly IT equipment and Furniture.

For the regional offices, this heading is empty. This is due to the fact that they rent their office space. Because of the applicable subsidy rules, the local investments are fully amortized in the year of purchase. For this reason, they do not occur in this summarized balance sheet.

Financial fixed assets The majority of this heading consists of our shares in Alterfin cvba, a cooperative company granting loans to micro-financing organisations and fair-trade companies. The annual dividend we receive as a result of this investment is always converted into extra shares.

Furthermore, we have our share in NewB cvba, a cooperative society that focuses on setting up a new cooperative bank in Belgium, and we have a number of pledges for lease contracts, mainly in the countries.

2.2.

Current assets

Stocks This item includes the stocks of campaign materials at the head office. The value of these stocks has increased slightly compared to last year since we have bought campaign materials for several years.

Financial investments and liquid assets The majority of the investments and liquid assets are held in accounts at the Triodos Bank. This is the consequence of a decision by the Board of Directors to invest our resources as ethically as possible. For our daily transactions we continue to work with the major Belgian banks, however, because there is no real ethical alternative.

In the regional offices in the South there are at times also liquid assets present. These assets are meticulously monitored by the head office’s financial department.

77

Accruals and deferrals This item consists of a number of revenues for 2012 which we have not received yet on 31/12/12.

2.3.

Equity

The equity of Vredeseilanden vzw consists of various parts. We check the different items each year and we make the necessary adjustments.

Social reserves It goes without saying that our organisation needs to have a social fund that is sufficiently large to ensure that in times of grave crisis we can take leave of a considerable number of staff members in a decent way.

Provision for material fixed assets Our balance sheet includes major material fixed assets. These fixed assets mainly consist of our building in Leuven, of which Vredeseilanden is the full owner. This building is essential for the organisation’s operations. If we would not have these fixed assets, our operations would become significantly more difficult. It is therefore essential to cover these fixed assets with equity.

Working capital Our organisation greatly depends on subsidies. It sometimes takes a while getting these subsidies paid. It is common that the government is some 3 months late in paying subsidies. This applies to both the DGD programme and the various cases of the BFVZ (Belgian Fund for Food security).

Vredeseilanden must be capable of continuing its activities during this period and to provide advances to cover, at least, staff and fixed costs. Moreover, the activities in the South should also continue as normally as possible during such a period. The South should not be the victim of the Belgian Government’s payments being 3 months overdue.

Literature tells us that it is common for an organisation to ensure that it can survive for 12 weeks without revenues and to have working capital available during that period. As the payments from the Belgian government, as standard, are between 10 and 12 weeks overdue, a margin of 12 weeks may seem slightly limited, but as our campaign takes place in January, this rather limited margin is compensated for.

We may assume that the social fund is de facto available as working capital, but it is too small to cover the full 12 week period need for working capital. Therefore additional working capital is provided for.

Innovation fund Enterprising farmers’ organisations that want to work in the so-called ‘modern markets’ must be able to quickly and flexibly respond to changes and opportunities. So Vredeseilanden must be able to finance certain activities which are not part of the long-term programme in an equally flexible way.

Therefore, the General Assembly of June 2011 decided to give the existing ‘innovation fund’ a new interpretation and to annually spend EUR 200,000 on it. This fund is entirely financed with equity.

In 2012, we spent EUR 70,760 on innovative projects.

Other dedicated funds If necessary, for other specific situations, a dedicated fund may be set up. The investment fund is such an instrument. Currently, there is no need to create other similar dedicated funds.

78

FINANCIAL ANNUAL REPORT 2012

Non-allocated equity The difference between the current equity, the provision for the material fixed assets, the investment fund and the working capital, is the non-allocated equity. It is a ‘miscellaneous reserve’, available for the operations of the organisation.

Furthermore, some offices in the South have a small amount of equity. This equity results from various local proceeds (no subsidies) which have been accumulated in the past.

The equity now consists of the following:

Equity after distribution of results 2012

Innovation Fund 200.000 €

Miscellaneous Reserve 902.522 €

Additional working capital 1.596.409 €

2.4.

Social Reserve 1.610.924 €

Provision for material fixed assets 941.182 €

Provisions

This category includes a number of provisions for a number of social and fiscal disputes ongoing in a number of countries and, on the other hand, a major provision for the case that subsidies would need to be refunded to the Belgian federal government (DGD). On the advice of our auditors we have increased the amount. Furthermore, in many regions in the South there exist provisions to meet the local social requirements regarding ending contracts or pensions.

