Nestlé’s practice of sustainable agriculture seeks to address the environmental, social and economic dimensions of farming and sourcing. In practice this means, for example, helping to promote farming methods that preserve soil, water, air, energy and genetic diversity; minimize the risk of contaminants in raw materials; improve productivity and yields; boost farm income through transparent pricing; improve labor conditions; and help build traceability systems. To succeed, Nestlé employees – among them 850 agronomists in the Nestlé Agricultural Services and 2,200 company buyers – collaborate with farmers, cooperatives, suppliers, traders, governments and NGO partners.

Examples of these partnerships include Nestlé’s support for INIFAP, a Mexican government agency specialized in agricultural development, to improve large-scale production of robusta coffee plants. In Ecuador, Nestlé is working with local agronomists to find new plants that might help renew cocoa production on the continent.

In 2000, Nestlé pioneered the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform with Danone and Unilever – an industry initiative now involving 20 major food trading or producing companies. Its aim is to promote sustainable agriculture worldwide. Within the SAI Platform, Nestlé is involved in three pilot projects with coffee trading: ECOM in Nicaragua, Volcafé in Guatemala and NKG Partnerships for sustainable agriculture in Vietnam with the objective to develop a comprehensive model for sustainable coffee production for small-scale growers. The project started in March 2004 with ECOM involving 175 farmers of mainstream arabica coffee spread over three communities in the Bosawas Biosphere reserve in northern Nicaragua. The area covers 1223 hectares situated at an altitude ranging from 600 m to 1200 m.