Solidaridad Network

How do the largest Dutch and Belgian supermarkets perform on human rights?

Today, Solidaridad, Questionmark, Rikolto and Oxfam Novib launch Superlist Social 2026.

This report benchmarks eleven major supermarkets in the Netherlands and Belgium on their social performance. The results are clear: There is a massive gap between awareness and change on the ground. Most retailers have identified the risks, but they are failing to take the actual steps, like fair pay and better buying practices, needed to fix them.

What the report reveals:
- Missing foundations: Most retailers are failing to turn risk mapping into actual change. They aren't offering the better prices or longer contracts needed to ensure farmers and workers earn a living wage.
- Unprepared for the law: New EU rules (CSDDD) will make human rights protection a legal requirement from 2029 onwards. Currently, the sector is not prepared, with not a single supermarket offering effective ways for workers to safely report abuses.
- Good ideas are not scaling: Fairness is being treated as a side project. While some progress is seen in cocoa and bananas, these fair-pay models aren't being used for the rest of the store.
- Workers are being left behind: Issues like gender inequality and forced labor are still not being addressed in a structural way.

Supermarkets have the power to drive a fair food transition, but they aren't doing enough. It’s time to build a business model that respects human rights by design.

🔗Read the full report and see the rankings here: https://www.solidaridadnetwork.org/news/dutch-and-belgian-supermarkets-falling-short-of-human-rights-standards-in-their-supply-chains/

Despite losing the use of his left arm when he was young, Azni Abd Sani is showing how more sustainable farming can transform lives in Malaysia. For him, the greatest achievement is becoming self-sufficient.

The Smallholder Support Programme from Solidaridad and Cargill is helping him find ways to manage his oil palm farm in a way that boosts productivity and resilience.

Read his story here https://www.solidaridadnetwork.org/story/the-self-sufficient-farmer/

Call for Proposals:
Solidaridad is inviting proposals from qualified and experienced evaluation experts to conduct the Final External Evaluation of the Solidaridad–Cargill Global Partnership (2023–2026), a multi-country sustainable agriculture initiative.

📄 ToR and submission details: https://www.solidaridadnetwork.org/job/final-external-evaluation-of-solidaridad-cargill-global-partnership-2023-2026/
⏰ Deadline: Wednesday, January 28, 2026

Final External Evaluation of Solidaridad-Cargill Global Partnership 2023-2026 - Solidaridad Network We invite proposals from evaluation experts to conduct the external evaluation of the Solidaridad–Cargill Global Partnership (2023–2026).

🍫From subsistence farming to award-winning chocolate!

In 2016, Cloves Rios joined a small technical assistance programme with Fundação Solidaridad to improve cocoa cultivation on his family’s farm. Today, he and his wife, Alana, run Terroir Tuerê Cocoa, an award-winning bean-to-bar chocolate brand, and have helped to conserve over 18k hectares of crucial forest in the Amazon.

Read more about their journey here: https://www.solidaridadnetwork.org/story/cloves-rios-building-a-future-through-cocoa/

🪡 Mending gender gaps across Latin America: At the Women-Powered Coffee Summit in Chiapas, Mexico, Solidaridad shared how weaving inclusion into the coffee value chain is driving measurable impact — from families to policies.

Across Latin America, our GALS methodology (Gender Action Learning System) empowers coffee-growing families to co-design their futures, balancing roles and strengthening resilience.

Read the full article by Diana Valentina Zapata Casián and Cristina Ruiz ✨ https://www.solidaridadnetwork.org/news/weaving-coffee-building-inclusive-and-resilient-futures-from-the-origin/

🌱 ✨ Every tree is an investment in the future! Coffee☕ & cocoa🍫 farmers hit a major milestone: 700K native trees planted!

Across Central America, farmers are building more resilient farms with agroforestry systems that conserve soil and water, protect biodiversity and reduce vulnerability to climate shocks. See how Solidaridad’s Asómbrate Programme has helped more than 4,000 farmers access native and ecologically-important trees to interplant among their crops.

Get the full story https://www.solidaridadnetwork.org/news/agroforestry-milestone-asombrate-plants-over-700000-trees-on-coffee-and-cocoa-farms-in-central-america/

🐄 🇧🇷 Meet Maria Gorete Rios, a cattle rancher transforming her farm in the Brazilian Amazon with rotational grazing, traceability & direct market access.

As the first rancher on the Trans-Amazonian Highway in Pará to implement individual cattle traceability, Maria is a true trailblazer– helping to demonstrate that sustainable livestock farming can be both profitable and environmentally responsible.