2.5.

Creditors

If we compare the debts with the balance sheet total value, we notice that they are very limited.

There are some debts concerning suppliers and some debts concerning social security. In the different countries we usually also find a few debts concerning suppliers or social security. Vredeseilanden does not have any current bank credits.

2.6.

Accruals and deferrals

Here we find the subsidies which have not yet been spent on 31st December 2012 and therefore have been transferred to 2013. This mainly includes the amounts of the DGD programme 2011-13 that have not been spent in 2012 and also some money of the BFVZ programmes that will be spent in 2013.

79

Annex a: CONSOLIDATED PROFIT & LOSS ACCOUNT 2012

I

Operating income

III IV

2012

2012

Codes

Euro

Euro

70/74

12.788.133,37

12.646.229,23

Subsidies

73

10.711.447,70

10.602.220,28

D2.

Membership fees, donations, bequests

73

1.890.112,34

1.890.112,34

186.573,33

153.896,61

60/64

12.803.411,24

12.665.983,77

B. Services and diverse goods

61

3.123.165,51

1.261.178,43

C. Remunerations, social security costs and pensions

62

4.776.240,20

2.905.468,39

D. Depreciation of and other amounts written off on formation expenses, intangible and tangible fixed assets

630

294.573,44

91.344,73

F. Increase (+); Decrease (–) in provisions for risks and charges

635/8

151.626,92

143.740,82

G. Other operating charges

640/8

4.457.805,17

8.264.251,40

Operating profit (+)

70/64

–15.277,87

–19.754,54

Operating loss (–)

64/70

Operating charges

74

Financial income

75

82.552,87

72.960,05

B. Income from current assets

751

72.825,01

72.825,01

C. Other financial income

752/9

9.727,86

135,04

65

27.596,71

7.333,51

V

Financial charges C. Other financial charges

652/9

27.596,71

7.333,51

VI

Profit on ordinary activities (+)

70/65

39.678,29

45.872,00

Loss on ordinary activities (–)

65/70

VII

Extraordinary income

76

24.443,30

0,00

A. Extraordinary depreciation and other amounts written off on formation expenses, intangible and tangible assets

760

0,00

B. Extraordinary amounts written off on financial fixed assets

761

0,00

C. Extraordinary provisions

762

0,00

D. Gain on disposal of fixed assets E. Other extraordinary costs VIII Extraordinary charges IX

763

12.367,62

764/9

12.075,68

66

16.561,99

E. Other extraordinary charges

664/8

16.561,99

Profit of the fiscal year (+)

70/66

47.559,60

Loss of the fiscal year (–)

66/70

CTA to be incl. in fin. result (diff. average-closing rate on current year result)

–24.375,27

CTA to be incl. in fin. result (diff. average-closing rate on current year result)

–6.765,19

CTA to be incl. in fin. result (diff. average-closing rate on current year result)

0,00

Profit (+) / loss (–) of the fiscal year

80

HEAD OFFICE

D1.

