"The 'Chaunsa Project' is yet another example of how Nestlé creates shared value in the communities it works in", said Magdi Batato, Managing Director of Nestlé Pakistan. "By enhancing the quality and improving the yield of chaunsa mangoes in the market, Pakistani consumers buying our products will directly impact the livelihoods of small farmers in the Nestlé value chain."
Through the partnership, Nestlé and ASLP will carry out training and capacity building in a range of areas including pre- and post-harvest horticulture, plant propagation and varietal assessment. Both organisations observed the immense opportunity to improve both yield and quality of chaunsa mangoes. Small farmers are now able to take advantage of new opportunities in the mango farming sector, including canning, pulping and exporting - collectively bringing in tens of millions of dollars' worth of revenue to the national exchequer.
The long-term vision for the 'Chaunsa Project' is to take Nestlé's principle of Creating Shared Value (CSV) and support small farmers, just as the company did with its dairy farmers years ago - 200,000 of whom now provide their milk directly to Nestlé as part of their value chain, covering an area of 146,000 km. Similarly, through responsible sourcing of mango pulp and development of linkages with Nestlé's value chain, small farmers will have better access to markets where they can sell their mangoes at competitive prices, and the company can continue to improve livelihoods of rural communities across Pakistan.
Also present on the occasion were Dr Iftikhar Ahmad, Chairperson of the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, Les Baxter, Research Program Manager for Horticulture at the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Bashir Hussain, CEO of Pakistan Horticulture Development and Export Company, and farmers who will benefit from the endeavour-PR