The China Post news staff
TAIPEI -- Nestle's Creating Shared Value Advisory Board has awarded the first Nestle Prize in Creating Shared Value to the Cambodian branch of International Development Enterprises (IDE), an international not-for-profit organization, which uses market-based approaches to increase the income of the rural poor by improving market access, boosting agricultural production, and creating sustainable local businesses.
Starting in 2005, IDE (www.ideorg.org) Cambodia developed a network of 60 independent small entrepreneurs in rural regions of Cambodia called Farm Business Advisors.
These advisors give technical advice to more than 4,500 small-scale farmers to help them expand their productivity, while selling them products such as high-quality seeds, fertilizer, plastic fencing and irrigation equipment and services.
On average, farmers assisted by these advisors increase their net income by 27 percent US$382 to US$480 per year. At the same time, the advisors earn an income from selling their products and services.
IDE Cambodia will use the prize's 500,000 Swiss francs to recruit and train an additional 36 advisors with aim to generate approximately US$1.9 million in new income and benefit around 20,000 people in more than 4,000 rural households across Cambodia.
"It is an honor to receive this recognition from Nestle. The prize will help us further IDE's mission to create income opportunities for poor rural households. We hope to leverage the prize money to reach more than 75,000 rural Cambodian households in the next few years. On a global scale, this is still very small but we think there are big implications in what we are learning," said IDE Cambodia Country Director Michael Roberts.
Nestle Chairman Peter Brabeck-Letmathe said, "We congratulate IDE Cambodia on being the first to be awarded the prize. The work they do is truly inspirational. IDE continue to grow their network of Farm Business Advisors in Cambodia while at the same time creating value for rural communities there. This is exactly what we mean by Creating Shared Value."
Nestle CEO Paul Bulcke added, "We had a vast range of inspirational entries from across the globe. IDE Cambodia is a leading project and the Nestle prize money will help them to ensure that this project continues to thrive and expand."
The Prize in Creating Shared Value Prize was created by Nestle in 2009 to provide financial support of up to 500,000 Swiss francs to individuals, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), or small enterprises offering innovative solutions to improve access to, and management of, water, improve the lives of farmers and rural communities, or provide better nutrition to communities suffering from nutritional deficiencies.
The first edition, which received more than 500 applications from 79 countries, was awarded during Nestle's second Creating Shared Value Forum, a gathering of leading international experts in water, nutrition, rural development and the role of business in society, which took place in London on May 27.
The winner was selected by the Nestle Creating Shared Value Advisory Board, an independent panel of internationally recognized experts in corporate strategy, nutrition, water and rural development.
Members on the panel include John Elkington, co-founder of SustainAbility; Michael E. Porter, Bishop William Lawrence University Professor at the Harvard Business School; Jeffrey Sachs, director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University; and Nancy Birdsall, founding president of the Center for Global Development.
Creating Shared Value is a fundamental part of the way Nestle does business. In order to create long-term value for shareholders, the multinational conglomerates aims at the same time to create value for society at large.
Nestle committed an investment of 500,000 Swiss francs to IDE Cambodia. The money will be disbursed over a three-year period and will assist in the scaling-up of the project. The fund will be used by IDE Cambodia to mainly recruit and train a further 36 Farm Business Advisors, provide them with access to agricultural inputs, market information and microfinance, as well as the development and strengthening of the franchise system.
Details about the award as well as testimonials of farmers and Farm Business Advisors benefiting from the IDE project are available on Web site www.nestle.com.
Starting in 2005, IDE (www.ideorg.org) Cambodia developed a network of 60 independent small entrepreneurs in rural regions of Cambodia called Farm Business Advisors.
These advisors give technical advice to more than 4,500 small-scale farmers to help them expand their productivity, while selling them products such as high-quality seeds, fertilizer, plastic fencing and irrigation equipment and services.
On average, farmers assisted by these advisors increase their net income by 27 percent US$382 to US$480 per year. At the same time, the advisors earn an income from selling their products and services.
IDE Cambodia will use the prize's 500,000 Swiss francs to recruit and train an additional 36 advisors with aim to generate approximately US$1.9 million in new income and benefit around 20,000 people in more than 4,000 rural households across Cambodia.
"It is an honor to receive this recognition from Nestle. The prize will help us further IDE's mission to create income opportunities for poor rural households. We hope to leverage the prize money to reach more than 75,000 rural Cambodian households in the next few years. On a global scale, this is still very small but we think there are big implications in what we are learning," said IDE Cambodia Country Director Michael Roberts.
Nestle Chairman Peter Brabeck-Letmathe said, "We congratulate IDE Cambodia on being the first to be awarded the prize. The work they do is truly inspirational. IDE continue to grow their network of Farm Business Advisors in Cambodia while at the same time creating value for rural communities there. This is exactly what we mean by Creating Shared Value."
Nestle CEO Paul Bulcke added, "We had a vast range of inspirational entries from across the globe. IDE Cambodia is a leading project and the Nestle prize money will help them to ensure that this project continues to thrive and expand."
The Prize in Creating Shared Value Prize was created by Nestle in 2009 to provide financial support of up to 500,000 Swiss francs to individuals, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), or small enterprises offering innovative solutions to improve access to, and management of, water, improve the lives of farmers and rural communities, or provide better nutrition to communities suffering from nutritional deficiencies.
The first edition, which received more than 500 applications from 79 countries, was awarded during Nestle's second Creating Shared Value Forum, a gathering of leading international experts in water, nutrition, rural development and the role of business in society, which took place in London on May 27.
The winner was selected by the Nestle Creating Shared Value Advisory Board, an independent panel of internationally recognized experts in corporate strategy, nutrition, water and rural development.
Members on the panel include John Elkington, co-founder of SustainAbility; Michael E. Porter, Bishop William Lawrence University Professor at the Harvard Business School; Jeffrey Sachs, director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University; and Nancy Birdsall, founding president of the Center for Global Development.
Creating Shared Value is a fundamental part of the way Nestle does business. In order to create long-term value for shareholders, the multinational conglomerates aims at the same time to create value for society at large.
Nestle committed an investment of 500,000 Swiss francs to IDE Cambodia. The money will be disbursed over a three-year period and will assist in the scaling-up of the project. The fund will be used by IDE Cambodia to mainly recruit and train a further 36 Farm Business Advisors, provide them with access to agricultural inputs, market information and microfinance, as well as the development and strengthening of the franchise system.
Details about the award as well as testimonials of farmers and Farm Business Advisors benefiting from the IDE project are available on Web site www.nestle.com.
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