This document provides guidance for promoting responsible agricultural supply chains. It discusses why businesses should adopt responsible business conduct practices to obtain and retain their social license to operate, reduce risks, protect and create value, and facilitate participation in global value chains. It also outlines several existing standards for responsible business conduct related to issues like human rights, labor rights, land tenure rights, and environmental sustainability. The guidance advocates for a risk-based due diligence approach and provides an example of risk mitigation measures related to land tenure rights. It proposes applying this framework to all enterprises along agricultural supply chains.

1. Promoting responsible
agricultural supply chains
A FAO-OECD guidance
1

2. Why Responsible Business Conduct?
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Obtain and retain the social license to operate
Reduce risks
Protect existing value and create new value
Facilitate the participation in GVCs
First-mover advantages
Attract and retain talent

3. Health
Sustainable use of
natural resources
Technology and
innovation
Tenure rights over
and access to
natural resources
Animal welfare
Labour rights
Food security
POTENTIAL RISKS
Human rights
Governance
Risk-based due diligence

4. Major existing standards
• OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises
• Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems
of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS-RAI)
• FAO Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of
Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security
(VGGT)
• Principles for Responsible Agricultural Investment that respect rights,
livelihoods and resources (PRAI)
• UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
• IFC Performance Standards
• ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational
Enterprises and Social Policy
• Convention on Biological Diversity 4

5. Risk mitigation measures
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Example of land tenure rights:
•Identify land tenure rights holders
•Consult and negotiate with them
•Be transparent and disclose information
•Avoid the displacement of local communities
•Fairly compensate evicted local communities
•Promote business partnerships

6. A supply chain approach
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7. FAO-OECD Guidance
• All enterprises along agricultural supply chains
 A model enterprise policy
 A five-step framework for risk-based due diligence
 Risk mitigation measures and best practices
• Multi-stakeholder Advisory Group (AG)
June 2015
Finalisation
October 2013
AG meeting
June 2014
AG meeting
March 2015
AG meeting
Jan.- Feb. 2015
Public consultation
Next steps
Implementation tools, peer learning platform,
capacity building

8. THANK YOU!
mneguidelines.oecd.org
For more information:
Coralie.David@oecd.org