E. Other company revenues II

INTEGRATED TOTAL

16.419,14

45.872,00

45.872,00

FINANCIAL ANNUAL REPORT 2012

BENIN

SENEGAL

TANZANIA

UGANDA

DR CONGO

ANDES

MESOAMERICA

VIETNAM

INDONESIA

2012

2012

2012

2012

2012

2012

2012

2012

2012

Euro

Euro

Euro

Euro

Euro

Euro

Euro

Euro

Euro

737.024,99

528.543,05

1.125.477,19

796.575,08

1.553.242,74

907.797,78

1.114.701,19

485.621,85

993.234,91

735.896,85

528.453,05

1.119.632,05

790.836,16

1.551.576,56

896.397,15

1.110.417,55

485.613,12

990.629,57

1.128,14

0,00

5.845,14

5.738,92

1.666,18

11.400,63

4.283,64

8,73

2.605,34

736.761,76

528.453,05

1.105.113,79

808.042,45

1.573.956,00

875.362,66

1.133.189,14

484.030,60

978.793,66

190.056,10

152.526,88

328.953,66

217.608,59

272.679,02

188.697,00

173.063,98

93.710,98

244.690,87

139.761,79

142.069,71

282.951,08

229.319,09

235.984,62

236.708,89

207.542,61

180.970,68

209.318,45

55.047,03

1.496,84

27.763,72

39.818,89

39.625,04

16.754,08

17.023,87

1.783,16

3.916,08 14.030,99

351.896,84

232.359,62

465.445,33

263,23

0,00

20.363,40

115,17

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

115,17 5,38

321.295,88

1.025.667,32

735.558,68

32.435,12 –11.467,37

–20.713,26

47,75

6.847,19

47,75 0,00

2.103,80

14.441,25

772,14

0,00

–18.487,95

6.847,19

369,76

1.440,81

772,14

0,00

17.790,12

0,00

2.467,70

17.790,12

10.159,51

506.837,27

1.591,25 1.440,81

20.363,40 0,00

207.565,78

369,76

5,38 373,02 2.103,80

433.202,69

2.467,70

15.014,76 –11.419,62

–13.866,07

12.075,68

0,00

0,00

0,00 14.441,25

–17.047,14

–104,31

0,00

104,31

10.159,51

0,00

104,31 12.075,68

13.948,62

9.061,03

7.501,34

13.948,62

9.061,03

7.501,34

–11.471,80

30.522,91

656,06

–9.061,03 0,01

0,00

–32.677,76

–656,06

–162,43

–11.471,79

–9.061,03

7.513,42 –13.866,07

–2.317,28

0,00

0,00

14.441,25

–17.047,14

13.866,06

–7.513,41

17.047,14

–14.441,25

254,73

–191,99

–1.037,69

–5.627,81

254,72

–191,98

–1.037,69

0,00

–5.627,81

81

Annex b: THE BALANCE AS OF 31/12/2012 ASSETS

82

INTEGRATED TOTAL 2012 Euro 970.026,94

HEAD OFFICE 2012 Euro 951.593,01

896.374,24 870.042,18 870.042,18

896.374,24 870.042,18 870.042,18

24.063,00 24.063,00

24.063,00 24.063,00

2.269,06 2.269,06

2.269,06 2.269,06

73.652,70

55.218,77

73.652,70 52.000,00 21.652,70

55.218,77 52.000,00 3.218,77

Fixed assets I Preliminary initial expenses II Intangible fixed assets III Tangible fixed assets A. Land and buildings 1. In full property 2. Other B. Plant, machinery and equipment 1. In full property 2. Other C. Furniture and vehicles 1. In full property 2. Other D. Leasing and similar rights E. Other tangible fixed assets 1. In full property 2. Other F. Assets under construction and advance payments IV Financial fixed assets A. Linked companies 1. Participation 2. Progress B. Companies with a participation relationship 1. Participation 2. Progress C. Other financial fixed assets 1. Shares 2. Receivables and guarantees in cash

Codes 20/28 20 21 22/27 22 22/91 22/92 23 231 232 24 241 242 25 26 261 262 27 28 280/1 280 281 282/3 282 283 284/8 284 285/8

CURRENT ASSETS V Amounts receivable after more than one year A. Receivables B. Other amounts receivable VI Stocks and contracts in progress A. Stocks 1. Raw and auxiliary materials 2. Manufacturing goods 3. Finished product 4. Goods purchased for resale 5. Real estate meant for sale 6. Advance payments B. Orders in execution VII Amounts receivable within one year A. Receivables B. Other amounts receivable VIII Investments IX Cash at bank and in hand X Deferred charges and accrued income

