The PA-EAG partnership is an ongoing one, and PA will continue to provide support and guidance where needed and will continue to audit the relevant farms based on the planned rotation schedule in order to provide independent, third-party assurance.
East African Growers (EAG) are large growers, processors, packers and exporters of Grade 1 Vegetables, Fruits and Flowers to premium markets within Europe. To improve their international social audit systems and compliance to social standards, Partner Africa developed this pilot project with them in 2019, spanning over 18 months.
To capture the status of social audit processes and compliance of EAG, Partner Africa had first conducted a gap assessment of three out of all 25 EAG farms, which followed Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit (SMETA) audit protocols. After analysing the results, Partner Africa used a participatory approach by working in conjunction with EAG to design suitable corrective actions plans for both the selected three farms, as well as the other EAG contracted farms. These plans all served the aim to enhance compliance to SMETA requirements and upholding social and labour standards.
Partner Africa executed the following activities:
Partner Africa did not use a one-size-fits-all approach, but adapted each tool and training for each farm, depending on their needs and the size of the farm to be audited.
