Syngenta Seeds Project
In 2003, issues relating to child labor and unfair working conditions on farms in India producing cotton seeds were highlighted by the international press and various studies. This prompted Syngenta Seeds Inc. to take action with other companies, link up with non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and join together with the Fair Labor Association (FLA) to address the child labor problem in a more comprehensive fashion.
In response to Syngental's request, the FLA commissioned two independent studies to assess the risks of child labor in Syngenta's Indian seed supplyin chain. Based on the result of these studies , a new approach to internal and external monitoring of labor standards was developed. In addition to the child labor issue, the studies also revealed problems with wages, hours of work, and occupational safety and health.
As part of the collaboration between Syngenta and the FLA, the FLA undertook in 2004 a Task and Risk Mapping Study of Syngenta’s cotton seed production to assess the ground realities. When Syngenta made a business decision to sell its cotton seed division world-wide, the project was shifted to vegetable seed production in Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Karnataka starting in 2006. Subsequent to a Task Mapping and Risk Mapping Study of Vegetable Seed Production, Syngenta developed internal tools for collecting and analyzing compliance data and internal monitoring methodology. This was integrated with core production activities and the production staff, organizers and supervisors were trained for the same during the second half of 2006.
In late 2006, the FLA and the seed division of Syngenta Ltd. held a multi-stakeholder forum in Hyderabad, India dedicated to identifying and developing a consensus around priority issues for monitoring in the vegetable seed production sector. Participants identified code awareness, health and safety, wages and benefits and child labor as the four priority issues to address in the agricultural sector. To read more about the forum, click here for the summary report.
The first phase of the plan entails the collection of compliance data from 5% of small seeded farms and 20% of large seeded farms producing for Syngenta by the end of 2006. This percentage of monitored farms will progressively increase to 100% by the end of the third year of project implementation period ending in 2009.Syngenta, in consultation with the FLA, has developed and submitted to the FLA its Farm Lists, Farm Access letter, and Seed Production Practices (Code of Conduct). The FLA developed the Independent External Monitoring (IEM) tools and methodology for needs and impact assessment and reporting the progress of remediation by Syngenta. An integral part of this methodology is to involve a range of stakeholders and draw on their experiences, knowledge, and skills to strengthen the monitoring program and improving social conditions for workers on farms.
For the FLA, the Syngenta Seeds Project was the first instance that its methodology was applied to the agricultural sector. Working with Syngenta has confirmed that all thecomponents of the FLA system (adopting a code, collecting compliance information, and addressing compliance issues) are as valid to compliance work on farms as in facotries, with a few key adjustments. The FLA worked with Syngenta to develop standards and benchmarks against which monitors could measure the level of compliance on the farms and trained Syngenta staff to collect compliance information. Instead of a conventional compliance checklist, task-mapping and risk assessment tools have been developed to identify compliance risks and remedial priorities.
In addition, it is clear that the new FLA 3.0 methodology, which emphasize local stakeholder involvement in defining and addressing compliance issues, is applicable to the agricultural sector, where the direct involvement of farmers, their familes and communities makes it necessary to adopt an inclusive strategy.