29/58 29 290 291 30 30/36 30/31 32 33 34 35 36 37 40/41 40 41 50/53 54/58 490/1

8.405.954,13 31.857,19

6.588.967,00 1.000,00

31.857,19 175.112,00 175.112,00

1.000,00 175.112,00 175.112,00

175.112,00

175.112,00

141.824,39

17.779,56

141.824,39 5.256.341,15 2.412.865,72 387.953,69

17.779,56 5.230.551,31 984.951,07 179.573,06

TOTAL ASSETS

20/58

9.375.981,07

7.540.560,01

FINANCIAL ANNUAL REPORT 2012

BENIN

SENEGAL

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

MESOAMERICA 2012 Euro 1.437,76

0,00 0,00 0,00

0,00 0,00 0,00

0,00 0,00 0,00

0,00 0,00 0,00

0,00 0,00 0,00

0,00 0,00

0,00 0,00

0,00 0,00

0,00 0,00

0,00 0,00

0,00 0,00

0,00 0,00

0,00 0,00

0,00 0,00

15.299,41

1.696,76

0,00

15.299,41 15.299,41

1.696,76 0,00 1.696,76

167.577,63 0,00

2012 Euro 15.299,41

2012 Euro 1.696,76

0,00 0,00 0,00

TANZANIA

UGANDA

DR CONGO

ANDES

2012 Euro

2012 Euro

2012 Euro

2012 Euro

VIETNAM

INDONESIA

2012 Euro

2012 Euro 0,00

0,00

0,00 0,00 0,00

0,00 0,00 0,00

0,00 0,00 0,00

0,00 0,00

0,00 0,00

0,00 0,00

0,00 0,00

0,00 0,00

0,00 0,00

0,00 0,00

0,00 0,00

0,00 0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

1.437,76

0,00

0,00

0,00 0,00 0,00

0,00 0,00 0,00

0,00 0,00 0,00

0,00 0,00 0,00

1.437,76 0,00 1.437,76

0,00 0,00 0,00

0,00 0,00 0,00

76.719,44 0,00

118.899,81 0,00

246.197,25 0,00

289.197,06 0,00

204.914,05 30.857,19

297.873,43 0,00

140.316,76 0,00

323.709,48 0,00

0,00 0,00

0,00 0,00

0,00 0,00

0,00 0,00

0,00 0,00

30.857,19 0,00 0,00

0,00 0,00

0,00 0,00

0,00 0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

12.762,14

22.387,14

7.317,14

14.465,87

47.606,25

21.388,89

15.788,80

5.537,48

25.208,89

12.762,14 0,00 154.815,49 0,00

22.387,14 0,00 49.707,56 4.624,75

7.317,14 0,00 100.358,38 11.224,28

14.465,87 0,00 199.122,69 32.608,69

47.606,25 0,00 241.590,81 0,00

21.388,89 25.789,84 126.878,13 0,00

15.788,80 0,00 159.116,66 122.967,98

5.537,48 0,00 132.786,49 1.992,79

25.208,89 0,00 263.538,44 34.962,14

182.877,04

78.416,19

118.899,81

246.197,25

289.197,06

204.914,05

299.311,19

140.316,76

323.709,48

83

LIABILITIES

EQUITY I

HEAD OFFICE

2012

2012

Codes

Euro

Euro

10/15

5.251.037,67

5.055.083,45

Funds

10

0,00

0,00

A. Starting funds

100

0,00

0,00

IV

Reserves

13

4.394.348,09

4.348.515,25

V

Profit carried forward (+) / loss carried forward (–)

140

840.270,42

660.696,20

16.419,16

45.872,00

Result of the fiscal year head office PROVISIONS VII

A. Provisions for liabilities and charges 1. Pensions and similar obligations 4. Other risks and charges B. Provisions for revocable donations and bequests

CREDITORS A. Financial debtors 5. Other debts B. Trade debtors IX

Amounts payable within one year C. Trade debtors 1. Suppliers E. Taxes, remuneration and social security

