Agriculture and food

For this project, commissioned by CDP, Profundo has researched Chinese financing of palm oil.

This research project aims to inform the strategic development of the new CNV Internationaal programme and on developing lobby activities in its current programme in relation to the sugar sector, by identifying market dynamics, key actors, financiers, price setting, and social and environmental issues in a selection of producing countries. Geographically, the research focusses on five in Latin American countries (Bolivia, Colombia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Peru) and three countries in Asia (Cambodia, Indonesia, and Vietnam).

The palm oil value chain contains a number of stakeholder groups, such as smallholders, large plantations, refineries, the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry, the oleochemical and pharmaceutical industry, and the retail and food service sector. In every step of the chain, palm oil is further processed or is embedded in products which contain other ingredients, like hazelnut pasta or shampoo. Transparency on the distribution of financial benefits producing and processing palm oil is crucial. Transparency could enable stakeholders' discussions on the fairness of costs and expenses related to ESG and zero-deforestation policies, the cost of re-forestation/restoration, monitoring, and verification.

This report, commissioned by the Dutch Fair Bank Guide, investigates the role that banks can play in the transition towards a food system less dependent on animal protein and more based on plant-based and alternative sources of protein. It draws on the recent literature and expert interviews to identify key possibilities and barriers, as well as the steps that banks could take to advance the protein transition.

In this project Profundo supported PBL to research the role of financial institutions in making the Dutch food system more sustainable.

This report provides an overview of the financing of forest-risk companies engaged in six deforestation-risk commodities in three forest-rich regions by Chinese financial institutions as covered by Forests & Finance. It highlights the risks that the largest clients are still exposed to, and recommends concrete actions to mitigate those risks and improve corporate practice on the ground.

This project maps the palm oil supply chains in Latin America, with a particular focus on the countries where CNV Internationaal has established partnerships with trade union organisations and where there is leverage potential for improving the labour rights situation of workers in the palm oil sector and related global supply chains.

For this project, commissioned by Both Ends, Profundo has investigated Dutch Official Development Aid (ODA) resources related to food and agriculture spent since 2010 and the extent to which they have been (or continue to be) supportive of agroecology. The report presents an overview of the Dutch ODA policies on agriculture and food security in the past decade and how these relate to agroecology, an in-depth assessment of the actual funding flows contributing to agroecological transformation, and key recommendations on how an agroecological transition could be stimulated more strongly through ODA incentives by the Dutch government.

The Cerrado biome, a vast, biodiverse tropical savannah in Brazil, is under threat from commodity-driven deforestation. Soy expansion and cattle ranching are direct drivers of forest loss in the Cerrado. This report presents new data on specific actors linked to Cerrado deforestation in 2020, including the quantified risk exposure of the largest soy traders, meatpackers, and retailers. Financiers with forest policies are exposed to material risks in their portfolios.

The research looked at the origin of a selection of products sold on the German market, namely bananas and pineapple from Costa Rica, and grapes and wine from South Africa. It further aimed to identify suppliers of relevant products offered in the fresh produce sections of Aldi, Edeka, Lidl and Rewe or as private label wines.