Two awards went home with Nestlé as the company clinched the awards for Best Company in Food Security and for Partnership. The gains of its collaboration with IDH and Technoserve towards grain improvement helped make up the jury’s mind at the recently held Sustainability Enterprise and Responsibility (SERAS) CSR Awards Africa 2021.
This is the second year that Nestlé Nigeria has been recognized as the Best company in Food Security, a significant affirmation for the world’s leading food company. Nestlé was also nominated in over 7 categories including Best Company in Circular Economy, Best Company in Education Intervention, Best Company in Stakeholder Engagement, Best Company in Promotion of Good-Health & Wellbeing, Best Company in WorkPlace Practice and the CEO of the Year.
Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Manager for Nestlé Nigeria, Victoria Uwadoka, said the company was delighted at being recognised for its efforts in Creating Shared Value across its value chain.
She expressed Nestlé’s “gratitude to our partners who work closely with us to achieve our goals for improving grain quality while enhancing the livelihoods of the farmers within our ecosystem.” Continuing, she said, “These awards are significant for us in view of the fact that we are Nestlé, the Good Food, Good Life Company, with a purpose of unlocking the power of food to enhance quality of life for everyone, today and for generations to come. This purpose drives us to make a positive impact on the lives of people, within our communities and on the environment now, and in the future.”
The Partnership Award of the Year recognised the company’s collaboration with IDH and Technoserve over the past 18 months to help 5,000 farmers within the company’s ecosystem to improve the yield and quality of their grains. The Nestlé, IDH and Technoserve Developing Inclusive Grain Value Chains project is building the capacity of farmers and aggregators across the grain value chain through training on proper grain handling, storage, and testing, as well as entrepreneurial and financial skills. In addition, the logistics partners are receiving training on proper handling of grains during transit to ensure the end-to-end integrity of the grains from farm gate to the factory gates.
For over 12 years, Nestlé Nigeria has been invested in delivering Capacity Development programs aimed at improving food security in Nigeria. In 2019, the company turned its attention to building the next generation of farmers who will take over from the aging generation whose average age is 47 years according to the data from National Bureau of Statistics (2008). The various initiatives aimed at improving food security are designed and implemented in collaboration with partners including the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC)/2Scale, IDH, Technoserve, and Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). The programs are implemented with suppliers within Nestlé’s value chain like Psaltry who is working to integrate youth into the cassava value chain.
Victoria added that the awards reaffirm Nestlé’s strong commitment to continue making a difference in society in collaboration with relevant partners and stakeholders in line with the SDG 17 – Partnership for Goals. The SERAS, Africa’s first and foremost recognition for corporate social responsibility and Sustainability, has grown to become the most credible and most glamorous business award in Africa. Other winners of the SERAS Awards 2021 include Nigerian Breweries, Coca-Cola, IHS and Zenith Bank.