708.743,11

491.121,67

708.743,11

491.121,67

160

199.317,59

15.600,57

163/5

509.425,52

475.521,10

0,00

0,00

168

3.416.200,29

1.994.354,89

17

0,00

0,00

170/4

0,00

0,00

174

0,00

0,00

42/48

663.062,49

575.314,02

44

138.275,76

159.750,26

175

440/4

138.275,76

159.750,26

45

313.601,75

289.222,19

1. Taxes

450/3

19.176,32

4.768,56

2. Remuneration and social security

454/9

294.425,42

284.453,63

F. Other amounts payable X

16 160/5

17/49

VIII Amounts payable after more than one year

Accrued charges and deferred income

TOTAL OF LIABILITIES

84

INTEGRATED TOTAL

211.184,99

126.341,57

492/3

48

2.753.137,80

1.419.040,87

10/49

9.375.981,07

7.540.560,01

FINANCIAL ANNUAL REPORT 2012

BENIN

SENEGAL

TANZANIA

UGANDA

DR CONGO

ANDES

MESOAMERICA

VIETNAM

INDONESIA

2012

2012

2012

2012

2012

2012

2012

2012

2012

Euro

Euro

Euro

Euro

Euro

Euro

Euro

Euro

Euro

3.510,33

3.647,65

61.348,22

0,00

6.005,12

9.328,05

50.709,57

1.429,31

59.975,97

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

20.095,40

0,00

0,00

12.069,78

13.667,66

0,00

0,00

14.982,12

12.708,68

43.570,08

0,00

5.750,39

–2.549,74

38.079,60

1.429,31

65.603,78

–11.471,79

–9.061,03

–2.317,26

0,00

254,73

–191,99

–1.037,69

0,00

–5.627,81

1.831,94

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

61.379,17

31.477,19

46.480,31

76.452,83

1.831,94

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

61.379,17

31.477,19

46.480,31

76.452,83

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

30.521,98

30.261,90

46.480,31

76.452,83

1.831,94

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

30.857,19

1.215,29

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

177.534,77

74.768,54

57.551,59

246.197,25

283.191,94

134.206,83

217.124,43

92.407,14

187.280,68

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

0,00

10.581,99

45.591,40

5.331,04

8.188,85

8.427,95

40.174,53

6.931,25

5.081,32

5.857,91

1.808,78

0,00

5.331,04

7.768,52

0,00

0,00

3.595,75

2.581,27

5.857,91

1.808,78

0,00

5.331,04

7.768,52

0,00

0,00

3.595,75

2.581,27

5.857,91

8.184,78

0,00

0,00

420,33

7.891,81

2.047,08

3.335,50

2.500,05

0,00

1.663,83

0,00

0,00

0,00

5.801,83

2.047,08

2.394,97

2.500,05

0,00

6.520,95

0,00

0,00

420,33

2.089,98

0,00

940,53

0,00

0,00

588,43

45.591,40

0,00

0,00

536,14

38.127,45

0,00

0,00

0,00

166.952,78

29.177,14

52.220,55

238.008,40

274.763,99

94.032,30

210.193,18

87.325,82

181.422,77

182.877,04

78.416,19

118.899,81

246.197,25

289.197,06

204.914,05

299.311,19

140.316,76

323.709,48

85

Annex c: STATUTORY AUDITOR’S REPORT The document below is only for information purposes, and it is not a legal translation of the original in Dutch. The original report of the Statutory Auditors can be asked for via info@vredeseilanden.be.

KPMG and Partners Bourgetlaan 40 1130 Brussels

CLYBOUW Bedrijfsrevisoren Oosterveldlaan 246 2610 Wilrijk (Antwerp)

REPORT OF THE STATUTORY AUDITORS TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF VREDESEILANDEN VZW ON THE ANNUAL ACCOUNTS OF THE FINANCIAL YEAR CLOSED ON 31ST DECEMBER 2012

As required by law and the articles of association, we report to you in the context of our appointment as the organisation’s auditors. This report includes our opinion on the annual accounts and the required additional statements and explanations.

Statement on the annual accounts without reservations We have audited the annual accounts of the Vredeseilanden VZW for the financial year closed on 31st December 2012, prepared in accordance with the accounting standards applicable in Belgium, with a balance sheet value of € 9,375,980 and with a profit-and-loss account that shows a profit for the financial year of € 16,416.

The organisation’s executive committee is responsible for preparing the annual accounts. This responsibility includes: designing, implementing and maintaining an internal control on the preparation and fair presentation of the annual accounts so they are free from material misstatements, whether due to fraud or error; selecting and applying appropriate valuation rules; and making accounting estimates that are reasonable given the circumstances.

Our responsibility is to express an opinion about these annual accounts based on our audit. We conducted our audit in accordance with the legal requirements applicable in Belgium and with Belgian auditing standards, as issued by the “Instituut der Bedrijfsrevisoren”. Those auditing standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the annual accounts are free of material misstatements.

In accordance with these auditing standards, we have carried out procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts and explanations in the annual accounts. The selection of these procedures depends on our judgment, which includes an assessment of the risk that the annual accounts contain material misstatements, whether due to fraud or error. In making those risk assessments, we have considered the organisation's internal control on the preparation and fair presentation of the annual accounts, in order to design audit procedures that were appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the organisation’s internal control. We have also evaluated the appropriateness of the valuation rules used and the reasonableness of the accounting estimates made by the organisation, as well as the presentation of the annual accounts taken as a whole. Finally, we have obtained from the executive committee and of the persons in charge of the organisation the explanations and information necessary for our audit. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

86

FINANCIAL ANNUAL REPORT 2012

Report of the Statutory Auditors to the General Assembly of Vredeseilanden VZW on the annual accounts of the financial year closed on 31st December 2012

In our opinion, the annual accounts closed on 31st December 2012 give a true view of the organisation's equity, financial position and results, in accordance with the accounting standards applicable in Belgium.

Additional statement and explanation The organisation’s executive committee is in charge of complying with the Act of 27th June 1921 regarding non-profit organisations, international non-profit organisations and foundations; as well as with the articles of association.

