Direct-Trade is an initiative launched by CEOs of Latin American companies who believe current certifications on fair/ethical trade were not really capturing the shared value concept that some companies are implementing. They felt that none of these certifications were really benefiting the farmers or the manufacturers.
Direct-Trade refers to a strong value chain with fewer intermediaries. It connects suppliers (farmers) with buyers (manufacturing companies), without any intermediaries, in a way that they become dependent on each other’s success, ethics, and professionalism.
Direct-Trade is more than Fair Trade as it does not depend on grants or fines but rather on really sharing the value created by the products sold by the company.
This Inclusive Business Model where the intermediaries’ traditional fees, usually paid by the farmers and the manufacturing companies, are partially retained by both the farmers to invest back into their farms and by the companies for investment into their technical support programs.
This way, both parties can effectively increase the yield and quality of the products, while striving for the social and economic development of rural communities.
and have been beneficiated by our Direct Trade Program.
We have worked hard to shift from traditional agricultural practices like using chemicals, machined harvest, and monocrops, to healthier, regenerative agriculture. The use of natural compost, conservation tillage, and crop rotation avoids desertification, improving the quality of raw materials. It also allows the soil to rest, increase its nutrients, and capture the atmosphere’s carbon.