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WACOT’s Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability approach is based on respect for the people, communities, and the environment. At WACOT, we firmly believe in the responsible and sustainable sourcing of products across our operations. One of our pillars of success is the welfare and improvement of the people and communities that are a part of our operations.
We constantly implement a shared approach to corporate responsibility and sustainability, this approach is three-fold:
local industries using our abundant natural resources, thereby creating jobs and providing high-quality food for our communities.
by empowering women from an economic and workplace perspective.
focused on Agriculture, Health care and Women Empowerment. Some of our notable initiatives are the Farmers Development, Women Empowerment and Community Healthcare programmes across our communities of operation.
Our sustainability programmes apply a structured value chain approach to our out-grower farming initiatives. It cuts across our different value chains of cocoa, cotton, and sesame . We apply a structured value chain approach to our programmes by:
⦁ Organising farmers through registration and creation of smallholder farming groups and cooperatives. This helps the farmers attain increased productivity, income, and purchasing power, as well as develop a savings culture which in turn creates economic development in their communities.
⦁ Providing easy access for farmers to quality agro-inputs including seeds, fertilisers and other growth promoters, and crop protection chemicals.
⦁ Facilitating capacity-building training for the farmers on good agricultural practices (GAP) and yield enhancement techniques (YET).
⦁ Off-taking produce at market prices with immediate cash payments.
Our governance framework for Sustainable Development (SD) relies on several internal and external drivers:
Internal SD drivers are centred around WACOT’s mission and values which are upheld through our corporate strategy.
External drivers include stakeholder expectations and the global community’s requirements for the maturity of the Company’s SD governance framework.
WACOT conducts several classroom trainings for the farmers on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), crop production, improved yield, soil conservation, Yield Enhancement Techniques (YET), business development, rural prosperity and cooperative strengthening training. Field training is also carried out on the demonstration farms which were established for the dissemination of GAP and mechanisation of cocoa and sesame, operations. This training helps to improve the yield and livelihoods of the farmers.
WACOT also gives agro-inputs to farmers worth hundreds of millions in Naira. Financing helps the farmers get improved agricultural inputs they ordinarily cannot afford. WACOT also engages in off-taking produce at market prices with immediate cash payments as well as giving “Premium Payment” to every farmer who produces sustainable crops. This helps to encourage the farmers to produce more sustainably to protect the environment.
WACOT ensures the engagement of at least 30% of youth (less than 40 years) and 20% of women across all farming operations. All these help to improve the sustainability of farm operations and promote gender equality.
WACOT helps to provide farmers with easy access to quality agro-inputs including improved seed varieties, fertilisers, other growth promoters, and crop protection chemicals. There are also several demonstration farms established for the dissemination of good agricultural practices and mechanisation of cocoa, sesame, and soybeans. Field trials are carried out on the demonstration plots to improve the production and cultivation systems while also working to attain commercial yields. The trials are used to predict crop responses to products, practices and technologies. All these help enhance the yield of the farmers and increase returns for the farmers. Thus, boosting farmer earnings and reducing poverty and hunger.
WACOT helps farming communities in a lot of ways. Boreholes for clean drinking water have been established across farming communities. Irrigation systems have been installed on farmlands. Routine environmental cleanup has also been implemented. These investments in infrastructure and sanitation; protection and restoration of water-related ecosystems; and hygiene education are among the steps necessary to ensure universal access to safe and affordable drinking water for all by 2030. WACOT also helps in the renovation of some classrooms in schools in our farming communities. Education is the key that will allow many other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved. When people can get quality education, they can break the cycle of poverty. Education helps to reduce inequalities and to reach gender equality. It also empowers people everywhere to live healthier and more sustainable lives. Education is also crucial to fostering tolerance between people and contributes to more peaceful societies.
The cocoa sustainability programme started with smallholder cocoa farmers across 3 states in its pilot phase and now, we have expanded the sustainability programme to 5 states of the country. In 2021/2022, WACOT became an RA Certificate Holder with 3 IMS groups across 5 states (Ogun, Osun, Oyo, Cross Rivers, Abia), after successfully implementing the RA 2020 Certification Standard. Over the years, the WACOT cocoa sustainability programme is progressing to establish a credible traceability system with the farms mapped to aid accurate yield estimation. We have not only built farmers’ capacities to improve yield quality, but we also pay a premium to those whose produce are Rainforest Alliance certified (formerly UTZ-certified).
Since 2017, over 10,000 farmers in Katsina state have benefited directly and indirectly from the WACOT Cotton Outgrowers program.
Through the cotton value chain, WACOT:
⦁ Mobilizes, screens and recruits thousands of cotton growers (farmers) for the cultivation of cotton.
⦁ Distributes loans in the form of inputs to the farmers,
⦁ Trains the farmers using demonstration plots and approved materials on ways to better manage their farms through experienced field staff/extension workers, and
⦁ Closely monitors and supervises the cotton farm operations from pre-planting to post-harvest periods.
In efforts to ensure sustainable production of agricultural raw materials for the Group, WACOT implements a sesame out-growers and organic farm sustainability programme.
Over the years, WACOT has increasingly developed the sesame commodity through its out-grower operations in Jigawa state. Through this operation, there has been an increase in smallholder farmer incomes, improved quality, increased yield, enhanced access to credit and markets. Through the sesame value chain, WACOT has:
⦁ Mobilising over 10,000 farmers and organising them into cooperatives.
⦁ Disbursing over ₦100 million yearly in the form of input credit financing (of fertilisers, agrochemicals, and seeds) to farmers.
⦁ Providing a guaranteed market for sesame produce through a buyback arrangement with the farmer cooperatives.
⦁ Training over 5,000 farmers cumulatively on critical farming techniques (such as Good Agricultural Practices and yield enhancement techniques) and providing routine farm advisory services.
Unsustainable agricultural practices such as excessive chemical inputs, land degradation, and over-exploitation of natural resources have led to environmental degradation and economic losses. Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) is essential therefore for promoting and enhancing sustainability activities. M&E in Sustainability involves tracking and measuring progress towards achieving specific objectives, assessing the impact of agricultural practices on the environment, society, and economy, and identifying areas of improvement.
This means that the role of M&E is seen as one of regular and continuous tracking of inputs (funds, personnel, tools), outputs (achievable), outcomes and impacts of development activities against set targets. It determines whether adequate implementation progress has been made to achieve outcomes and provides management with information to enhance programme implementation.
For WACOT Limited, M&E has been essential to programme design and implementation. M&E has been used during all the implementation phases to assess:
⦁ The extent to which the planned activities are being implemented (activity monitoring)
⦁ The pathway to achieving the desired outcomes (process monitoring)
⦁ The progress made in achieving the desired outcomes (progress monitoring);
⦁ The impact of the project on its beneficiaries (impact evaluation).
M&E has a vital role to play in helping us transform agricultural supply chains for the better. Requisite monitoring and evaluation tools are in place to effectively monitor and evaluate our projects.
We leverage technology in our data gathering, as our field officers use the specialised WACOT application to capture data on crop growth stages, traceability, and other pertinent information. The information thus captured is transmitted to the cloud for safe storage and easy access. This tool aids in the prompt evaluation of crop performance and ultimately facilitates yield estimation.