Our responsibility is to include in our report the following additional statements and explanations, which do not have any effect on our opinion about the annual accounts: • Without prejudice to formal aspects of minor importance, the accounting has been done in accordance with the legal and administrative regulations applicable in Belgium.

• Although the executive committee has submitted an annual report, we are unable to make any statements thereon, since this does not form part of the statutory duty of the auditors of associations and foundations.

• As was the case in previous years, the transactions of local Vredeseilanden committees (i.e. in Flanders) have not been included in the organisation’s accounts.

• We do not have to inform you of any transactions done or any decisions taken, which are in breach of the articles of association or of the Act of 27th June 1921 regarding non-profit organisations, international non-profit organisations and foundations.

• Our presentation did not include the systematic examination of the spending and the account of the subsidies received by your association with regard to the subsidizability rules as well as other justification criteria.

Brussels, 30th May 2013 Statutory Auditors

KPMG and Partners represented by Luc Vleck statutory auditor

Clybouw Bedrijfsrevisoren represented by André Clybouw statutory auditor

87

Annex d: LIST OF DONORS* Donor DGD South DGD North Belgian Fund for Food Security Cordaid 11.11.11 IFDC DGD Synergie Wage subsidies Misereor Vais South Day Towns and cities Oxfam Novib BTC National Lottery Koning Boudewijnstichting Talitha Koum Province of West Flanders Stichting Gilles PSO Province of Flemish Brabant EU Fondation de France Province of Limburg KrisKras Province of Antwerp Poddo BIM Netwerk Bewust Verbruiken Soroptimisten Eandis

Amount 5.106.576,16 1.111.851,18 1.067.798,30 888.500,00 281.001,48 232.094,55 203.698,30 181.523,20 151.660,00 98.770,80 86.755,00 79.889,00 70.000,00 67.803,00 50.000,00 47.500,00 35.000,00 32.347,00 20.000,00 19.733,00 16.250,00 15.253,20 13.500,00 8.000,00 5.906,75 5.000,00 4.250,00 2.500,00 1.261,26 1.000,00 459,68

* These lists include all the amounts we have received in our accounts throughout 2012. The overall amount therefore does not correspond to the total amounts in the profit and loss account, since some subsidies are allocated for a next or a previous financial year.

88

Annex e: LIST OF TOWNS* Towns Aalst Aartselaar Antwerpen Bierbeek De Pinte Destelbergen Diest Geel Genk Grimbergen Grobbendonk Halle Herentals Heusden-Zolder Holsbeek Ieper Laarne Lanaken Lubbeek Malle Mechelen Mol Mortsel Nijlen Oostende Oud-Heverlee Rotselaar Schelle Tessenderlo Vorselaar Wichelen Zele Zuienkerke

Amount 3.762,00 6.000,00 4.000,00 3.000,00 425,00 2.518,19 3.000,00 2.250,00 2.378,45 6.059,00 2.340,00 4.522,53 750,00 3.000,00 1.200,00 250,00 610,00 800,00 1.625,00 4.000,00 1.608,00 2.000,00 12.738,60 2.500,00 500,00 2.150,00 2.500,00 235,23 1.500,00 550,00 345,00 722,00 50,00

* These lists include all the amounts we have received in our accounts throughout 2012. The overall amount therefore does not correspond to the total amounts in the profit and loss account, since some subsidies are allocated for a next or a previous financial year.

89

Annex f: IN-KIND DONATIONS We are happy about the support of the following organisations and companies: • Boma Cleaning Services has been providing our head office with all the necessary cleaning products for many years.

• The law firm Eubelius gives us legal advice in our lawsuit against M. Debels and on a number of topical matters.

• The consultancy company PWC pro bono carried out an efficiency survey of the supporting services at the head office.

• The communication agency Boondoggle supports us in developing our campaign and communication strategies.

90

Content index GRI-indicators – NGO Sector Supplement – Level B Application level B Selfassured Standard Disclosures Part 1: Profile disclosures VRR: Vredeseilanden’s Rules and Regulations, to be found on www.vredeseilanden.be/missie (Dutch only) Profile disclosures

Description

Page

Reason for omission

Last year an extensive sustainability screening has been conducted

1.

Strategy and analysis

1.1

Statement from the Director

3

1.2

Description of key impacts, risks and opportunities

30

2.

