During April, the IDH Colombian team set up synergies relevant to the different parties interested in the selected regions in order to start implementing the sustainable landscape program: Magdalena, Cesar, and Huila.
One significant result of this work has been the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Luker Chocolate, one of the most important companies in the cocoa sector in Columbia. The agreement sets out the collaboration in the process of setting up the Produce, Conserve and Include Compact in Huila where cocoa is one of the main commercial crops on which thousands of small farmers depend, as well as sustaining the local economy. “For IDH this Memorandum is a huge step forward in consolidating a regional alliance and in developing a line of projects that can contribute toward making the PPI Compact”, states Carolina Tenório, Senior Manager of the IDH Program in Colombia.
Furthermore, in April, IDH finalized the process of analyzing the proposals received following an open public notice for hiring a consultancy that would lend support to making the PCI Compact in Colombia. The one selected was the Regional Centre for Responsible Companies and Enterprises (Creer Institute), which is an organization that has considerable experience in building trust and agreements with diverse stakeholders, as their work is based on open dialogue that ensures respect, recognition, and responsibility among the various participants.
IDH points out that all its field activities have been temporarily suspended, in compliance with the protocol to combat Covid-19 and following the guidelines from the World Health Organization.