Read Maria's story https://www.solidaridadnetwork.org/story/no-middlemen-cattle-directly-traceable-from-the-brazilian-amazon-to-slaughterhouses/

Palm oil processing is more than a job for women in the community of Béhiri Dies, Côte d’Ivoire; it’s a lifeline for families. But behind each liter of palm oil lies hard, often invisible, work.

Practical training through Solidaridad's Pathways to Prosperity programme makes women's demanding work safer and more profitable.

Read how women palm oil producers are taking control of their future here https://www.solidaridadnetwork.org/news/equipping-women-for-safer-smarter-palm-oil-processing-in-cote-divoire/

🚜With the right incentives and support, small-scale farmers can be even more powerful drivers of climate action. Complex procedures, slow disbursement of funds, and inadequate enabling environments obstruct the path to low-carbon, climate-resilient practices. In the aftermath of it's time to rectify the problem.

Farmers are already taking action when they have the right support:

🇹🇿In Tanzania, through the Dairy 2025 project, nearly 6k smallholders are accessing hubs for training, veterinary care and digital milk collection. Over 2k farmers have already doubled milk yields– proving that catalytic investment and local support can drive inclusive, climate-smart growth. Read more: https://www.solidaridadnetwork.org/story/dairy-2025-unlocking-smallholder-productivity-in-tanzania/

🇺🇬In Uganda and beyond, platforms like the Cool Farm Tool are helping farmers to measure emissions, track progress and access finance with integrity. By integrating these tools into local programs, Solidaridad is helping farmers and companies make regenerative practices scalable and actionable. Read more: https://www.solidaridadnetwork.org/news/strengthening-climate-action-in-east-africa-solidaridad-builds-in-house-cool-farm-alliance-capacity/

Climate action needs real enablers — finance, technology, and capacity building — that reach those driving change on the ground. ⏳.

Farmers have the solutions ⚡️. With the right support, they can put them into practice and scale climate-smart, low-carbon innovations that benefit people and the planet.

Climate action cannot succeed without social justice ✊. Women, youth and Indigenous peoples are among those most affected by the climate crisis, but they are often excluded from the decisions and finance opportunities. Inclusion is non-negotiable 📢. We need all hands on deck to face the challenges of tomorrow.

Inclusive, gender-responsive approaches are not only fair, they deliver stronger 💪, more durable climate outcomes. Here’s what equitable climate action looks like in practice:

🇰🇪In Kenya, the Horticulture for Growth project has supported over 30k small-scale farmers to improve food security through climate-smart horticulture. By linking farmers with buyers and finance, the project is boosting incomes while empowering women and youth as leaders in resilient food systems. Read more: https://www.solidaridadnetwork.org/news/in-a-new-video-series-kenyan-farmers-highlight-the-challenges-they-face/

🇮🇳In India, the Good Farming, Good Food programme is tackling malnutrition by helping farmers diversify into soy and regenerative vegetable production. Women-led “nutrition champions” are promoting healthy diets and local resilience– increasing yields, improving nutrition and driving inclusion from the ground up. Read more: https://www.solidaridadnetwork.org/story/good-farming-good-food-securing-health-and-nutrition-for-rural-communities-in-madhya-pradesh/

Social justice is climate justice ⚖️. To create lasting change, women, youth, Indigenous people and other marginalized groups must have a seat at every table, from local planning to climate actions 🤝.

🌱 Why is it important to measure a farm's carbon footprint? Because it can improve production, care for the soil and open doors to new markets that pay better for more sustainable coffee.

Together with Matthew Algie and the Net Zero project, more than 100 producers in Capucas are already:

✅ Learning about the health of their soils
✅ Measuring the emissions their farms capture
✅ Applying practices such as biofertilization, agroforestry and farm renovation
✅ Preparing to sell in markets that demand carbon-neutral coffee

🔥 Find out how a new generation of producers is changing the future of coffee.
📲 Read the full story here: https://www.solidaridadnetwork.org/news/leading-a-green-transition-decarbonizing-coffee-with-capucas-and-matthew-algie/

The entire landscape of cotton in India is on the brink of transformation.

WWF-India & Solidaridad Asia have launched a pioneering initiative that aims to bring regenerative farming to cotton landscapes at an unprecedented scale — strengthening rural livelihoods, boosting climate resilience & unlocking new opportunities for sustainable sourcing.

There’s a lot more behind the ambition — and the numbers. Learn more here: https://www.solidaridadnetwork.org/news/the-promise-of-regenerative-cotton-threading-together-a-resilient-future-for-indias-small-scale-farmers/