Organisational profile

2.1

Name of the organisation

2.2

Primary activities

9-10

2.3

Operational structure of the organisation

45-49

2.4

Location of the organisation’s headquarters

94

2.5

Number and name of countries where the organisation operates

17

2.6

Nature of ownership and legal form

2.7

Target audience and affected stakeholders

2.8

Scale of the organisation (employees, volunteers, total income, scope and scale of activities)

2.9

Significant changes during the reporting period regarding size, structure or ownership

/

2.10

Awards received during the reporting period

7

3.

Report parameters

3.1

Reporting period

4

3.2

Date of most recent previous report

4

3.3

Reporting cycle

4

3.4

Contact point for questions

94

3.5

Process for defining report content

4-5

3.6

Boundary of the report

3.7

State any specific limitations on the scope of boundary of the report

3.8

Basis for reporting on joint ventures and outsourced operations

3.9

Date measurement techniques and the bases of calculations

3.10

Explanation of the effect of any re-statements of information provided in earlier reports and the reason for such re-statements

/

3.11

Significant changes from previous reporting periods in the scope, boundary or measurements methods applied in the report

17

3.12

GRI content index

89

3.13

Policy and current practice with regard to seeking external assurance for the report

5

front page

94 12, 18-21 13-15, 54-55 No changes

4 54-55 14 29, 32-35, 60

4.

Governance, commitments and engagement

4.1

Governance structure of the organisation

4.2

Indicate whether the Chair of the highest governance body is also an executive office

46

4.3

Number of members of the highest governance body that are non-executive members

46

4.4

Mechanisms for internal stakeholders and employees to provide recommandations of the highest governance body

45-46

4.5

Linkage between compensation for members of the highest governance body, senior managers and executives and the organisation’s performance

45-46, 52, 59

4.6

Processes in place for the highest governance body to ensure conflicts of interests are avoided

VRR 11

4.7

Process for determining the qualifications and expertise of the members of the highest governance body

No re-statements made

45-49

VRR 11-12

91

Profile disclosures

Description

Page

4.8

Internally developed statements of mission or values, codes of conduct, and principles relevant to economic, environmental, and social performance and the status of their implementation

4.9

Procedures of the highest governance body for overseeing the organisation’s identification and management of economic, environmental, and social performance, including relevant risks and opportunities, and adherence or compliance with nationally and internationally agreed standards, codes of conduct, and principles

4.10

Processes for evaluating the highest governance body’s own performance

4.11

Explanation of whether and how the precautionary approach or principle is addressed by the organisation

4.12

Externally developed economic, environmental, and social charters, principles, or other initiatives to which the organisation subscribes or endorses

4.13

Memberships in associations, coalisations and alliance memberships, and/or national/international advocacy organisations

4.14

List of stakeholder groups engaged by the organisation

4.15

Basis for identification and selection of stakeholders with whom to engage

11-15

4.16

Approaches to stakeholder engagement, including frequency of engagement by type and by stakeholder group

11, 29, 32-35, 48, VRR 5-8

4.17

Key topics and concerns that have been raised through stakeholder engagement and how the organisation has reponded

Reason for omission

VRR 4

VRR 6-12

VRR 10 / 47, 66 14 12-15, 18-21 This exercise is executed by the development of the new policy plan

32-35

Standard Disclosures Part 2: Disclosures on Management Approach (DMAs) DMAs

Description

DMA PE

Management Approach on Program Effectiveness

DMA EC

Management Approach on Economic Aspects

DMA EN

Management Approach on Environmental Aspects

DMA LA

Management Approach on Labour Aspects

Page

Remarks

29, 46 10, 65-66, 69-74 59, 61 51-53, 57

DMA HR

Management Approach on Human Rights Aspects

DMA SO

Disclosure on Management Approach on Society Aspects

12, 46

52

DMA PR

Disclosure on Management Approach on Product Responsibility

65-66

Standard Disclosures Part 3: Performance Indicators Program effectiveness Indicator

Description

Page

NGO1

Processes for involvement of affected stakeholder groups in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programs

NGO2

Mechanisms for feedback and complaints in relation to programs and policies and for determing actions to take in response to breaches of policies

29

NGO3

System for program monitoring, evaluation and learning, resulting changes to program and how they are communicated

29

NGO4

Measures to integrate gender and diversity into program design and implementation and the monitoring, evaluation and learning cycle

29-31

NGO5

Process to formulate, communicate, implement and change advocacy positions and public awareness campaigns

