About Us

We are agronomists, economists and farmers from the global south who envision a world where the perspectives of farming communities are properly considered, and their voices are a crucial part of the decision-making process of sustainability initiatives led by companies, civil society, and governments

We have decades of experience working with farming communities, NGOs and companies trying to build a more sustainable agricultural sector

Rural Voices aim to be:
Inclusive

We work towards having the voice of farming communities included in the discussions and decisions of the food industry

Adaptive

To the conditions of farming communities and companies

Independent

We seek to generate and provide independent, unbiased information and analyses

Science-based

We use rigorous and well-established methods for project design, data collection and analyses

Long-term partners

We seek to establish longer-term relations with farmers/communities to provide a long-term and dynamic perspective of sustainability issues

Equitable

We work to ensure the inclusion of diverse voices of farming communities – women, workers and other actors

Example of our projectS

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Gathering input from farmers and workers on human rights risk factors present in their communities – this helps companies to understand, first-hand, what risk factors are present that could have adverse impacts on the human and labor rights (child labor, forced labor, discrimination) of people who live in communities where companies source their products

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Understand farming communities’ perspectives on sustainability programs being implemented in their region – so farmers and workers can more clearly communicate to donors and companies if a program is actually improving the lives of people in the communities

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Gathering feedback from farmers and workers on trainings received as part of projects – so donors understand farming communities’ perceptions about projects they are funding

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Communicating pricing information– so companies learn directly from farmers the actual prices they are receiving for the products that companies purchase