NewForesight was hired by The Netherlands Embassy in Colombia to conduct a five sector analysis on promoting sustainable trade between The Netherlands and Colombia. The five sectors were bananas, coffee, flowers, palm oil and sugar. NewForesight was asked to develop a program that would bring together the important stakeholders in these five sectors to collectively address sustainability issues and promote trade in sustainably produced products between The Netherlands and Colombia. Together with BSD Consulting (www.bsd-net.com) NewForesight conducted in-depth research into each of these five industries, interviewing the major industry players and organizing sector-specific workshops in Colombia. These results were presented during a bilateral trade initiative on September 15, organized by The Netherlands Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation. Delegations from both Colombia and The Netherlands included industry leaders, government representatives, and NGOs active in sustainable certification.

NewForesight’s recommendations highlighted the potential for Colombia to initiate a multi-stakeholder platform that could leverage best practice and knowledge from all the five sectors, with a long-term view of improving sustainable practices in the Colombian agricultural sector as a whole.

If you would like to learn more about this, you can download NewForesight’s presentation here. You can also request the full report from The Netherlands Embassy of Colombia by sending an email to bog-ez@minbuza.nl.