10, 42

Remarks

11, 29

Economic indicators Indicator

92

Description

Page

NGO7

Resource allocation

18-21, 72

NGO8

Sources of funding by category and five largest donors and monetary value of their contribution

73-74, 86

Remarks

Indicator

Description

Page

EC1

Direct economic value generated and distributed by the organisation

78-79

EC4

Significant financial support received from governement

73, 86

EC7

Procedures for local hiring and proportion of senior management hired from the local community

Remarks

54

Environmental indicators Indicator

Description

Page

Remarks

EN1

Materials used by weight or volume

62-63

EN2

Percentage of materials used that are recycled input materials

62-63

EN3

Direct energy consumption by primary energy source

EN5

Energy efficiency

59, 62-63

EN7

Initiatives to reduce indirect energy consumption and reductions achieved

59, 62-63

EN8

Total water withdrawal by source

62-63

EN22

Total weight of waste by type and disposal method

62-63

Data are not available for all offices in the South

EN28

Monetary value of significant fines and total number of non-monetary sactions for non-compliance with environmental laws and regulations

/

No fines or sanctions

EN29

Significant environmental impacts of transporting members of the workforce

62-63 Initiatives of some offices in the South need to be clarified

60, 62-63

Labour indicators Indicator

Description

Page

Remarks

54-55, 57

Breakdown by employment type, employment contract and region will be integrated in the next annual report

55-56

This data only concern the head office.

Data concerning offices in the South and the breakdown by age group, gender and region will be integrated in the next annual report

LA1

Total workforce, including volunteers, by employment type, employment contract and region

LA2

Total number and rate of employee turnover by age group, gender and region

LA3

Benefits provided to full-time employees that are not provided to temporary or parttime employees

56

NGO9

Mechanisms for workforce feedback and complaints and their resolution

52

LA4

Percentage of employees covered by collective bargaining agreements

56

LA7

Rates of injury, occupational diseases, lost days and absenteeism and total number of work-related fatalities by region

52

LA8

Education, training, counselling, prevention and risk-control programs in place to assist workforce members, their families, volunteers or community members regarding serious diseases

52

LA10

Average hours of training per year per employee by employee category

51-52

Data concerning offices in the South will be integrated in the next annual report

Data concerning the breakdown by employee will be integrated in the next annual report

93

Indicator

Description

Page

LA11

Programs for skill management and lifelong learning that support the continued employability of employees and assist them in managing career endings

51

LA14

Ratio of basic-salary of men to women by employee category

56

Remarks

Human rights Indicator HR4

Description

Page

Total number of incidents of discrimination and actions taken

Remarks

52

Society Indicator

Description

Page

Remarks

46, 67

Is part of the KPMG-audits

SO2

Percentage and total number of programs analyzed for risks related to corruption

SO4

Actions taken in response to incidents of corruption

SO5

Public policy positions and participation in public policy development and lobbying

SO6

Total value of financial and in-kind contributions to political parties, politicians and related institutions

94

No contributions

SO8

Monetary value of significant fines and total number of non-monetary sanctions for non-compliance with laws and regulations

/

No fines or sanctions Remarks

46 10 41-42

Product responsibility Indicator

94

Description

Page

PR6

Programs for adherence to laws, standards and voluntary codes related to fundraising and marketing communications

66

PR8

Total received complaints concerning violation of customer privacy and loss of customer data

66

95

Š Jelle Goossens

COLOPHON For general questions on this annual report, please contact: Nele Claeys Head of the Communication Department 016/31 65 80 nele.claeys@vredeseilanden.be For specific questions on the financial report, please contact: Steven Beerts Head of the Finances Department 016/31 65 80 steven.beerts@vredeseilanden.be

Vredeseilanden vzw Blijde Inkomststraat 50 3000 Leuven www.vredeseilanden.be info@vredeseilanden.be

Vredeseilanden is a Belgian independent, pluralistic non governmental organisation. We are member of 11.11.11, the umbrella organisation of the Flemish NorthSouth movement.

Vredeseilanden follows the EFQM quality system and obtained the ‘Committed to Excellent’ label, presented by BBest.

You have the right to information. This means that donors, employees en staff members are yearly informed about the destination of the collected funds for Vredeseilanden, in the form of this report.

96

Š Jimmy Kets

Vredeseilanden vzw | Blijde Inkomststraat 50 | 3000 Leuven Tel. 016-31 65 80 | info@vredeseilanden.be | www.vredeseilanden.be