An article by Al Hingston on lessons learned from a decade of helping mining companie to work effectively and sustainably with local agriculture stakeholders. Hingston's work has helped companies to develop and maintain social license in a way that is both cost effective and very supportive of local agricultural stakeholders. www.waynedunn.com

1. Corporate Social Responsibility and
Sustainable Agricultural Development
Corporate Social Responsibility ● Environmental Stewardship ● Social License
Introduction
Mining companies often find themselves A good relationship between the mine
developing projects in rural areas where Sustainable agricultural and local communities provides a sense
subsistence or smallholder farming is the development is an of “ownership” which can mitigate
traditional way of life for local communities, opportunity for strategic community risk and, improve labour
and farmers’ connection to the market investment. productivity.
economy is minimal or non-existent.
While mining and agriculture might be
ROI is in the greater value And in return, the mine’s
considered at best unrelated and at worst created for both the local agricultural development strategy
antagonistic, a mine can play an active and community and the mining adds significant commercial and
vital role in creating sustainable value in company. reputational value to the mine.
the local agricultural economy.
Creating Stakeholder Investment
Instead of having to respond to ad-hoc requests for
money, the mine can proactively propose an agricultural
development plan. This ensures that its contributions will be
Good initiatives for a development strategy include:
recognized as well as having a greater impact and benefit
on the target communities. Key to the success of this is Extension support and capacity building:
stakeholder involvement, from local to global.
• Farm management - making best use of available
Locally, each village and each family must be able to see resources;
themselves within this strategy and see the benefits of
participation. This means local involvement in developing • Crop selection, production, irrigation and post-
the strategy. harvest storage techniques;
However, participation and support from national and even • Livestock management, nutrition, breeding and
international bodies can be necessary to ensure a successful disease control;
return from the investment. • Marketing - including supply chains and price
Practical, achievable and measurable discovery;
The simplest support for local agricultural development is • Value-added processing and packaging techniques.
to increase demand for locally grown produce and provide Micro-credit for agricultural inputs
the technical support for this. Asking local producers to
supply the mine’s catering requirements (e.g., vegetables, Infrastructure – water, roads, power, communications.
fruits, beef, pork, lamb, chickens, eggs, etc.) encourages crop Improved awareness of, access to and input into
diversification, scaling up of output, and supports small existing government programs and policies.
micro-irrigation projects, and local processing capacity.
Including communities in geographically targeted
Working in partnership with cooperatives, women’s programs, which might otherwise bypass them.
organizations, farmer associations, etc., helps spread
the benefit throughout the community and avoids the Empowerment, supporting due autonomy for
appearance and practice of favoritism. community-based organizations (CBOs).
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2. Corporate Social Responsibility ● Environmental Stewardship ● Social License
Strategy Development and Partnerships Visibility – will the mine be seen as actively assisting
agriculture in the communities?
To create maximum sustainable value for families and
to maximise return on the mine’s CSR investment, a Financial Capacity – how much money over what time
comprehensive Agriculture Development Strategy should be period can the mine invest?
developed for the region.
Management & Leadership – who will manage the
However, this is a multi-stakeholder process, with the mine support to the community?
sharing some but not all responsibilities. Furthermore, by
Start-Up and Lead-Time – how long will it take to
taking a role not as the primary agency but as a partner in
organize and finance the various strategy components?
agricultural development along with other development
stakeholders, the mine can leverage its financial contributions Scalability – can the component serve as a pilot and be
into far greater development impact than by going alone. ’scaled up’ by other development stakeholders?
Integration: the strategy should be based upon a Immediacy and degree of local impact – how soon
comprehensive agricultural development plan for the and by how much will the impact of the intervention be
communities, and will ideally align with an overall rural felt at the local level?
development strategy or program already underway. Buy-in
to the final strategy should be sought from all stakeholders Strategic Partnerships – can the mine’s financial
up the governance and bureaucratic chain, including the contribution leverage resources from other agencies
Department of Agriculture, local government, and other (governments, World Bank, UNDP, IFAD, civil society)
economic development stakeholders. Unless they see the with similar development goals?
benefits, their opposition could mitigate any chance of Sustainability – is the intervention environmentally,
success. financially and socially sound?
Sustainability: to be sustainable, such a strategy should Post-closure – how will each component of the strategy
reflect the entire industry, working backwards from help to mitigate the impact of mine closure on local
international and national contexts through to regional and communities and families?
local level. The strategy will ideally build on current local
practices, which are based on local environment, culture Contact Information
and tradition and incorporate new best practice based on
science. It should be structured so that it can be a roadmap For further information on how Wayne Dunn & Associates
for assistance and support to the industry and can be used by can support your firm to bring greater development value to
the mine and other development stakeholders. the communities in which it operates, please check out our
website or contact us directly.
Opportunities and constraints: these can be as varied as
new crops, new technology, governance and land tenure, Mr. Allen Hingston, BSA MSc
environmental degradation, gender inequities, credit, input Agricultural Development Specialist
supply, marketing infrastructure or value-added processing. Wayne Dunn & Associates, Ltd.
They may require action and provide benefits beyond the 2457 Bakerview Road,
immediate community level. Mill Bay, BC Canada V0R 2P4
Defining the company’s contribution
Once an agricultural development strategy is
determined, the company can develop its own
intervention strategy for the projects and programs
it will undertake or support. The company’s approach
should take into account the following variables at
each step of the strategy:
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