Stewardship: doing good business, not simply feeling good

For two decades the agri-business industry has acted responsibly by practicing responsible ‘stewardship’ of products. The term has confused the uninitiated but in layman terms it means managing agrochemical products from inception to use by farmers and through to phase out and disposal.

It’s a lifecycle approach that developed from a few scattered global programmes initiated by the CropLife association network twenty years ago into an integrated business model in which the major global players in the industry have embraced.

In many ways there are similarities between stewardship and today’s best run corporate social responsibility programmes: the ones that partner with a variety of stakeholders on positive societal change programmes and develop into new business models or practices, which is an impressive feat. (Ploughing with the former foe)

The similarities between stewardship and good CSR programmes are in stark contrast to the superficial that focus on public relations photo opportunities and self-promotion. These have contributed to the air of cynicism and perhaps distrust among multiple stakeholders concerning corporate claims of social responsibility.

Stewardship at CropLife International and regional associations has focused on building a comprehensive approach to stewardship that benefits farmers in the field first, but also safeguards the environment and to protect public health.

Think of it as appropriate management that helps underpin sustainable agriculture and the use of agro-chemicals. This is work in progress; particularly in Asia where hundreds of millions of small scale farmers need training on responsible use of products and then support to fundamentally change their behaviour to ensure that new business practices are adopted for the long-term. This is a long-term commitment which has a positive impact on societal issues such as farming methods and sustainable agriculture and is not a ‘quick fix’ project.

We are fortunate that stewardship is embedded in many of the biggest crop protection companies’ business models as an ethical way to manage agrochemicals from their discovery and development, to their use and phase-out. They are actively running stewardship programmes across Asia, as is CropLife Asia, to ensure farmers and supply chains use products responsibly.

This is smart partnering and has been extended to a variety of NGOs who are also working with companies and CropLife Asia to train farmers from India to Thailand through to China and Australia.

This is mutually beneficial to CropLife Asia, the agri-businesses and NGOs to ensure long-term success which is to help farmers to secure and protect food supplies from pests.

Clearly, stewardship is about doing good business and creatively addressing farming issues, not simply feeling good, which is what too many CSR programmes set out to achieve.